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CHARLES    ELIOT 

iLantJScape  ardjitect 

A  LOVER  OF  NATURE 

AND  OF  HIS   KIND 

WHO  TRAINED  HIMSELF  FOR  A  NEW  PROFESSION 

PRACTISED   IT   HAPPILY 

AND  THROUGH  IT  WROUGHT  MUCH   GOOD 


BOSTON    AND    NEW    YORK 
HOLTtIITON   MIFFLIN  C0:MPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  1902,  BY   CHARLES   W.    ELIOT 
ALL   RIGHTS    RESERVED 


Published  June,  igoa 


FOR   THE    DEAR   SON" 

WHO    DIED   IN"   HIS   BRIGHT   PRIME 

FROM  THE  FATHER 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

Inheritances 1-4 

Eliots,  Lymans,  Peabodys,  and  Derbys,  1  ;  inherited  taste 
for  out-of-door  art,  2  ;  early  travel,  3  ;  inherited  enjoyment 
of  scenery,  4. 

CHAPTER  II 

Geisteral  Education 5-31 

School  work,  5,  15,  16  ;  committing  poetry  to  memory,  5  ; 
predilections  for  history  and  natural  liistory,  6,  7  ;  imagi- 
native sports,  7-9  ;  riding,  camping,  and  making  jilans,  7-11 ; 
camping  at  Mt.  Desert  and  Naushon,  9-13 ;  journeys  to 
Florida  and  in  New  England,  13,  14 ;  cross-country  walks, 
14  ;  drawing  lessons,  15  ;  cruising  in  the  Sunshine,  11, 17-24 ; 
entering  college,  17  ;  sketching,  20  ;  reading,  24 ;  Camp 
Champlain,  25,  26  ;  the  house  at  Mt.  Desert,  27  ;  mother, 
16,  27  ;  college  course,  28-31. 

CHAPTER  III 

Professional  Training  —  Apprenticeship  ....  32-49 
Choice  of  profession,  32 ;  Bussey  Institution,  33 ;  ad- 
mitted to  the  office  of  Fredei'ick  Law  Olmsted,  34 ;  inspect- 
ing works  in  progress,  35,  36,  39  ;  draughting,  plant  orders, 
planting-plans,  37  ;  Arnold  Ai-boretum,  38,  44,  45 ;  absorb- 
ing Mr.  Olmsted's  princii)les,  37,  39,  40  ;  instructive  designs 
in  i)rogress  —  Belle  Isle,  Lawrenceville  School,  Back  Bay 
Fens,  Boston  and  Albany  stations,  City  Point,  Franklin 
Park,  40-44 ;  notes  of  landscape,  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  vines 
by  their  uses,  of  contracts,  and  prices,  43-46 ;  walks  and 
excursions,  45-48  ;  first  eai-nings,  48. 

CHAPTER  IV 

Landscape  Study  in  Europe.     London  and  Paris    .     .  50-75 
Objects  in  going  to  Europe,  50  ;  journal,  correspondence, 


Ti  CONTENTS 

sketches,  lists,  and  notes  during  the  year,  50 ;  Liverpool 
and  Chester,  51,  52  ;  London  and  the  neighborhood  in  win- 
ter, 52-67  ;  London  parks,  52-54  ;  Kew,  53  ;  Hampstead 
and  Highgate,  55  ;  Epping  Forest,  56 ;  Bedford  Park  and 
Pinner,  57  ;  Harrow-on-the-Hill,  58  ;  Ashstead  Park,  62 ; 
Dorking  and  vicinity,  63-66  ;  Reading-room  of  the  British 
Museum,  56,  58-62,  67  ;  ugly  London,  delightful  country, 
63,  59  ;  pictures,  52,  61,  67,  69,  70  ;  visit  to  Oxford,  67  ;  Can- 
terbury,  68  ;  Paris  and  the  neighborhood  in  winter,  69- 
75  ;  She  of  Melos,  70  ;  Paris  parks,  70-75  ;  some  curiosities 
of  Paris,  75. 

CHAPTER  V 

Landscape  Study  in  Europe.  The  Rivieka  ....  76-118 
Lyons,  Fourvieres,  Pare  de  la  Tete  d'Or  —  prospects,  per- 
spectives, plantings,  76-78  ;  Avignon  —  new  scenery,  79, 
80  ;  Provence,  Marseilles  —  a  glorious  prospect,  80-82  ; 
Hyeres  —  a  lovable  place,  82,  83  ;  Cannes,  84-87  ;  VaUom- 
brosa  and  Larochefoucauld  compared,  85  ;  Antibes  —  gar- 
dens, sea-views,  and  sunsets,  88,  89,  92-94 ;  Nice,  90,  94, 
95  ;  a  lovely  garden,  93  ;  Eze  —  a  picturesque  hill-village, 
95  ;  Mentone,  96-98,  99  ;  the  spring  outburst,  97  ;  Monte 
Carlo  gardens,  and  Monaco,  98  ;  the  Riviera  a  lovely  dream, 
99 ;  Bordighera,  San  Remo,  Alassio,  100-102  ;  a  sand 
beach,  102  ;  Genoa  —  puerile  gardens,  fine  palaces,  102, 
103  ;  Santa  Margherita  and  Portofino  —  a  hiU-piercing 
cove,  104-106  ;  Pisa,  107  ;  Florence  —  the  setting  of  a  city, 
108-112  ;  Venice  —  the  perf  ectest  spot,  113  ;  Lake  Como  — 
a  beautiful  lakeside,  114  ;  describing  scenery,  ^15 ;  by  St. 
Gotthard  and  Lucerne  to  Paris,  116-118. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Landscape  Study  in  Europe.  Paris  again  .  .  .  119-132 
The  Salon,  119 ;  Paris  squares  well  used,  120 ;  Mons. 
Andre's  methods  of  executing  his  designs,  121  ;  Exhibition 
d'Horticulture,  122 ;  Bois  de  Boulogne,  122 ;  the  gardens 
of  Versailles  —  the  Petit  Trianon  the  best  part,  123  ;  Fer- 
rieres  —  a  costly  country-seat,  124-126  ;  ErmenonviUe  — 
the  park  use  of  waters,  126,  127  ;  Buttes-Chaumont  and  the 
garden  of  the  Luxembourg  compared,  128  ;  Mortefontaine 
—  concealing  public  roads,  ponds  held  by  dams,  a  place  of 


CONTENTS 

landscape  charm,  129,  130 ;  the  vicinity  of  Havre,  131 ;  the 
difficulty  of  getting  advice,  132. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Landscape    Study    in    Europe.     Tue    South    of    Eng- 
land    133-151 

Parks,  gardens,  and  woods  about  Southampton,  133  ;  the 
New  Forest,  134  ;  true  English  scenery,  134  ;  Salisbury  and 
Wilton,  135  ;  famous  nurseries,  136 ;  Bicton  Park,  Hayes 
Barton,  and  Salterton,  138  ;  Dawlish  and  Powderham  — 
river,  port,  cliffs,  gardens,  castle,  and  i)ark,  139, 140  ;  Teign- 
mouth  —  another  town  on  a  spit,  140  ;  Torquay,  Kingswear, 
Dartmouth  —  lovely  places  recalling  the  Riviera  and  Lake 
Como,  141,  142 ;  by  the  Dart  to  Totness,  143  ;  Port  Eliot, 
143 ;  Plymouth  and  Mt.  Edgcumbe,  144,  145  ;  Clovelly  — 
a  quaint,  steep  village,  146  ;  Lynmouth  —  an  ecstatic  spot, 
147  ;  a  superb  region,  148  ;  Dunster,  WeUs,  and  Bath,  149  ; 
Bowood  —  woods,  deer,  Pinetum,  lakeside,  and  terrace 
gardens,  150./ 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Landscape    Study    in    Europe.        London    and    the 

North 152-163 

Parks,  nurseries,  and  gardens  in  and  near  London  in 
July,  152-154  ;  Cambridge,  154  ;  Matlock  Bath  —  the  Pavil- 
ion Gardens,  156 ;  Chatsworth  and  Haddon  Hall,  157  ;  the 
Pavilion  Gardens  of  Buxton,  158  ;  the  parks  of  Manchester 
and  Preston,  158  ;  the  Lake  country  —  scenery  of  its  sort 
the  perfectest  imaginable,  159-161  ;  to  Edinburgh  by  Car- 
lisle and  Glasgow,  162,  163. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Laijdscape    Study    in    Europe.      Hamburg,    Denmark, 

Sweden,  and  Russia 164-186 

J  The  water  parks  of  Hamburg,  164-166  ;  Kiel,  166 ; 
Copenhagen,  167-172  ;  the  Frederiksberg-Have,  108 ;  the 
Castle  of  Elsinore,  170 ;  Skodsborg  and  the  royal  forest, 
170;  Charlottenlund,  171 ;  into  Sweden  and  t/ Stockholm, 
172  ;  a  water-girt  and  water-cut  city,  173-177-4  scenery  and 
flora  like  that  of  the  Maine  coast,  174-176 1  Upsala,  177 ;  the 


ii  CONTENTS 

approach  to  Finland,  178  ;  Helsingfors  —  gardens,  wooden 
houses,  and  fences,  179  ;  the  ride  to  St.  Petersburg,  180 ; 
a  huge,  long-distance  city,  180-185  ;  the  Botanical  Gardens,  ■ 
180  ;  Peterhof,  181  ;  the  park  of  Yelagin  Island,  mixed 
water,  greensward,  and  wood,  182 ;  the  Imperial  Park,  Pav- 
lofsk  —  a  charming  piece  of  scenery,  184 ;  the  emptiness  of 
St.  Petersburg's  streets,  185. 


CHAPTER  X 

Landscape  Study  in  Eueope.     Germany,  Holland,  and 

Homeward 187-203 

The  dull  ride  to  Berlin,  187  ;  the  Berlin  Botanical  Gar- 
den, and  the  city  sqixares,  188  ;  seeing  the  government  park 
and  forest  work  about  Berlin  under  the  guidance  of  Dr.  Carl 
Bolle,  188;  Muskau  —  the  most  remarkable  and  lovable 
park  on  the  Continent,  190, 191  ;  Dresden  —  the  gallery,  the 
Elbe,  Pillnitz  and  its  arboretum,  192 ;  Leipsic  parks,  193  ; 
Weimar  and  its  park,  194  ;  Eisenach  —  framings  and  fore- 
grounds for  the  Wartburg,  194  ;  Wartburg,  195  ;  WiUielms- 
thal,  a  simple,  quiet  place,  196 ;  Wilhelmshohe,  huge  of  its 
kind,  but  a  bad  kind,  196  ;  Arnhem  —  a  road  of  villas,  197  ; 
an  open  villa-garden,  198  ;  the  park  of  Sonsbeck,  198  ;  the 
Hague  and  the  beach  of  Scheveningen,  199 ;  real  Dutch 
landscape,  200  ;  Repton's  cottage,  201,;  the  Pavonia  ashore, 
201-203. 

/  CHAPTER   XI 

Starting  in  Practice.     First  Writing 204-223 

Methods  of  practice,  204-206  ;  first  planting  design,  207  ; 
the  suburbs  in  March,  208  ;  the  Longfellow  Memorial,  210- 
214 ;  engagement,  214 ;  laying  out  the  Norton  estate  in 
Cambridge,  214 ;  Anglomania  in  park  making,  215-218 ; 
the  beginnings  of  landscape  art  —  a  short  list  of  books  and 
papers,  219-223. 

CHAPTER  XII 

Three  Congenial  Undertakings.     Two  Parks  and  a 

Church  Site 224-233 

The  Common  at  Newburyport,  224  ;  the  village  church  at 
Weston,  225-227  ;  the  White  Park  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  227- 
233  ;  a  typical  New  England  scene,  228,  231  ;  fit  and  dis- 
tinctive beauty,  233. 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER   XIII     / 

Two  Scenery  Problems  —  Marriage  .  / 234-239 

An  avenue  entrance,  234  ;  a  new  approach-road  on  a  large 
estate,  235,  236  ;  cutting  down  precious  trees,  235  ;  mar- 
riage, 238. 

CHAPTER   XIV 

Six  Old  Ajmerican  Country-seats 240-260 

The  Gore  Place,  Waltham,  Mass.,  a  lesson  in  simplicity 
and  harmony,  240-243  ;  the  Lyman  Place,  Waltham,  Mass. 
—  helping  and  not  forcing  Nature,  243-246  ;  the  Cushing- 
Payson  Place,  Belmont,  Mass.,  a  comprehensive  design ; 
Clermont  on  the  Hudson,  a  manor-house  with  great  Locusts 
on  the  river  hluff,  250-253  ;  Montgomery  Place,  second  to 
no  seat  in  America  for  its  combination  of  attractions,  253- 
256  ;  Hyde  Park  —  broad,  stately  scenery  —  nothing  which 
does  not  contribute  to  the  effect  of  the  whole,  256-260. 

CHAPTER  XV 

v/The  Function  of  the  Landscape  Architect  .  .  .  261-274 
For  what  object  to  employ  the  landscape  architect,  261 ; 
the  problems  of  landscape  architecture,  262  ;  horticulture 
and  design  in  the  surroundings  of  houses,  263-265 ;  the 
house  scene,  266  ;  the  house  and  its  surroundings  one  com- 
position, 267  ;  the  suburban  house  scene,  268  ;  the  inappro- 
priate house  setting,  269  ;  planting  about  a  suburban  house, 
270  ;  the  country-seat,  271 ;  the  definitions  of  architecture 
and  landscape  architecture,  272-274. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Selected   Letters   to  Private   Owners,   Trustees,   or 

Corporations 275-303 

A  planting-plan  for  house  grounds,  275-280  ;  an  improve- 
ment of  station  grounds,  280  ;  laying  out  a  new  estate  at 
Irvington  on  Hudson,  281-284  ;  a  new  country-seat  near 
Boston,  285  ;  a  to^vn  site  on  Salt  Lake,  Utah,  286-291  ;  the 
Harvard  Yard,  291,  292 ;  perfecting  an  old  cemetery,  293- 
296 ;  selecting  a  site  for  a  college  or  academy,  296,  297  ;  a 
suburban  garden,  298  ;  the  park  at  Youngstown,  Ohio,  298- 
301 ;  a  seaside  village,  301-303. 


z  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   XVII 

Adequate  Open  Spaces   for  Urban  Populations,  and 

Public  Ownership  of  Coast  Scenery 304-315 

Parks  and  squares  of  United  States  cities,  304-308 ;  the 
coast  of  Maine  —  its  scenery,  trees,  history,  and  summer 
colonies,  308-314  ;  the  danger  of  the  present  situation,  314 ; 
defenses  against  the  danger,  315. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations 316-350 

The  Waverley  Oaks  —  a  plan  for  their  preservation  for 
the  people,  316-318  ;  a  metropolitan  open  spaces  commission 
suggested,  317  ;  the  suggestion  of  scenery  trustees,  319  ;  in- 
teresting the  Appalachian  Mountain  Club,  319-321 ;  giving 
effect  to  an  existing  public  sentiment,  321—325  ;  an  outline 
of  the  scheme,  326  ;  the  first  public  meeting,  328-330  ;  the 
committee  to  promote  the  establishment  of  a  board  of  trus- 
tees, 330  ;  circulars  issued  by  this  committee,  330-332  ; 
framing  a  biU,  333,  334  ;  the  act  passed,  335  ;  the  need  of 
parks,  336-343  ;  the  first  gift  to  the  trustees,  344  ;  the  first 
work  of  the  trustees,  345 ;  the  Province  Lands,  346-348 ; 
a  similar  association  in  England,  349. 

CHAPTER  XIX 

The  Creation  of  the  Preliminary  Metropolitan  Park 

Commission  of  1892-93 351-357 

A  meeting  called  by  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations, 
351 ;  a  committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  memorial  to  the 
legislature,  352 ;  the  trustees  present  a  petition,  353  ;  nu- 
merous supporting  petitions  for  an  inquiry,  353  ;  a  public 
hearing,  353-355 ;  the  appointment  of  the  Commission  to 
inquire,  355 ;  the  argument  presented  in  1890,  356  ;  legiti- 
mate efforts  to  procure  beneficent  legislation,  357. 

CHAPTER  XX 

Writings  in  1891  and  1892 358-379 

A  German  country  park,  358-363  ;  landscape  gardening 
in  its  relations  to  architecture,  363-367  ;  arboriculture  in  its 


CONTENTS 

relations  to  landscape,  367-372  ;  the  formal  garden  in  Eng- 
land, 372-374  ;  beautiful  villages,  375-378  ;  fine  scenery- 
should  be  preserved  as  a  matter  of  business,  379. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

The  Work  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  op 

1892 380-415 

Appointed  landscape  architect  to  the  Commission,  380  ; 
the  main  lines  of  action,  381  ;  photographs,  381,  382  ;  the 
prophetic  map,  382  ;  composition,  powers,  and  resources  of 
a  permanent  commission,  383  ;  "  picturing  "  the  open  spaces 
still  obtainable  near  Boston,  383 ;  the  report  to  the  Commis- 
sion of  1892,  384-412  ;  the  creation  of  tlie  permanent  Com- 
mission, 412  ;  the  landscape  architect's  bill,  413 ;  notes  on 
the  map,  and  key  to  the  figures  on  the  map,  413—415. 

f  CHAPTER  XXII 

Family  Life  —  Joining  the  Olmsted  Firm  ....  416-419 
The  home  at  Brush  Hill,  416,  417  ;  joining  the  Olmsted 
firm,  418 ;  the  home  in  Brookline,  418,  419. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

i  General  Principles  in  Selecting  Public  Reservations 

AND  Determining  their  Boundaries 420-451 

Preliminary  study  of  metropolitan  park  boundaries,  420  ; 
studies  for  two  other  commissions,  421  ;  a  large  pond  as 
park,  422  ;  parks  for  Cambridge,  423^28  ;  reservations  in 
a  seashore  town  ("Winthrop),  429,  430  ;  reservations  for  a 
bay-shore  city,  430-435  ;  a  sea-beach  as  reservation,  435, 
436  ;  a  forest  and  pond  reservation,  437^39  ;  a  forest  reser- 
vation, 439^41  ;  parks,  parkways,  and  pleasure  grounds  — 
purposes,  government,  sites  and  boundaries,  general  plans  or 
designs,  and  construction,  441-451. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

Letters  of  1894  on  Metropolitan  Park  Work     .     .  452-473 
Precautions  against  forest  fires,  453  ;  provisional  paths  in 
the  forests,  maps,  and  bounds,  454  ;  halving  Stony  Brook 


i  CONTENTS 

reservation,  455 ;  the  first  parkway  legislation,  456 ;  ap- 
proaches to  Middlesex  Fells,  457-459,  461  ;  the  Blue  HiUs 
parkway,  459,  460  ;  parkways  must  he  metropolitan  work, 
462-464  ;  improving  reservation  houndaries,  464-467  ;  the 
Mystic  Valley  parkway,  467  ;  continuous  border  roads,  468  ; 
abandonments  of  land  once  taken,  469  ;  parkway  studies, 
470  ;  public  ownership  of  watercourses,  471  ;  history  of  the 
lands  taken,  472  ;  geology  of  the  reservations,  473. 


CHAPTER   XXV 

Letters    of    1894    concerning    Parks    not    Metropoli- 
tan     474^86 

The  treatment  of  abused  commons,  474^76 ;  concerning 
a  design  for  Fresh  Pond  Park,  Cambridge,  476-^78  ;  the 
field  house  on  Cambridge  Field,  478  ;  I'oads  and  paths  should 
be  placed  on  the  best  lines,  479  ;  Morton  Park  at  Newport, 
480-482 ;  what  four  acres  can  furnish,  482-484  ;  the  Copps 
Hill  terrace,  and  North  End  beach,  484-486. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

First  Seventeen  Months  of  the  Executive  Metropoli- 
tan Park  Commission 487-512 

Landscape  architects'  report  for  1893,  488^91 ;  landscape 
arcliitects'  report  for  1894,  492-512  ;  determination  of  bound- 
aries, 492-494  ;  exploration  of  the  lands  acquired,  494-498  ; 
work  to  be  done  in  the  reservations,  498-504 ;  proposed 
reservations,  504-508  ;  metropolitan  parkways,  508-512. 

CHAPTER   XXVII 

Letters  of  1895  on  Parks  Metropolitan  and  other  513-527 
Names,  signs,  and  permanent  marks  in  the  metropolitan 
reservations,  513,  514  ;  pleasuring  in  the  Fells,  515 ;  parks 
for  Waltham  —  Prospect  Hill  and  Charles  River,  516-518  ; 
pleasure  grounds  for  Chelsea,  519  ;  the  Snake  Creek  park- 
way, 519  ;  Cambridge  Field  —  the  uses  of  a  field  house, 
520-522  ;  paths  in  a  small  city  square,  522  ;  Buttonwood 
Park  at  New  Bedford  —  pond,  house,  playgrounds,  circuit 
drive,  meadows,  and  sheep,  523-526  ;  a  suburb  round  a 
common,  527. 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

Reports  of  the  Landscape  Architects  for  1895  to  the 
Metropolitan  and  Boston  Park  Commissions      .     528-545 

Altering  the  boundaries  of  the  forest  reservations  — 
good  changes  and  bad,  528-530  ;  general  designs  for  exhibit- 
ing and  improving  the  scenery  of  these  reservations  should 
await  the  completion  of  the  topographical  maps,  530,  532  ; 
costly  roads  on  wrong  lines  are  unadvisable,  531  ;  Beaver 
Brook  Reservation,  532 ;  Mystic  Valley  parkway,  533 ; 
Charles  River  Reservation  —  the  dam,  534,  535  ;  Revere 
Beach,  535,  536  ;  metropolitan  parkways,  537-541 ;  extent 
of  the  metropolitan  public  open  sj^aces,  541  ;  hoardings  — 
the  advertising  plague,  542 ;  humanized  landscape,  543 ; 
a  public  park  cannot  closely  resemble  either  a  farm  or  a 
country-seat,  544. 

CHAPTER   XXIX 

What  would  be  Fair  must  first  be  Fit 546-556 

Art  out  of  doors,  546  ;  man  transforms  natural  scenery, 
547 ;  the  Italian  villa  one  composition,  548 ;  the  differing 
gospels  of  out-of-door  beauty,  549-551  ;  beauty  founded  on 
rationality,  551-553 ;  man  improves  primitive  landscape, 
554-556. 

CHAPTER  XXX 

Charles  River  —  1891-96 557-592 

The  most  important  park  problem  in  the  metropolitan 
district,  557  ;  first  report  of  the  Charles  River  Improvement 
Commission  of  1891-93  —  the  natural  features,  history, 
and  present  (1892)  condition  of  the  river,  and  its  best  uses, 
559-569 ;  far-seeing  recommendations  of  this  Commission, 
569  ;  second  report  of  the  Commission  of  1891-93,  570  ;  the 
Joint  Board  of  1893  on  the  imj)rovement  of  Charles  River, 
571;  landscape  report  to  the  Joint  Board,  571-582;  the 
river  as  drain,  572  ;  the  river  as  open  space,  574  ;  its  banks 
to  become  a  residence  quarter,  575  ;  the  lower  river  should 
be  converted  by  a  dam  into  a  pond,  576 ;  the  fresh-water 
section,  578  ;  the  marsh  section,  578-580  ;  river  drives  and 
a  speedway,  579  ;  the  basin  section,  580-582  ;  the  argument 


V  CONTENTS 

for  a  dam,  582-584  ;  the  project  for  a  dam  arrested,  584 ; 
what  the  damming  of  Charles  River  would  accomplish  —  the 
lesson  of  Muddy  River,  584-589 ;  sea-walls  along  the  river 
undesirable,  590  ;  the  choking  of  the  river  mouth  —  a  new 
North  Station,  591,  592. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

Policy  and  Methods  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Com- 
mission, 1896 593-612 

Distribution  of  the  reservations,  594  ;  additional  reserva- 
tions, 595  ;  the  parkway  problem,  596-599  ;  general  plan  of 
the  metropolitan  reservations  —  marshes,  rivers,  hills,  woods, 
brooks,  beaches,  ocean,  bay  shores,  two  special  parkways,  no 
general  scheme  of  parkways,  599-607  ;  a  great  work  accom- 
plished, 608  ;  the  financial  machinery,  609  ;  the  composition 
of  the  Commission,  609  ;  its  professional  experts,  610  ;  its 
construction  department,  611 ;  payments,  611  ;  the  coopera- 
tion of  many  communities  in  an  undertaking  requiring  fore- 
sight, discrimination,  and  skill,  612. 

CHAPTER  XXXII 

Selected  Letters  of  1896   613-631 

A  busy  summer,  614  ;  chances  which  Boston  has  lost,  615  ; 
dangerous  abandonments  of  metropolitan  lands  once  taken, 
615,  616 ;  the  edges  of  Charles  River  Basin,  617  ;  the  pro- 
posed Charlesmouth  bridge,  618  ;  the  duties  of  park  keepers, 
619-621 ;  a  memorial  to  Elizur  AVright,  621 ;  looking  into 
or  over  a  park,  and  looking  out  of  it  —  bordering  screens, 
rights  of  abutters,  many  entrances  undesirable,  622-625  ; 
special  bicycle  paths  unfit  for  parks,  625-627  ;  the  best  use 
of  a  city  playground,  628  ;  landscape  art  a  part  of  architec- 
ture, 629-631. 

CHAPTER   XXXIII 

Making  Good  Use  of  the  Skill  and  Experience  of  a 

Landscape  Architect 632-645 

Advice  concerning  the  house  site  on  a  large  estate,  632- 
635 ;  on  improving  the  grounds  of  an  institution,  635-639  ; 
concerning  the  house  site  on  a  sea-side  estate,  639 ;  on  the 


CONTENTS  XV 

arrangement  of  the  buildings  of  a  college,  640-642 ;  on  the 
comparative  value  of  two  tracts  of  land  for  a  town  park, 
642-645. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 

General  Plans.     1894-97 646-667 

Early  work  in  the  reservations  (summer  of  1894),  647- 
649  ;  maps  should  precede  road-building,  649 ;  general  de- 
signs should  precede  woodland  work,  650-652 ;  guiding 
plans  needed  at  once  (1896),  653,  654;  general  plans  are 
simply  programmes  of  work,  655-657  ;  the  inevitable  results 
of  "  letting  Nature  alone  "  are  monotony,  obliteration  of  ex- 
isting scenery,  and  additional  ultimate  expense,  657,  658  ; 
the  wastefulness  of  planless  work,  659 ;  road-plans  should 
be  made  so  as  to  develop  scenery  resources,  660  ;  well-rea- 
soned planning  a  necessity,  661-664 ;  plantations  in  parks 
—  the  uses  of  the  axe,  664,  665  ;  widening  a  makeshift 
road,  667. 

CHAPTER  XXXV 

Revere  Beach.     1896 668-679 

Primary  questions  about  Revere  Beach,  668-670  ;  avoid- 
ing bulkheads  and  sea-walls  —  the  promenade,  671 ;  pleasure 
drive,  and  traffic  way,  672 ;  pavilions,  terraces,  and  bath- 
houses, 673-675  ;  alternative  schemes,  675  ;  the  bath-houses 
placed  on  the  landward  side  of  the  reservation,  677  ;  the 
matured  opinion  of  the  experts,  677,  678  ;  a  unique  public 
provision,  679. 

CHAPTER   XXXVI 

Report  to  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  for 

1896 680-689 

Topographical  maps  and  botanical  list  completed  for  the 
forest  reservations,  680,  681 ;  mapping  of  the  woods  and 
ground-cover  nearly  completed,  681 ;  piecemeal,  hap-hazard 
work  uneconomical,  081,  682 ;  pleasing  scenery  a  human 
product,  682 ;  Charles  River  Reservation,  683-686 ;  Revere 
Beach  Reservation,  686-688 ;  making  the  very  best  of  the 
beach,  687  ;  river-side  and  seashore  strips  particularly  desir- 
able as  reservations,  688  ;  metropolitan  parkways,  689. 


xvi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   XXXVII 
Selected  Letters  of  January,  February,  and  March, 

1897 690-708 

The  true  distinction  between  construction  and  mainte- 
nance in  park  work,  690-692  ;  true  park  planting  is  neither 
gardening  nor  forestry,  693  ;  the  best  places  about  Boston 
for  speedways,  694 ;  the  Charles  River  Basin  again,  695 ;  a 
Revere  Beach  parkway,  696,  697  ;  the  Olmsted  firm  makes 
formal  designs  as  well  as  picturesque,  699 ;  planting  the 
Boston  Harbor  islands,  699-701 ;  the  Botanic  Garden  in 
Bronx  Park,  701,  702 ;  the  Outdoor  Art  Association,  703 ; 
report  for  1896  to  the  Boston  Park  Commission,  704-708. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

Landscape    Forestry    in  the   Metropolitan   Reserva- 
tions    709-736 

The  treatment  of  the  reforested  pastures^  710  ;  of  the 
sprout-lands,  711, 712  ;  foremen  of  woodcraft  suggested,  713  ; 
the  forest  survey,  714 ;  vegetation  and  scenery  in  the  reser- 
vations, 715-732 ;  the  object  of  the  investigation,  715- 
717 ;  the  methods  pursued,  717  ;  the  principal  types  of  the 
vegetation  —  the  summit,  718-720,  the  swamp,  720,  721, 
the  coppice,  721-726,  the  field  and  pasture,  726,  727,  the 
bushy  pasture,  727-729,  the  seedling  forest,  729-731 ;  con- 
elusions,  731,  732  ;  the  kind  of  work  in  the  living  woods 
which  ought  to  be  begun  at  once,  733  ;  a  method  of  work 
proposed,  734  ;  beginning  forest  work  in  the  Blue  Hills, 
735  ;  rescue  work  in  the  Fells,  736. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

Metropolitan  Parks  and  Parkways  in  1902    .     .     .  737-741 
The  design  of  1892  and  its  execution  up  to  December, 
1901  —  rock-hills,  737,  ponds  and  streams,  738,  bay  and 
sea,  739 ;   expenditures  of  the  Commission,  740 ;  designs 
awaiting  execution,  741. 


CONTENTS  xvu 

CHAPTER  XL 

The  Last  Dats       742-748 

The  Hartford  parks,  742-744 ;  death,  744 ;  bodily,  men- 
tal, and  moral  qualities,  744-747  ;  the  fruition,  747  ;  creed 
and  character,  748. 

APPENDIX 

I 
Circular  as  to  professional  methods  and  charges      .     .     .  751,  752 

II 

Circular  letter  asking  for  names  of  persons  who  ought  to  be 
invited  to  a  meeting  to  promote  the  preservation  of  fine 
scenery  or  historical  sites  in  Massachusetts 752 

III 

Committee  action  preliminary  to  the  creation  of  the  Trustees 
of  Public  Reservations 753-756 

IV 

Draught  of  a  General  Order  respecting  the  government  of  the 
Metropolitan  Reservations,  and  of  Rules  for  the  Conduct  of 
Keepers 756-758 

V 

Articles  of  Agreement  between  the  Trustees  of  the  Keney 
Estate,  Hartford,  and  Olmsted,  Olmsted  &  Eliot      .     .     .       759 


Index 761-767 

Key  to  the  letters  and  figures  on  the  map  of  December,  1901, 
in  the  right-hand  pocket  of  the  cover 768-770 


FULL  PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGB 


Charles  Eliot  (jet.  33).    Photograviire     .     .     .     Frontispiece 
Map  of  Existing  and  Proposed  Public  Open  Spaces 
IN  the  Metropolitan  District,  December,  1892 

In  front  Cover 
The  Camp  on  Calf  Island.      (Looking  southwesterly  at 

Mt.  Desert.     From  a  drawing  by  C  E.) 8 

Ellen  Peabody  Eliot  (^et.  31).     Photogravure      ...       12 
Profile  of  the  Mt.  Desert  Hills  from   Great  Duck 
Island.     (Sketch  by  C.  E.,  aet.  16,  compared  with  a  pho- 
tograph of  the  Hills  from  the  same  spot) 20 

Camp    Chainiplain,    1880   and    1881.     (From    a   drawing 

made  after  a  photograph  taken  in  1880) 26 

Small  Front  Yards  for  Houses  in  Blocks.  (C.  E.)  .  54 
Types  of  Yards,  along  the  Highway,  Brixton  Hill  .  56 
English    Compact   Place,    Keswick.     (A    tracing  from 

Kemp  by  C.  E.) 60 

Two  Sketches  of  Antibes.     (C  E.) 88 

portofino  from  the  opposite  heights.    (c.  e.)       .     .     104 

French  Trees  and  Avenues.     (C  E.) 124 

Parterre  and  Flower-bed  at  the  Park  of  Dalkeith. 

(C.  E.) 163 

Facsimile  of  the  Last  Page  of  a  Letter   from  C  E. 

TO  his  Mother  from  London,  October  15,  1886  .     .     .     201 
Mr.  John    Parkinson's  Estate  at  Bourne,  Massachu- 
setts, 1887.     (From  a  photograph  of  the  bare  field  with 

some  of  the  first  plantings) 206 

Mr.  Parkinson's  Estate  at  Bourne,  1901.     (This  view 

is  taken  from  about  the  same  direction  as  the  preceding  one)     206 
Mr.  Parkinson's  Estate  at  Bourne,  1901.     (View  from 

the  doorstep.     All  the  near  plantations  are  artificial)     .     .     207 
Design  for  the  Division  ok  the  Norton  Estate,  Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts,  1887-88.     (The  portion  of  the 
map  divided  into  house-lots  represents  the  Estate)     .     .     .     214 
The    Old    Common   at   Newburyport,   Massachusetts. 
(Preliminary  sketch  showing  the  proposed  improvement)  .     224 


XX  FULL   PAGE   ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  Common  at  Newburypobt.     (Now  Washington  Park)     225 

The  Surroundings  of  the  Church  at  Weston,  Massa- 
chusetts        2^6 

The  Church  at  Weston,  Massachusetts 227 

White  Park,  Concord,  N.ew  Hampshire.    (General  plan)     232 

Mr.  Rowland  Hazard's  Estate  at  Peace  Dale,  Rhode 
Island.  (Plan  showing  a  change  of  the  avenue  and  an 
enlargement  of  the  South  Field) 236 

The  Lyman  Place,  Waltham,  Massachusetts.    (Sketch 

plan  by  C.  E.  for  "  Garden  and  Forest ") 244 

Clermont  on  the  Hudson  (from  "  Garden  and  Forest ")  .     250 

Montgomery  Place  on  the  Hudson  (from  "  Garden  and 

Forest ") 254 

Hyde  Park  on  the  Hudson  (from  "  Garden  and  Forest  ")     258 

Planting-plan  fob  Mr.  Thomas  M.  Stetson.  (New 
Bedford,  Massachusetts,  1889) 277 

Mr.  Thomas  M.  Stetson's  Estate  at  New  Bedford, 
Massachusetts.  (View  of  the  avenue  (1901)  approach- 
ing the  Porte  Cochere) 278 

Mr.  Stetson's  Estate  at  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts. 

(Avenue  entrance  in  stone) 278 

Mr.  Stetson's  Estate  at  New  Bedford.     (Another  view 

of  the  walled  entrance  from  the  highway) 278 

Mr.  Stetson's  Estate  at  New  Bedford.     (A  view  of  the 

plantations  near  the  house,  1889-1901) 279 

Plan  of  Dr.  Carroll  Dunham's  House  and  Approach 
Road  at  Irvington-on-Hudson 282 

Dr.  Carroll  Dunham's  Estate  at  Irvington-on-Hud- 
son.    (The  avenue  seen  from  the  highway,  1901)     .     .     .     284 

Dr.  Dunham's   Estate  at  Irvington-on-Hudson.     (The 

hare  house  and  stable  in  1890) 284 

Dr.  Dunham's  Estate  at  Irvington-on-Hudson.     (View 

of  the  house  and  stable  from  nearly  the  same  point  in  1901)     284 

Dr.  Dunham's  Estate  at  Irvington-on-Hudson.    (View 

from  the  lawn  over  the  invisible  highway  in  1901)     .     .     .     285 

Mr.  Henry  S.  Hunnewell's  Garden  Plan,  Wellesley  .     286 

The  Youngstown,  Ohio,  Gorge  —  the  Drive  along  the 
Smalleb  Lake 300 

ViBGiNiA  Wood,  Hemlock  Knoll.  (From  the  Annual  Re- 
port of  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations  for  1894)    .     .     344 

The  Pbovince  Lands  —  the  Edge  of  the  Naked  Sands. 
(From  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reser^ 
vations  for  1892)    .     .    .    . 348 


FULL  PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS  xxi 

The  Province  Lands  —  a  Sand  Drift  filling  a  Lilt 
Pond.  (From  the  Annual  Rejiort  of  the  Trustees  of  Pub- 
lic Reservations  for  1892) 349 

Park  at  Muskau,    Lower  Lausitz,   Germany.      (From 

"  Garden  and  Forest,"  January  28,  1891) 362 

The  Open  Spaces  of  Paris,  London,  and  Boston  (1892), 
DRAWN  TO  the  Same  Scale.  (From  C.  P^.'s  Report  to 
the  Preliminary  JNIetropolitan  Park  Commission  of  1892-93)     384 

Charles  Eliot  (jet.  35).     Photogravure 486 

The  Hemlock  Gorge  at  Newton  Upper  Falls,  Charles 
River.  (From  the  Report  of  the  Metropolitan  Park 
Commission  for  1896) 508 

Charles  River  Reservation.  (The  Longfellow  marshes 
flooded  hy  the  tide.  From  the  Landscape  Architects'  Re- 
port to  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  for  1895)     .     .     534 

Charles  River  Reservation.  (The  Longfellow  marshes 
with  the  water  at  Grade  8.  From  the  Landscape  Archi- 
tects' Report  to  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  for 
1895) 534 

Charles  RI^^:R  Reservation.  (The  River  at  Lemon  Brook, 
the  tide  having  partly  ehbed.  From  the  Landscape  Archi- 
tects' Report  to  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  for 
1895) 534 

Charles  River  Reservation.  (The  River  at  Lemon  Brook, 
with  the  water  at  Grade  8.  From  the  Landscape  Archi- 
tects' Report  to  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  for 
1895) 535 

The  Charles  River  Basin  —  the  Back  of  Beacon 
Street,  at  Low  Tide.  (From  the  Report  for  1894  of 
the  Park  Department  of  Cambridge) 588 

The  Upper  Alster  Basin  at  Hamburg.  (From  the  Re- 
port for  1894  of  the  Park  Department  of  Cambridge)    .     .     589 

A  New  North  Station  North  of  Charles  Ri\t;r.  (Re- 
duced from  a  map  made  in  January,  1894,  by  Olmsted, 
Olmsted  «&;  Eliot,  for  the  Joint  Board  on  the  Improvement 
of  Charles  River) 592 

Revere  Beach  in  1892.  (Shabby  structures  intruding  on 
the  beach.  From  the  Report  of  the  Preliminary  Metro- 
politan Park  Commission  in  1893) 670 

Revere  Beach  Reservation  in  1898.  (The  sidewalk,  drive- 
way, and  promenade  on  the  crown  of  the  beach.  From 
the  Report  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  for  1898)     670 


xxii  FULL  PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Revere  Beach  Reservation.  (Terrace  and  shelters  in 
front  of  the  hath-house  ;  throng  on  the  dry  sand ;  bathers  ; 
raft  in  deep  water.  From  the  Report  of  the  Metropolitan 
Park  Commission  for  1898) 676 

Revere  Beach  Reservation.  (One  mile  and  a  quarter  of 
the  Reservation,  showing  the  beach,  the  approaches,  the 
driveway  and  promenade,  the  bath-house  with  its  subways, 
and  the  terraces.  Reduced  from  the  Engineer's  plan  of 
December,  1897,  for  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission)  .     678 

The  Location  of  Charlesmouth  Bridge,  and  a  design 
FOR  the  head  of  Charles  River  Basin.  (From  the 
Landscape  Architects'  Report  for  1896  to  the  Metropolitan 
Park  Commission) 685 

Stump  of  a  Chestnut-tree,  showing  the  Vigor  of 
THE  first  Generation  of  Sprouts.  (From  the  Land- 
scape Architects'  Report  to  the  Metropolitan  Park  Com- 
mission, February  15,  1897,  on  Vegetation  and  Scenery  in 
the  Reservations) "...     722 

An  Old  Stump,  showing  feeble  Sprouting  after  re- 
peated Chopping.     (From  the  same  Report)     ....     722 

A  Broad  Valley  of  the  Southeastern  Fells,  whose 
Trees,  about  to  hide  the  Blue  Hill  Range,  have 

ALREADY    HIDDEN  THE  VALLEY    OF    THE   MySTIC.      (From 

the  same  Report) 724 

Broad-spreading  Trees  developed  in  Open  Land  and 

NOT    YET    SURROUNDED     BY    OTHER    TrEES    OR    SpROUT- 
GROWTHS    BECAUSE    PASTURING     HAS    BEEN    CONTINUOUS. 

(From  the  same  Report) 730 

Tree-clogged  Notch  near  the  Southeastern  Escarp- 
ment OF  THE  Fells,  which  might  command  the  Mal- 
den-Melrose  Valley  and  the  Saugus  hills.     (From 

the  same  Report) 732 

The  Open  Spaces  of  Boston  in  1892  and  1902  com- 
pared       738 

Map  of  the  Public  Open  Spaces  of  the  Metropolitan 
District,  December,  1901.  (From  the  Metropolitan  Park 
Commission's  Report  for  1901) In  back  Cover 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  THE  TEXT 


PAOB 


Diagram  of  Camp  on  Calf  Island.     (C.  E.)    .     .     .    .  9 
Muscle  Shoal  Light,  and  Dutch  Island  Light,  Nar- 

RAGANSETT    BaY.       (C  E.) 19 

Whaleback  Light,  off  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire. 

(C.  E.) 19 

A  Pier  at  Newport.     (C  E.) 20 

Prudence  Island  Light,  Narragansett  Bat.      (C.  E.)  31 

Block  House  at  Edgecomb,  Maine.     (C  E.)    .     .     .     .  31 

An  Unusual  Design  for  an  Avenue.     (C.  E.)      ...  49 
Spacious    Driveways  to  a    Large    House  and  Four 
Screened  Out-buildings.     (A  tracing  from  an  unknown 

French  source.     C.  E.) 60 

Short  Driveways  —  French.     (Tracings  by  C.  E.)     .     .  75 

Yacht  in  the  Port  of  Cannes.     (C  E.) 87 

Two  Riviera  Arrangements  for  a    Drive    and   Sea- 
wall ALONG  A  Beach.     (C.  E.) 102 

PoRTOFiNO.     (Sketch  map.     C  E.) 105 

Steep  Inclined  Path  below  the  "David,"  Florence. 

(C.  E.) 109 

ViALE  DEI  Colli,  Florence.     (Sketch  plan.     C.  E.)   .     .  Ill 
Railway  Passage    of   St.  Gotthard.     (Sketch  plans  of 

curved  Tunnels.    C.  E.) 116-117 

Edges  of  Thicket  Plantings,  Parc  Monceaux,  Paris. 

(Diagram.     C  E.) 121 

Tree  Guards,  French.     (C.  E.) 122 

The  Versailles  Perspective.     (Diagram.     C.  E.)      .     .  124 

Ermenonville.     (C.  E.) 132 

Hayes  Barton,  Birthplace  of  Sir  "Walter  Raleigh. 

(C.  E.) 138 

Powderham,  Trees  and  a  Cottage.     (C.  E.)   .     .    .     .  140 

Sea-wall  at  Torquay.     (Diagram.     C.  E.) 141 

Section  of  a  Devon  Lane.     (C.  E.) 146 

Clovelly  Street.     (Sketch  plan.     C.  E.) 147 

Bo  WOOD,  Fence  to  exclude  Deeb  and  Rabbits.     (Dia- 
gram.   C.  E.) 150 


xxiv-  ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  THE  TEXT 

English  Barns.     (C.  E.) 151 

Hamburg,  a  Water-side  Arrangement.      (Sketch  plan. 

C.  E.) 165 

Stockholm,  a  Summer  House  on  a  Cliff,  Djurgarden. 

(Diagram.     C  E.) 176 

The  Sea  Islands  off  Stockholm.    (Sketch  plan.    C.  E.)  177 

Typical  Pavlovsk.     (Sketch  plan.     C  E.) 186 

ROWBOAT    ON    THE    ElBE.       (C.  E.) 192 

A  Bastion  and   Landing   on  the  Alster  Basin,  Ham- 
burg.    (Sketch  plan.     C  E.) 203 

Parterre  at  Bowood.     (Sketch  plan.     C.  E.)     .     .     .     .     223 
A  Plain  Fence  :   White   Park,  Concord,  New  Hamp- 
shire.    (C.  E.) 230 

A  VERY  LOW  Stone  Bridge,  Ermenonville.     (C  E.)    .     233 
The   Gore   Place,   Waltham,  Massachusetts.     (Sketch 

plan.     C.  E.,  for  "  Garden  and  Forest  ") 241 

The    Cushing-Payson    Place,    Belmont.      (C.    E.,    for 

"  Garden  and  Forest  ") 249 

A  Chateau  with  a  Moat,  Ermenonville.     (C  E.)  .     .     274 
Road  on  a  Steep  Bank,   Irvington-on-Hudson.     (Dia- 
gram.    C.E.) 282 

Dr.  Carroll  Dunham's  Estate  at  Irvington-on-Hud- 
soN,  looking  down    the    Curving  Avenue.     (Sketch 

from  a  photograph) 284 

Diagrams  of  Road-beds.     (C.  E.) 299 

Nahant.     (Sketch  map  reduced  from  a  jjlan  accompanying 

the  Report  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  for  1901)     303 

Old  House,  Towns  End,  Maine.     (C  E.) 315 

Low  Rustic  Bridge,  Ermenonville.     (C.  E.)   ....     350 
A  Public  Square  —  no   direct  Cross-paths.     (Tracing, 

C.  E.) 451 

Pleasure  Grounds  between  Copps  Hill  and  Boston 
Harbor.  (Reduced  from  a  plan  in  Olmsted,  Olmsted  & 
Eliot's  Report  to  the  Boston  Park  Commission,  December, 

1894) 486 

Diagram  illustrating  various  treatments  of  the 
shores  of  Charles  River.  (Reduced  from  a  diagram 
by  Olmsted,  Olmsted  &  Eliot,  in  the  Report  for  1896  of 
the  Cambridge  Park  Commissioners) 592 


CHATILES  ELIOT 

LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECT 


CHARLES  ELIOT 


CHAPTER  I 

INHERITANCES 

He  hears  his  daughter's  voice, 
Singing  in  the  village  choir, 

And  it  makes  his  heart  rejoice. 
It  sounds  to  him  like  her  mother's  voice, 

Singing  in  Paradise!  ^ 

Longfellow. 

Charles  Eliot  was  born  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
on  the  1st  of  November,  1859.  His  father  was  Charles  Wil- 
liam Eliot,  at  that  time  Assistant  Professor  of  Mathematics 
and  Chemistry  in  Harvard  College ;  his  mother  was  Ellen 
Derby  (Peabody)  Eliot,  daughter  of  Ephraim  Peabody,  min- 
ister of  King's  Chapel,  Boston  (1845-1856),  and  Mary  Jane 
(Derby)  Peabody.  His  father  came  from  a  line  of  Boston 
Eliots  who  for  several  generations  had  been  serviceable  and 
influential  people,  and  on  the  maternal  side  from  a  line  of 
Lymans  who  in  three  successive  generations  had  lived  at 
Northampton,  Mass.,  York,  Maine,  and  Waltham,  Mass., 
and  had  iDcen  useful  and  successful  in  life.  On  his  mother's 
side,  his  grandfather  Peabody  (Bowdoin  College,  A.  B., 
1827),  son  of  a  blacksmith  at  Wilton,  N.  H.,  was  a  man  of 
keen  insight,  lofty  character,  and  much  poetic  feeling ;  while 
his  grandmother  was  a  Salem  Derby,  at  a  time  when  that 
family  had  acquired  in  world-wide  commerce  a  wealth  con- 
siderable in  those  days,  —  the  first  quarter  of  the  XlXth 
century.  His  father  and  mother,  and  all  four  of  his  grand- 
parents, were  carefully  educated  persons ;  and  among  his 
progenitors  were  several  men  who  had  been  rich  in  their 
generation,  able  to  support  considerable  establishments,  and 
to  give  their  children  every  accessible  advantage. 

^  The  quotations  at  the  heads  of  chapters  are  taken  from  Charles's  com- 
monplace books,  or  from  poems  he  knew  by  heart. 

0.  H.  Hflt  LIBRARY 
North  Carolina  State  College 


2  INHERITANCES  [1863-8 

It  is  altogether  probable  that  Charles  Eliot's  tastes  for 
out-of-door  nature  and  art  were  in  part  inherited,  for  some 
of  his  ancestors  manifested  in  their  day  dispositions  and  lik- 
ings to  which  his  were  akin.  Among  the  Trustees  of  the 
Massachusetts  Society  for  Promoting  Agriculture,  a  public- 
spirited  body  established  in  1792,  appear  his  great-grand- 
father Theodore  Lyman,  his  great-uncle  George  W.  Lyman, 
and  his  great-great-grandfather  Elias  Hasket  Derby ;  while 
among  the  earliest  mend^ers  of  the  Massachusetts  Horticul- 
tural Society,  which  was  founded  in  1829,  appear  E.  Hersey 
Derby,  of  Salem,  his  grandmother  Peabody's  uncle,  and 
John  Derby,  her  father,  Theodore  Lyman,  his  great-uncle, 
and  Samuel  Atkins  Eliot,  his  grandfather,  Theodore  Lyman 
of  Waltham  ci^eated  one  of  the  handsomest  country-seats 
in  New  England ;  E.  Hersey  Derby  introduced  and  tried 
various  breeds  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine,  and  different 
kinds  of  crops,  hedges,  trees,  and  shrubs  from  foreign  parts 
on  his  beautiful  estate  at  Salem, ^  and  Samuel  A.  Eliot  was 
one  of  the  first  citizens  of  Boston  to  build  a  house  at  the 
seaside  (Nahant)  for  summer  occupation.  In  1825  this 
same  Eliot,  Charles's  grandfather,  planted  the  greater  part 
of  what  has  since  been  known  in  Cambridge  as  the  Norton 
Woods.  Samuel  A.  Eliot's  sister  Catherine  having  married 
Professor  Andrews  Norton,  her  father  pi'ovided  a  handsome 
residence  for  the  newly  married  pair,  and  her  brother  Sam- 
uel, who  had  just  returned  from  a  European  tour,  was  allowed 
to  improve  both  the  house  and  the  grounds.  More  than 
thirty  years  afterwards  he  himself  passed  a  summer  with  his 
family  in  this  sister's  house,  and  wrote  as  follows  to  her 
about  the  result  of  his  efforts  :  "  Being  here  has  reminded 
me  of  the  part  I  had  in  making  it  a  fit  residence  for  you  ; 
and  the  vision  of  the  old  house  fronting  the  wrong  way,  and 
with  its  awkward,  bare,  comfortless  look,  has  come  up  to  me 
strongly  several  times  since  I  have  been  here  ;  and  I  find  it 
hard  to  recollect  how  it  used  to  look,  without  the  trees  of  the 
avenue  and  circle,  which  are  now  so  beautiful,  and  with  a 
garden  full  of  apple-trees  (of  which  I  see  some  still  remain), 
and  without  the  pines  which  make  so  capital  a  screen  on  the 
north  and  west.  My  visions  of  improvement  have  been 
lai'gely  fulfilled."     When  in  after  years  Charles  was  invited 

1  Mr.  Derby's  house  was  a  very  hospitable  one.  There  descended  to 
the  next  generation  a  tablecloth  of  his  which  was  eight  yards  long.  His 
collection  of  books  on  rural  architecture  descended  to  his  graudnephew, 
Robert  S.  Peabody,  architect. 


iET.  4-9]  EARLY  TRAVEL  3 

to  write  accounts  of  some  of  the  finest  American  country-seats 
for  the  weekly  publication  called  "  Garden  and  Forest,"  it 
turned  out  that  of  the  six  places  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  which  he  described,  one  had  been  created  and  an- 
other occupied  by  his  kindred. 

His  training'  in  drawing  and  sketching  began  early.  His 
grandmother  Peabody  had  all  her  life  been  in  the  habit  of 
using  her  pencil,  and  her  two  daughtei's  and  one  of  her  sons 
inherited,  or  imitated,  this  habit.  Ciiarles's  mother  and  her 
sister  Anna  used  both  pencil  and  brush  for  pleasure ;  and 
they  and  their  mother  set  Charles  drawing  and  painting  at  a 
tender  age. 

"  Charley  is  making  us  a  little  visit  just  now.  Mamma 
[grandmother  Peabody]  devotes  herself  [to  him].  They 
paint  from  the  same  picture  pattern,  and  write  letters  at  the 
same  time."  .  .  .  (From  a  note  by  aunt  Anna  H.  Peabod3\) 

His  childhood  was  different  from  that  of  most  American 
children,  in  that  he  had  spent  nearly  three  years  in  Europe 
before  he  was  ten  years  old.  From  the  middle  of  1863 
to  the  middle  of  1805  his  father  and  mother  and  their  two 
little  boys  were  in  Europe  for  the  professional  improvement 
of  his  father ;  and  the  family  were  again  in  Europe  from 
June,  1867,  to  June,  1868,  on  account  of  the  ill-health  of  his 
mother.  During  these  two  periods  Charles  saw  many  of  the 
most  interesting  cities,  and  much  of  the  most  beautiful  scenery 
in  Euro])e.  He  spent  tlie  greater  part  of  one  summer  in 
Switzerland,  and  of  another  in  rural  England  ;  and  he  played 
in  Regent's  Park,  St.  James  Park,  and  Hyde  Pai'k,  London, 
on  the  Champs  Elysees  in  Paris,  in  the  Boboli  Gardens  at 
Florence,  along  the  Philosopher's  Path  at  Heidelberg,  on  the 
Fincian  Hill  at  Rome,  and  the  Hautes  Plantes  at  Pan.  The 
whole  family  enjoyed  visiting  collections  of  animals  ;  so  tliat 
the  boys  became  acquainted  with  the  principal  zoological 
gardens  in  Europe,  and  found  in  them  stores  of  delight.  In 
all  this  foreign  residence  and  travel  Charles  showed  a  good 
sense  of  locality,  a  decided  fondness  for  maps,  and  great 
enjoyment  of  scenery.  His  mother  had  the  keenest  enjoy- 
ment in  travel,  and  Charles  from  childhood  felt  the  same 
pleasurable  excitement  in  change  of  scene,  and  in  the  sight 
of  natural  beauty.  In  1855,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  Ellen 
Derby  Peabody  spent  a  week  at  Niagara  Falls  in  company 
with  some  older  friends,  and  this  is  the  way  in  which  she  de- 
scribed her  enjoyment  of  it :  "I  am  so  hapi:>y,  and  am  enjoy- 
ing it  so  very,  veiy  much  that  I  cannot  help  writing  on  and 
on  to  tell  you  about  it.     I  don't  believe  anybody  ever  enjoyed 


4  INHERITANCES  [1869 

anything  more  in  the  world."  Thirty-one  years  afterwards 
her  son  Charles,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  wrote  thus  to  his 
father  from  Florence,  —  he  had  been  spending  a  month  along 
the  Riviera :  "  I  have  never  been  quite  so  happy  as  I  have 
been  this  past  month.  I  have  been  simply  revelling  in  the 
beauty  of  this  fair  land.  I  think  my  inadequate  journal  must 
have  in  it  some  signs  of  my  great  pleasure  ;  and  now  that  I  am 
come  to  the  city  of  all  others  where  are  works  of  man  which 
partake  of  the  loveliness  of  nature,  —  my  heart  is  more  than 
full  and  I  am  extravagantly  happy." 

His  mother's  delight  in  beautiful  scenery  found  expression 
in  her  letters  whenever  she  was  away  from  home.  Thus,  in 
June,  1858,  when  she  was  just  twenty-two,  she  paid  a  visit 
with  her  sister  Anna  to  some  friends  of  her  father  and 
mother,  who  lived  at  Irvington  on  the  Hudson;  and  this  is 
her  description  of  the  place  :  "  We  arrived  at  this  beauti- 
ful place  just  in  time  to  be  welcomed  by  a  most  glorious 
sunset.  The  river  and  the  hills  were  all  lighted  up  with 
glowing  colors,  and  the  birds  were  singing  their  loudest.  It 
is  a  very  pretty  stone  house  with  piazzas  and  pointed  win- 
dows, and  vines  climbing  all  about  it,  and  trees  all  around, 
and  a  garden  filled  with  roses,  and  certainly  as  beautiful 
views  of  the  river  in  every  direction  as  one  could  well  wish 
for.  It  stands  very  high,  but  it  is  nestled  in  among  the  trees 
so  cosily,  and  if  ever  there  was  a  happy  family,  it  certainly  is 
here.  .  .  .  Such  a  morning  as  we  waked  up  to !  I  would  not 
undertake  to  describe  to  you  all  the  beauties  we  saw  from  our 
window.  Such  an  air,  and  such  a  sky !  The  white  sails 
glancing  in  the  fresh  new  light,  the  river  lying  so  still  and 
calm,  and  the  Palisades  lighted  up  far  down  the  shore  with 
morning  sunshine  !  "  (From  a  letter  written  by  Ellen  Derby 
Peabody  to  Charles  W.  Eliot,  to  whom  she  had  become 
engaged  two  months  before.) 

In  March,  1869,  his  mother  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-three, 
and  soon  after  his  father  was  chosen  President  of  Harvard 
University.  In  September,  1869,  Charles  returned  to  Cam- 
bridge with  his  father  and  younger  brother,  and  the  Presi- 
dent's House  on  Quincy  Street  was  thereafter  his  home  until 
1891.  From  June,  1867,  to  September,  1869,  grandmother 
Peabody  and  aunt  Anna  had  made  one  household  with  the 
Eliots,  and  exercised  a  strong  and  precious  influence  on  the 
two  little  boys.  The  summer  of  1868  was  spent  in  Brookline, 
that  of  1869  at  Chestnut  Hill,  and  that  of  1870  on  Pond 
Street,  Jamaica  Plain.  Wherever  the  family  lived,  Charles 
roamed  the  country. roundabout,  and  learnt  it  by  heart. 


.     CHAPTER  n 

GENERAL  EDUCATION 

Many  gardeners  assume  that  before  beginning  their  plantings  they 
must  dig  up  everything  that  Nature  has  nursed  up  ;  whereas  experi- 
ence proves  that  they  would  accomplish  their  ends  much  sooner  and 
better,  if  they  should  try  to  second  Nature  by  making  slight  changes 
here  and  careful  additions  there.  —  Hikschfeld. 

As  soon  as  the  family  was  again  settled  in  Cambridge, 
Charles  began  to  go  to  school  regularly,  which  had  hardly 
been  possible  before.  He  began  Latin  just  before  he  was  ten 
years  old,  and  in  general  followed  the  usual  course  of  pi-epa- 
ratiou  for  admission  to  Harvard  College.  The  languages, 
except  English,  were  a  trial  to  him,  and  for  mathematics  he 
had  no  special  aptitude ;  but  he  patiently  accomplished  that 
amount  of  work  in  those  subjects  which  was  then  considered 
necessary.  History  was  interesting  to  him ;  and  from  the 
first,  even  before  he  could  use  a  pen  himself,  he  showed  an 
unusual  capacity  for  making  a  clear  and  concise  statement  of 
facts,  or  giving  an  accurate  description.  Here  is  a  short  note 
which  he  dictated  to  his  mother  for  his  aunt  Anna  when  he 
was  five  years  old.  The  dear  aunt  had  been  travelling  with 
the  Eliot  family  in  Europe  during  the  summer,  and  had 
returned  to  America.  "  Dear  Aunt  Anna  :  I  love  you  very 
much.  Papa  tells  me  to  look  at  all  the  donkeys'  and  cows' 
and  horses'  tails,  and  see  if  they  are  just  alike,  or  not.  We 
have  got  a  new  lamp,  and  it  is  tin,  and  papa  tells  me  all 
about  how  it  is  made.  On  my  birthday  morning  I  found 
it  very  hard  to  have  to  sit  in  my  chair  and  eat  my  breakfast, 
because  I  wanted  so  to  get  down,  and  play  with  my  new 
things.  Here  is  a  little  kiss  for  Aunty  Anna  —  O.  I  have 
made  a  windmill  for  you  like  what  we  have  seen  in  the  cars. 
Good-by,  dear  Aunty  Anna  —  I  think  every  night  about  you, 
and  wonder  how  you  are  getting  along  —  Charley." 

Both  Charles  and  his  brother  Samuel  began  early  to  com- 
mit to  memory  hymns  and  other  short  poems;  and  their 
parents  took  pains  that  the  poetry  they  learnt  should  be  worth 
remembering.     Before  Charles  was  fifteen  years  of  age  he 


6  GENERAL   EDUCATION  [1870 

had  in  his  mind  a  considerable  store  of  excellent  verse,  which 
probably  affected  favorably  his  own  style  in  writing  English, 
and  certainly  heightened  his  appreciation  of  rhythm,  melody, 
and  poetic  imagination.  In  a  note  which  Charles  wrote  to 
his  aunt  Anna  in  December,  1869,  when  he  was  ten  years 
old,  he  says :  "  I  have  just  learned  '  The  Village  Black- 
smith '  and  '  The  Rain  '  from  Longfellow,  and  I  am  going 
to  learn  '  How  They  Brought  the  Good  News  from  Ghent  to 
Aix '  from  Browning."  They  both  learnt  early  Bryant's  "  To 
a  Water-Fowl  "  and  "  Not  in  the  solitude  alone  may  man 
commune  with  Heaven  ; "  and  these  two  poems  continued  to 
express  for  Charles  through  all  his  life  much  of  his  own  phi- 
losophy and  religion.  The  first  entry  in  the  commonplace 
book  which  he  began  when  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  except 
a  sort  of  dedication  taken  from  Chaucer,  is  Sir  Henry 
Wotton's  hymn,  "  How  happy  is  he  born  or  taught,"  which 
he  had  learnt  when  a  little  boy. 

The  following  "  composition,"  written  February  19,  1870, 
at  the  school  kept  by  Miss  Sarah  Harte  Page,  further  illus- 
trates his  early  tendency  to  exact  observation  and  descrip- 
tion :  — 

SNOW,    ITS   USES,    AND   THE   SPORTS   IT   GIVES   US. 

Snow  is  solid  water.  Some  times  it  falls  six  inches  thick, 
and  then  it  makes  a  warm  blanket  for  the  earth.  It  is  good 
for  sledding  heavy  things,  like  stone,  and  timber,  and  great 
logs  out  of  the  woods.  The  Esquimaux  build  their  houses 
of  it.  Boys  can  make  a  great  many  things  of  it.  They  can 
build  forts,  and  make  snow-balls.  This  winter  with  Sam's 
help  I  built  a  snow-man  ;  but  just  as  it  was  finished,  it 
tumbled  over  and  broke  all  to  pieces.  I  like  to  coast  very 
much  ;  it  is  good  fun  to  slide  so  fast  over  the  frozen  snow. 
We  also  built  a  fort ;  it  was  on  the  bank  of  our  house, 
and  was  higher  than  my  head,  and  was  very  thick  indeed. 
It  lasted  longer  than  any  of  the  other  snow.  This  last  snow 
we  tried  to  build  another  fort,  but  when  the  rain  came  it  got 
beaten  all  down.  It  was  square,  and  its  walls  were  about  a 
foot  and  a  half  thick  ;  it  was  made  of  lumps  of  snow  all  plas- 
tered together.  I  like  to  see  the  snow-plough  making  paths 
through  the  snow.  The  deeper  the  snow  is  the  more  men 
must  stand  on  the  plough  to  press  it  down. 


iET.  10]  BOOKS  AND  SPORTS  7 

Another  composition,  written  January  21, 1870,  shows  how 
early  his  predilections  for  history  and  natural  history  were 
declared :  — 

A   COMPOSITION   ABOUT  THE    BOOKS   I    LIKE   TO  READ    BEST. 

I  like  to  read  the  Child's  History  of  the  United  States 
very  much  ;  it  is  in  three  volumes,  the  first  is  about  the  dis- 
co veiy  of  America,  and  how  it  was  settled,  the  second  is  about 
the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  the  third  about  the  Rebellion. 
It  has  plans  and  pictures  of  the  battles,  and  is  very  inter- 
esting. I  also  like  the  Natural  History  of  Animals  by  Rev. 
J.  G.  Wood  ;  it  is  illustrated,  and  tells  the  habits,  color,  and 
country  where  they  live,  of  all  the  animals  in  the  world,  I 
should  think.  There  are  accounts  of  adventures  men  have 
had  with  wild  beasts,  and  a  great  many  stories.  Robinson 
Crusoe  is  another  book  I  like  —  how  he  was  wrecked  on  a 
desert  island,  and  fought  the  savages,  and  how  he  did  not  get 
home  for  a  great  many  years.  It  is  very  exciting.  There  is 
one  more  book  that  I  like  very  much,  and  that  is  Frothing- 
ham's  Siege  of  Boston ;  it  has  accounts  of  the  battles  of 
Lexington,  Concord,  and  Bunker  Hill.  I  have  a  great  many 
other  books,  but  the  ones  I  have  mentioned  I  like  best. 

\His  school  work  was  occasionally  interrupted  by  headaches 
and  short  feverish  turns,  which  incapacitated  him  for  a  few 
hours  or  days.  On  this  account,  and  also  because  of  his 
slightness  of  form,  his  father  was  anxious  to  limit  as  much 
as  possible  his  hours  of  indoor  occupation,  and  to  encourage 
him  in  all  sorts  of  out-of-door  sports.  The  two  boys  had  a 
sagacious  and  competent  pony,  that  could  easily  keep  up 
with  their  father's  saddle-horse  ;  and  both  learned  to  ride 
at  an  early  age.  In  a  note  to  his  grandmother  Peabody 
on  January  1,  1871,  Charles  says,  "  Papa  wants  me  to  say 
that  I  can  ride  pretty  well.  I  have  got  a  McClellan  sad- 
dle ;  and  yesterday  the  pony  jumped  a  good  deal,  and  I  did 
not  fall  off.     He  stopped  short,  and  dodged  round  a  cart." 

In  the  summer  of  1870,  when  the  family  were  living  at 
Jamaica  Plain,  the  boys  and  their  playmates  in  the  neighbor- 
hood organized  a  band  called  the  "  Knights  of  the  Woods," 
to  the  imaginative  sports  of  which  their  aunt  Anna  con- 
tributed many  suggestions.  This  society  was  continued  at 
Quincy  Street,  Cambridge,  where  thirteen  boys  were  enlisted. 


8  GENERAL  EDUCATION  [1871 

and  equipped  with  silvered  helmets,  decorated  shields,  and 
wooden  swords  and  spears.  Their  adventures  took  place 
chiefly  in  the  Norton  Woods,  although  their  combats  ex- 
tended to  the  yards  and  interiors  of  their  fathers'  houses. 
By  1872  another  band,  called  the  "  Lances  of  Lancaster," 
was  duly  organized,  and  a  pitched  battle  took  place  in  that 
year  between  the  "  Knights  of  the  Woods  "  and  the  "  Lances 
of  Lancaster."  All  the  Knights  and  Lances  had  names, 
mainly  copied  from  Scott's  novels,  which  the  boys  were  at 
that  time  reading.  These  bands  of  knights  soon  gave  place 
to  the  Quincy  Cricket  Club,  the  Quincy  Telegraph  Company, 
the  Football  Eleven,  the  Society  of  Minerals,  the  Good  Fun 
Club,  and  the  Theatrical  Club,  in  all  of  which  organizations 
Charles  took  active  part,  and  of  all  of  which  he  subsequently 
(1875)  made  systematic  member-lists  which  are  still  pre- 
served. 

In  the  spring  of  1871,  actuated  by  a  desire  to  get  for  their 
families  the  most  thorough  possible  open-air  life  during  the 
summer,  Charles's  father  and  uncle  (Henry  Wilder  Foote, 
minister  of  King's  Chapel,  Boston)  agreed  to  live  together 
in  tents  on  an  island  in  Frenchman's  Bay  (Mount  Desert) 
during  the  larger  part  of  their  vacation.  Mr.  Eliot  provided 
the  sloop  yacht  Jessie,  thirty-three  feet  long,  as  means  of 
transportation  and  of  pleasure  sailing.  The  party  consisted 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Foote  and  their  little  daughter,  Mr.  Eliot 
and  his  two  boys,  a  woman  nurse  and  seamstress,  and  a  man 
cook.  The  sailor  from  the  yacht  gave  assistance  at  the  camp. 
Here  is  a  note  from  Charles  to  his  grandmother,  in  which  he 
describes  the  camp  with  characteristic  precision. 

July  22,  1871. 
Dear  Grandma,  —  I  got  your  letter  this  afternoon,  and 
I  am  sorry  you  are  not  any  better.  Our  Camp  is  on  Calf 
Island  which  is  farther  off  than  Iron-bound,  There  are  four 
tents.  The  tent  Sam,  and  Papa,  and  I  have,  is  the  largest, 
and  has  a  curtain  in  the  middle  to  separate  it,  from  the  Par- 
lor and  Dining-room.  Aunt  Fannie  and  Uncle  Henry  have 
one  tent,  Agnes  and  Mary  another,  and  Kelly  sleeps  in  the 
kitchen.  Here  is  a  plan  of  the  way  our  tents  are  placed  : 
they  are  on  a  peninsula  with  water  all  round  except  to  the 
right,  where  it  broadens  into  an  island.  Kelly  built  the 
arbor  to  wash  dishes  in  and  eat.  We  have  little  beds  with 
rubber  pillows  and  hay  mattresses.     On  the  end  of  the  point 


iET.  11]  CALF  ISLAND  CAAIP 

Door. 


D 


Agnes. 

Aunt 

Fannie. 

D 


is  a  flag-pole  where  we  have  a  flag,  and  sahite  all  the  Boats 
that  go  by.  It  is  foggy  to  day  and  we  cannot  see  Mount 
Desert  at  all. 

Your  affectionate  grandson, 

Charles  Eliot. 

The  camp  described  in  the  above  letter  was  subsequently 
moved  to  a  more  central  position  on  the  island. 

This  way  of  passing  the  summer  in  camping  and  yachting 
combined  was  continued  by  the  family  until  1878  inclusive, 
excepting  the  summer  of  1877.  The  chiklren  began  with 
imaginative  sports  in  the  woods  on  Calf  Island  and  about 
the  puddles  the  tide  left  in  the  gently  sloping  ledges  which 
formed  part  of  its  shores.  They  sailed  their  shingle  boats 
on  the  puddles,  and  imagined  the  sailors,  cargoes,  and  har- 
bors, and  the  lighthouses  and  day-marks  of  the  coast.  They 
had  caches  of  treasures  at  various  mysterious  points  on  that 
larger  half  of  the  island  which  was  wooded,  and  with  the 
help  of  their  elders  they  made  various  beloved  paths  to  at- 
tractive points  of  view.  The  island  was  more  than  a  mile 
long,  had  a  considerable  variety  of  surface  and  of  shore,  and 
commanded  exquisite  views  to  the  northeast,  the  northwest, 
and  the  southwest.  The  children  came  into  close  contact 
with  Nature  in  all  her  various  moods ;  the  rain  beat  loudly 
on  the  tent-flies  right  over  their  heads  ;  the  wind  shook  the 
canvas  shelters  and  threatened  to  prostrate  them,  but  never 
did  ;  the  oxen  —  the  only  other  inhabitants  of  the  island  — 
walked  about  the  tents  in  the  early  morning,  waking  some 
of  the  sleepers  by  their  loud  breathing  ;  the  sun  beat  fiercely 
on  field  and  tents,  but  the  double  roofs  were  always  an  ade- 


10  GENERAL  EDUCATION  [1871 

quate  protection  ;  and  from  the  kitchen-tent  the  cook  produced 
in  all  weathers  the  elements  of  simple  but  delicious  repasts. 
They  learnt  by  experience  that  in  summer  at  least,  health, 
comfort,  and  great  enjoyment  can  be  secured  without  elabo- 
rate apparatus  or  many  costly  possessions,  and  that  the  real 
necessaries  of  healthy  and  happy  existence  in  warm  weather 
are  few. 

In  notes  to  his  aunt  Anna  written  about  this  time  Charles 
mentions  some  of  his  reading  and  other  mental  occupations 
at  Cambridge.  Thus  in  November,  1871,  he  says :  "  We 
write  compositions  in  German  now,  and  read  too.  There  are 
eleven  children  and  fourteen  or  fifteen  ladies  and  gentlemen." 
This  was  a  school  conducted  in  the  so-called  natural  method 
by  Mr.  Theodore  Heness.  In  the  same  note  he  says:  "I 
have  read  the  '  Pathfinder '  and  the  '  Spy  '  lately,  and  I  like 
them  both  very  much.  On  Saturday  we  are  going  to  see 
'  Guy  Mannering '  at  the  Globe.  Sam  and  I  have  read  the 
story."  In  the  following  April,  he  writes :  "  We  acted  our 
play  [Red  Ridinghood  in  German]  last  Friday  at  Mr. 
Houghton's  house  on  Main  Street.  Willie  Putnam  was  a 
dog,  Sam  was  a  young  man  just  married,  George  Dunbar 
was  the  wolf,  and  Charlie  Cole  was  a  robin.  Lulu  Parsons 
was  a  Grandmother,  and  Helen  Hinckley  was  Red  Riding- 
hood.  Harry  Spelman  was  an  old  cross  farmer,  and  I  was 
the  hunter  who  killed  the  wolf.  ...  I  had  to  ask  Red  Rid- 
inghood to  give  me  a  kiss." 

In  the  autumn  of  1871,  when  he  was  only  twelve  years  old, 
Charles  and  his  playmate  George  R.  Agassiz  made  a  plan  of 
the  northwestern  portion  of  the  Norton  estate,  using  a  com- 
pass to  get  the  angles,  and  a  rope  marked  off  in  equal  parts 
by  knots  to  measure  distances,  a  knot  being  the  unit  of 
length.  On  the  map  so  prepared  they  indicated  the  different 
vegetations  which  occurred  in  the  different  parts  of  the  region 
mapped ;  so  that  the  map  showed  the  combination  of  forest 
and  marsh,  the  forest  without  marsh,  the  grassy  portions,  and 
the  small  sandy  desert.  They  then  named  each  district  on 
the  map,  the  boundaries  of  the  districts  being  marked  by  red 
lines.  The  names  of  the  districts  were  Violet,  Pine,  Pond, 
Barn,  Skunk  Cabbage,  Wild  Cherry,  and  the  Desert.  This 
prophetic  plan  was  duly  preserved  by  his  aunt  Anna,  and 
marked  "  C.  Eliot,  twelve  years  old."  At  the  same  age,  after 
his  return  from  the  first  camping  season  at  Calf  Island,  he 
used  to  amuse  himself  by  laying  out  plans  of  imaginary  towns, 
with  their  roads,  water-courses,  houses,  wharves,  and  harbors, 
the  towns  being  always  situated  by  the  sea.     The  slopes  of 


^T.  12]  TOWN  PLANS  —  CRUISING  11 

the  sites  are  always  indicated  by  proper  hatching ;  the  har- 
bors are  invariably  well  protected  from  the  sea  by  islands, 
points,  or  promontories,  and  their  approaches  are  marked  by 
lighthouses  and  buoys.  Three  such  plans  were  preserved  by 
his  aunt  Anna,  and  on  all  three  of  the  plans  public  reserva- 
tions are  indicated.  In  one  sketch  this  reservation  is  called 
"  Public  Land,"  in  the  next  "  Public  Reserve,"  and  in  the 
third  "  Public  Park."  These  labors  were  performed  entirely 
spontaneously  and  in  the  way  of  play ;  but  they  required  a 
good  deal  of  patience.  In  the  largest  of  the  three  plans  the 
sites  of  over  one  hundred  and  forty  buildings  are  indicated, 
beside  wharves  and  quarries.  His  spontaneous  interest  in 
the  subject  was  strong  enough  to  carry  him  through  a  deal  of 
work. 

The  next  year  he  began  to  be  interested  in  house-plans, 
which  he  took  pleasure  in  drawing  with  some  elaboration  and 
DO  little  ingenuity.  In  the  one  plan  which  has  survived,  it  is 
interesting  to  see  that  he  indicated  the  way  in  which  both  the 
front  door  and  the  back  door  should  be  approached  by  the 
driveway.  During  his  professional  life  he  often  had  occasion 
to  say  that  architects  seemed  to  deposit  their  houses  on  the 
ground  without  considering  at  all  how  roads  were  to  be  got  to 
the  entrances. 

In  1871  the  small  sloop  Jessie  was  for  the  children  the 
vehicle  for  half  a  day's  sail  only,  or  for  doing  errands  about 
the  Bay ;  but  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1872  Mr.  Eliot 
had  built  a  family  cruising  sloop  43|  feet  long,  with  a  high 
trunk,  and  room  enough  for  four  adults  and  two  children 
in  the  cabin,  beside  two  men  forward.  Thereafter,  the 
cruises  before  and  after  camping  became  important  to  the 
children,  and  particularly  to  Charles  and  Samuel.  The  Sun- 
shine cruised  in  successive  summers  along  the  shores  of  New 
England  from  Sag  Harbor  and  Fisher's  Island  on  the  west 
to  Eastport  on  the  east,  going  up  the  principal  rivers,  and 
visiting  all  the  bays  and  harbors,  and  many  of  the  outlying 
islands  like  Shelter  Island,  Block  Island,  Nantucket,  the 
Isles  of  Shoals,  Monhegan,  and  Grand  Manan.  Parts  of  the 
coast  were  of  course  visited  many  times.  Thus  Charles  grad- 
ually became  acquainted  with  the  whole  New  England  shore. 
He  acquired  skill  in  the  use  of  charts,  and  of  all  the  other 
aids  to  navigation  which  the  government  publishes,  including 
the  List  of  Lighthouses,  the  List  of  Buoys  and  other  Day- 
marks,  and  the  admirable  Coast  Pilot.  He  also  became  inter- 
ested in  the  history  of  the  coast,  and  in  the  adventures  of  its 


12  GENERAL  EDUCATION  [1873 

early  explorers,  like  Cabot,  Verrazano,  De  Monts,  Cham- 
plain,  Weymouth,  and  Smith.  This  interest  lasted  the  year 
round,  and  gave  direction  to  some  of  his  spontaneous  reading 
at  Cambridge. 

In  1873  the  camp  with  additional  tents  was  pitched  on  the 
island  of  Nonamesset,  Buzzard's  Bay,  instead  of  at  Calf 
Island,  in  order  that  the  children  might  learn  in  the  warmer 
water  south  of  Cape  Cod  how  to  swim  well.  This  island 
adjoins  Naushon,  and  Charles  there  became  familiar  with  the 
Elizabeth  Islands,  and  particularly  with  Naushon,  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  group.  An  acquaintance  with  these  islands 
was  the  more  desirable  because  their  configuration,  soil,  cli- 
mate, and  flora  are  different  from  those  of  the  coast  of  Maine. 
Billy,  the  pony,  and  a  stout  horse  and  wagon  added  to  the 
resources  of  the  party,  Naushon,  unlike  Calf  Island,  being 
large  enough  for  much  delightful  riding  and  driving. 

Charles  had  an  inherited  interest  in  Naushon  ;  for  through 
all  his  mother's  childhood  the  Peabody  family  had  spent  a 
month  there  every  summer  as  guests  of  Governor  Swain,  its 
then  owner ;  and  she  had  the  strongest  affection  for  it.  The 
following  note  written  from  Naushon  by  his  mother  to  her 
Grandmother  Derby  about  1850  shows  what  the  charms  of 
the  island  were  for  the  Peabody  children. 

My  dear  Grandma,  —  We  have  no  time  to  write  at  all 
except  Sundays,  but  then  we  have  nothing  to  do  till  eleven 
o'clock,  when  Papa  reads  a  sermon.  Last  Sunday  I  wrote  a 
good  long  letter  to  Eliza,  and  Anna  wrote  one  to  Aunty.  We 
are  having  a  splendid  time,  riding,  walking,  swimming,  draw- 
ing, fishing,  and  sailing.  I  have  seen  twenty-one  deer,  and 
Anna  has  seen  seventeen.  We  generally  go  to  ride  on  horse- 
back in  the  evening,  and  almost  always  see  one  or  two  deer. 
When  we  get  home,  we  unharness  the  horses,  and  ride  them 
bare-back  to  the  field.  We  have  been  to  bathe  quite  often, 
and  the  waves  have  been  splendid.  Saturday  they  were  so 
high,  they  went  over  Rob's  head  all  the  time.  Since  Cousin 
Annie  Drinker  has  been  here,  we  have  drawn  a  good  deal. 
We  intend  to  finish  our  sketches  with  Cousin  Annie  at  New 
Bedford.  We  have  a  good  many  baskets  of  egg-shell  which 
are  very  pretty.  We  knock  off  the  top  of  the  egg  and  bind 
it  with  ribbon.  We  cover  the  egg-shell  with  the  pith  of 
rushes.  Annie  and  I  have  kept  a  daily  journal,  which  will  be 
very  pleasant  to  look  over.  I  have  a  great  deal  more  to  tell 
you,  but  I  must  save  it  for  another  note,  because  the  mail 


v/v,  .^/L/r.A,  /;/./ 


^T.  13]  JOURNEYS  13 

is  going  now  to  Wood's  Hole.     Please  give  my  best  love  to 
them  all. 

Your  affectionate  granddaughter 

E.  D.  Peabody 

Grandma's  birthday. 

In  the  summer  of  1858  Ellen  Derby  Peabody  and  Charles 
W.  Eliot  spent  a  delightful  week  together  at  Naushon  as 
guests  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  M.  Forbes.  Governor  Swain, 
her  father  Mr.  Peabody,  and  several  friends  who  were  inti- 
mately associated  in  Ellen's  mind  with  the  lovely  island  had 
died,  so  that  sadness  was  mingled  with  the  joys  of  this  visit. 
In  the  following  October,  a  few  days  before  her  marriage, 
Ellen  wrote  as  follows  to  her  betrothed  :  "  Am  I  not  glad  I 
have  had  that  week  at  Naushon  with  you  ?  It  was  a  strange 
kind  of  pleasure  I  had.  It  was  more  a  pleasure  of  memory, 
I  think,  and  the  sharing  with  you  the  pleasures  and  the  feel- 
ings of  years  now  gone,  than  what  we  really  did  and  enjoyed 
now."  Aunt  Anna,  who  had  shared  with  Ellen  every  Nau- 
shon delight,  helped  to  transmit  to  Charles  an  interest  in  the 
island.  Its  hollows  full  of  old  wind-clipped  beeches,  its 
breezy  uplands,  its  sheltered  hai-bor — the  Gutter  —  and  its 
wide  sheep  pastures  were  enjoyed  by  Charles  at  fourteen  as 
they  had  been  by  his  mother  and  aunt  in  their  happy  child- 
hood. 

Between  the  end  of  January,  1874,  and  the  middle  of  the 
following  May,  Charles  made  a  journey  with  his  grand- 
mother Peabody  and  his  aunt  Anna  to  Florida,  and  visited 
also  Savannah  and  Charleston,  his  father  going  to  England 
at  the  same  time.  This  excursion  enabled  him  to  obsei've 
sub-tropical  vegetation,  the  mild  winter  climate  of  the  south 
Atlantic  shore,  a  low-lying  country  without  hills,  and  rivers 
and  creeks  as  unlike  as  possible  those  of  New  England.  It 
distinctly  enlarged  his  experience  of  landscape.  He  was 
encouraged  and  helped  to  draw,  paint,  and  keep  a  journal ; 
and  he  illustrated  the  journal  with  photographs,  cuts,  and 
pen-and-ink  drawings  of  his  own.  One  effect  on  his  mind  is 
brought  out  in  a  letter  he  wrote  his  grandmother  the  follow- 
ing September  from  Maplewood,  in  the  AVhite  Mountains. 
"  Bethlehem,  I  think,  is  very  beautiful  indeed.  I  have  a  very 
pretty  view  out  of  my  window  across  a  wide  valley  with  dis- 
tant blue  hills  in  the  background.  There  is  a  swift  little 
river  in  the  valley  which,  like  all  the  streams  here,  have  very 
rocky  beds.     I  like  the  streams  and  brooks  very  much ;  they 


14  GENERAL  EDUCATION  [1875 

are  so  swift,  and  seem  so  jolly  and  frisky,  —  much  nicer  than 
the  sluggish  Southern  streams." 

In  the  next  spring  he  took  a  different  kind  of  journey, 
which  again  enlarged  his  observation  of  scenery.  He  de- 
scribed it  on  a  postal  card  written  to  his  aunt  Anna,  then 
become  Mrs.  Henry  W.  Bellows.  "  May  14,  1875.  Papa 
and  I  are  on  a  journey  with  Jack  in  the  buggy.  We  left 
Cambridge  at  3.30  Thursday,  and  drove  througli  Waltham, 
Weston,  Wayland,  and  Sudbury,  to  Maynard,  formerly  As- 
sabet,  where  we  arrived  at  6.45,  and  put  up  at  the  only  hotel. 
This  morning,  came  through  Stow,  Bolton,  between  Lancas- 
ter and  Clinton,  to  Sterling,  where,  as  the  hotel  was  closed, 
we  had  dinner  at  a  Mr.  Merriam's  at  12.  At  1.30  left 
again,  and  came  on  to  Pi-inceton,  arriving  here  at  3.15, 
twenty-four  hours  from  home,  forty-three  miles,  about.  We 
have  had  splendid  weather,  and  the  horse  gets  on  very  well. 
We  go  home  by  Leominster,  Plarvard,  and  Concord,  to  get 
home  Monday  to  tea."  That  little  journey  showed  him  some 
of  the  fairest  of  the  New  England  towns  at  the  apple-blossom 
season. 

By  1875  Charles  took  up  a  sport  which  had  an  important 
bearing  on  his  professional  career.  It  was  suggested  to  him 
by  his  father,  who  had  got  much  pleasure  from  it  when  a  boy 
himself.  In  company  with  two  or  three  other  boys,  Charles 
would  take  the  steam-cars  or  horse-cars  to  some  convenient 
point  of  departure  within  easy  reach  of  Cambridge,  and  then 
walk  from  five  to  ten  miles  cross  country  to  another  point 
whence  there  was  railroad  communication  to  Boston  or  Cam- 
bridge. These  excursions  always  took  half  a  day,  and  some- 
times more,  and  it  was  part  of  the  fun  to  take  luncheon  or 
supper  in  the  open  air  on  the  way.  At  that  time  there  were 
no  contour  maps  of  the  vicinity  of  Boston ;  so  that,  in  making 
plans  for  walks,  Charles  had  only  the  guidance  of  the  com- 
mon maps  which  showed  the  roads,  water-courses,  and  rail- 
roads, and,  in  a  rough  way,  the  hills.  From  such  maps  of 
the  region  round  Boston  Charles  would  make  beforehand  a 
small  tracing  covering  the  particular  portion  which  he  pro- 
posed to  explore,  and  this  tracing,  which  was  seldom  more 
than  six  inches  square,  he  carried  in  his  vest  pocket  on  each 
walk.  On  every  such  map  he  put  a  scale,  and  for  his  guid- 
ance he  carried  a  pocket  compass.  As  Charles  made  all  the 
preparations  for  such  walks,  he  was  invariably  the  guide. 
This  sport,  which  he  followed  for  years,  made  him  familiar 
with  the  whole  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  "  Metropolitan 
District"  round   Boston,   and,  moreover,   afforded   a  good 


^T.  16]  CROSS  COUNTRY  WALKS  15 

training  in  discerning  the  lay  of  land,  picking  out  the  land- 
marks, and  finding  a  way  over  or  round  obstacles.  In  a 
note-book  for  1878  he  made  a  "partial  list  of  Saturday  walks 
before  1878."  There  are  sixteen  walks  enumerated,  and 
they  stretch  from  Quincy  on  the  south  of  Boston  to  Lynn  on 
the  north.  No  better  preparation  in  youth  for  some  of  his 
most  important  work  as  a  man  could  possibly  have  been  de- 
vised ;  but  all  was  done  without  the  least  anticipation  of  his 
future  profession.  It  was  to  him  just  an  interesting  though 
laborious  play. 

Tliere  was  another  kind  of  research  which  interested  both 
the  boys  before  they  went  to  college,  namely,  the  identifica- 
tion of  the  localities  mentioned  in  such  books  as  Frothing- 
ham's  "  Siege  of  Boston  "  and  Drake's  "  Historic  Mansions  of 
Middlesex."  They  sought  for  all  the  sites  and  structures 
mentioned  by  these  authors,  which  had  not  been  completely 
obliterated  by  streets  and  buildings,  and  became  acquainted 
with  all  such  relics  of  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  times  in 
and  about  Boston. 

All  this  time  he  was  getting  on  at  school  with  what  were 
then  the  regular  studies  for  his  age.  He  writes  to  his  aunt 
Anna  in  December,  1875  :  "  My  school  I  like  moderately; 
go  at  8.30,  get  out  at  1.30;  and  I  am  studying  Latin,  Latin 
composition,  algebra,  and  Harvard  examination  papers  in 
arithmetic.  I  begin  Ovid  to-morrow.  There  are  some  good 
fellows  at  school ;  but  I  never  see  them  except  in  school 
hours.  I  ride  often,  but  the  best  fun  is  the  telegraph  line 
which  I  joined  about  a  month  ago,  and  the  drawing  class 
Tuesdays  and  Fridays."  This  drawing  class  was  conducted 
by  Mr.  Charles  H.  Moore,  afterwards  instructor  and  pro- 
fessor in  Harvard  College.  A  year  later  he  speaks  of  this 
drawing  again  :  "  November  25,  1876.  I  am  having  draw- 
ing lessons  four  hours  a  week  from  Mr.  Moore.  The  last 
things  I  have  done  are  a  twig  in  profile  and  also  the  same 
foreshortened.  I  have  been  in  to  Uncle  Bob's  [Robert  S. 
Peabody,  architect],  and  he  has  given  me  a  whole  set  of 
plans,  elevations,  etc.,  to  copy.  I  trace  them  on  tracing  cloth 
in  India  ink  with  bow  pens,  and  color  them,  and  put  in  all 
the  dimensions,  etc."  He  was  at  this  time  seventeen  years 
old.  In  a  note  a  few  weeks  earlier  than  that  from  which  the 
last  quotation  was  taken,  he  writes  to  his  aunt  Anna :  "  I 
am  going  to  Mr.  Kendall's  school,  as  I  did  last  year,  and  at 
present  I  am  studying  the  following  subjects :  Virgil,  one 
hundred  lines  daily ;  Ovid,  last  review,  seventy-five  lines 
daily;  Caesar,  last  review,  three   paragraphs   daily;  Greek 


16  GENERAL  EDUCATION  [1877 

grammar  or  Greek  composition,  daily ;  algebra,  last  review, 
daily ;  arithmetic,  one  examination  paper  a  week ;  geometry, 
last  review,  twice  a  week;  Roman  history  on  Saturday; 
Botany  on  Saturday  ;  Latin  composition,  three  times  a  week. 
'  Last  review  '  means  that  I  am  going  over  it  the  last  time 
before  the  examination  for  College  next  spring."  He  never 
really  enjoyed  his  school  work  ;  but  he  liked  the  master,  Mr. 
Joshua  Kendall,  and  he  made  two  valued  friends  there,  — 
Roland  Thaxter  and  John  H.  Storer.  He  was  never  con- 
fident of  success  in  his  studies ;  so  that  when  in  June,  1877, 
he  passed  the  preliminary  examinations  for  admission  to 
Harvard  College  in  seven  subjects,  it  was  a  great  surprise  to 
him.  He  was  diffident  and  sensitive,  and  found  it  difficult 
to  express  his  feelings,  though  they  burned  within.  In  the 
next  house  but  one  to  the  President's  house  on  Quincy  Street 
lived  the  family  of  Professor  Lane,  whose  children,  one  son 
and  two  daughters,  were  not  far  removed  from  Charles  in 
age.  The  companionship  of  these  merry  and  sympathetic 
children  was  a  real  source  of  happiness  to  Charles,  who  was 
often  lonely  and  tended  to  be  down-hearted. 

At  this  time,  there  was  no  feminine  influence  in  his  home ; 
his  dear  aunt  Anna  was  living  in  New  York ;  grandmother 
Eliot  had  died ;  his  Eliot  aunts  were  all  married,  and  no 
one  of  them  lived  in  Cambridge  ;  and  grandmother  Peabody 
was  crippled  by  rheumatic  gout  and  could  never  come  to 
Cambridge,  though  her  house  in  Boston  was  always  open  to 
Charles  and  Samuel,  who  went  thither  at  least  once  a  week. 
Then  his  father  and  brother  had  very  different  temperaments 
from  his.  They  were  sanguine,  confident,  content  with  pre- 
sent action,  and  little  given  to  contemplation  of  either  the 
past  or  the  future ;  Charles  was  reticent,  self-distrustful, 
speculative,  and  dissatisfied  with  his  actual  work,  though 
faithful  and  patient  in  studies  which  did  not  interest  him  or 
open  to  him  intellectual  pleasures. 

In  July,  1877,  his  father  was  engaged  to  Grace  Mellen 
Hopkinson  of  Cambridge.  Charles  heard  the  news  from 
his  father  with  calmness  but  without  pleasure ;  and  all  sum- 
mer long,  though  he  was  yachting  on  his  beloved  Sunshine, 
he  was  not  cheerful,  though  well  in  body.  When  the  mar- 
riage took  place  at  the  end  of  the  following  October,  and 
"  mother  "  —  as  the  boys  soon  called  her  —  came  to  live  in 
the  President's  house,  Charles  was  pleasant  and  interested, 
but  did  not  at  once  open  his  heart  to  her,  and  claim  her  sym- 
pathy and  affection.  It  was  not  till  four  years  later  that  an 
intimate  and  tender  relation  was  established  between  these 


^T.  17]  COLLEGE  —  YACHTING  17 

two,  a  delightful  intimacy  never  afterwards  interrupted  for  a 
moment. 

He  rode  much  on  horseback  during  the  year  1877-78,  and 
was  active  in  the  "  Game  Club,"  which  successfully  produced 
in  the  spring  a  little  play  called  "  Andromeda."  With  the 
springtime  of  1878  a  great  delight  in  natural  scenery  awoke 
in  him,  a  conscious  love  of  buds  and  blossoms,  rocks,  sky, 
and  sea ;  and  in  after  j^ears  he  recalled  this  s])ring  as  an 
epoch  in  his  reflective  life.  In  June  he  was  admitted  to 
Harvard  College,  and  much  to  his  surprise  with  only  two  in- 
considerable "  conditions,"  namely,  Greek  graumiar  and 
composition. 

At  that  date  the  Freshman  year  in  Harvard  College  was  a 
year  of  required  studies,  and  these  studies  were  little  else 
than  a  continuation  of  his  uncongenial  school  studies.  He 
therefore  got  little  pleasure  from  his  regular  work  ;  but  he 
persevered  with  it,  and  finished  the  year  clear  of  all  condi- 
tions. He  did,  however,  record  a  thanksgiving  that  his 
"  classical  education  "  was  at  last  ended.  He  had  a  room  in 
the  "  Yard  "  and  took  his  meals  at  Memorial  Hall,  coming 
home  for  Sundays,  like  students  whose  families  did  not  live 
in  Cambridge,  but  yet  were  not  so  far  away  as  to  make  a 
weekly  visit  impossible. 

His  summer  yachting  was  an  important  element  in  Charles's 
education;  and  in  particular  the  Sunshine  gave  him  good 
training  in  writing  condensed  English.  It  was  the  custom 
to  keep  a  log  on  board  the  boat,  mentioning  the  weather, 
the  winds,  and  the  chief  events  of  each  day.  Charles  was 
always  a  careful  reader  and  critic  of  the  log.  Moreover  he 
acquired  the  habit  of  reading  all  the  year  round  the  brief 
accounts  of  marine  disasters  which  appeared  almost  daily  in 
the  newspaper  taken  by  the  family,  accounts  which  were 
usually  extracts  from  the  logs  of  the  vessels  concerned,  or 
were  furnished  by  their  masters.  As  a  rule,  no  words  are 
wasted  in  log-books.  The  first  time  that  he  kept  the  log 
himself  was  in  1876,  when  he  was  nearly  seventeen  years  old. 
In  the  following  extract  from  the  log  of  the  Sunshine  in  that 
summer,  the  first  two  days  were  written  by  his  father,  the 
rest  by  Charles.  The  extract  will  serve  to  show  the  mode  of 
life  on  the  yacht,  and  the  interest  it  had  for  the  two  boys 
and  their  friends.  One  or  two  boy  friends  and  one  older 
guest  were  genei-ally  on  board  during  cruising.  On  July 
25th  the  yacht  was  at  Boothbay,  Maine :  — 

July  25.     Calm.     Waiting  for  J.  E.  Cabot  who  did  not 


18  GENERAL  EDUCATION  [1876 

arrive.  Telegraphing.  In  p.  m.  with  fresh  S.  W.  ran  up 
Muscongus  Sound  (visited  New  Harbor  and  Round  Pond) 
to  Hockamock  Channel. 

July  26.  Still.  Variable.  Showers.  Wind.  Ran  by 
Gull  and  Friendship  Islands,  and  Herring  Gut  entrance  to 
Rockland.  Beat  through  Muscle  Ridge  Channel.  F.  G. 
Peabody  joined.     In  evening  to  Rockport. 

July  27.  With  a  light  breeze,  across  West  Penobscot 
Bay  to  Gilkey's  Harbor,  C.  E.,  R.  W.  G.,  and  C.  W.  E. 
climbing  the  hill  of  700-Acre  Island.  Thence  to  Belfast. 
Thence  with  a  fresh  S.  E.  wind  up  the  Penobscot  as  far  as 
Bucksport.     Mounted  the  hill  by  the  Seminary  in  evening. 

July  28.  Up  river  to  Bangor,  a  cracking  S.  E.  wind  all 
the  way.  Anchored  off  the  Kenduskeag  at  11  A.  m.,  but 
later  hauled  in  to  the  Brewer  wharves  to  avoid  tide  and 
steamers.  Explored  the  city  of  sawmills  and  enjoyed  view 
from  hill  back  of  Seminary. 

July  29.  R.  W.  G.  took  steamer  to  Boston.  A  drizzling 
mist  all  day.  Down  river  as  far  as  Winterport,  stopping  at 
Hampden  to  visit  sawmills  and  wait  for  tide.  Climbed  the 
Winterport  hill  in  evening  to  the  beautiful  Soldiers'  Monu- 
ment. 

July  30.  Dropped  down  river  with  early  tide  and  fanned 
over  to  Castine  by  noon.  Walked  to  the  forts  in  P.  M.  Sun- 
day School  concert  at  church  in  evening. 

July  31.  Rainy  and  calm  all  day.  Lay  at  Castine  till 
3  P.  M.,  then  with  tide  and  light  air  reached  Cape  Rosier. 
Found  good  bottom  in  Cove,  and  anchored  after  a  fine  sun- 
set. Visited  the  lone  house  near  by,  and  talked  with  intelli- 
gent father  of  seventeen  children. 

August  1.  Cloudless  and  lovely  morning  with  light  north- 
erly air.  Ran  very  slowly  across  to  North  Harbor,  N.  W. 
side  of  N.  Haven  Island.  Thence  through  "  Leadbetters 
Narrows  "  and  "  The  Reach  "  to  Carver's  Harbor,  sweeping 
her  through  "  The  Reach  "  at  its  narrowest  part.  Rambled 
over  the  quarries,  and  watched  the  polishing  of  granite. 

Aug.  2.  Early  start.  Very  little  wind.  Inside  Brim- 
stone Island  to  Isle  au  Haut.  Climbed  the  highest  hill  to 
Coast    Survey   Beacon,    and   piled   stones   to   guide   future 


^T.  16] 


KEEPING  THE  LOG 


19 


comers.     After  dinner,  with  fine  breeze,  beat  through 

chant's  Row,"  but  wind 

failed    before    reaching 

"  Burnt   Coat  Harbor," 

and  it  was  another  ease 

of  sweeps  and  towing. 

Aug.  3.  Beat  out  the 
narrow  E.  entrance  of 
"Burnt  Coat"  with  very 
light  air,  past  Long  Is- 
land and  by  Long  Ledge 
Buoy  up  Somes  Sound. 
Fine  run  up  the  Sound. 
Shopping  at  Somesville. 
Beat  down  the  Sound, 
and  being  caught  by 
flood  tide  and  cahn  an- 
chored off  Fernaki's 
Point.  Mounted  Fer- 
nald's  Hill  [Flying  Mt.] 
in  evening.  Superb  view. 

Aug.  4.  Got  under 
way  at  about  9  a.  m. 
Light  air  to  Great  Head, 
then  more  breeze,  and 
took  in  topsail.  Arrived 
at  Bar  Harbor  at  11.45. 
In  p.  M.  took  aboard 
Ernest  Lovering  and 
Willie  Thayer,  visited 
Calf  Island  and  an- 
chored at  Point  Harbor 
[Sorrento]. 


Mei 


::.rj 


Off  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 


A  certain  felicity  of  expression  is  already  apparent,  and 
particularly  his  choice  of  simple  words  that  fit. 

As  the  Sunshine  was  constantly  visiting  bays,  rivers,  and 
harbors  previously  unknown  to  all  on  board,  and  as  It  was 
not  her  custom  to  take  a  pilot,  she  was  directed  by  the  ad- 
mirable charts  and  Coast-pilots  published  by  the  U.  S.  Coast 


20 


GENERAL  EDUCATION 


[1877 


Survey.  In  the  use  and  application  of  these  guides  Charles 
early  became  an  adept.  When  the  yacht  was  approaching 
an  unknown  passage  or  entrance,  and  it  was  desirable  to 
recognize  the  guiding  features  of  the  land,  Charles  was 
quicker  than  anybody  else  on  board  to  discern  the  char- 
acteristic hill,  headland,  promontory,  or  island  from  com- 
parison with  the  contour  charts,  or  with  the  profiles  and 
descriptions  of  the  Pilot.  He  soon  learned  to  conceive  from 
the  contour  lines  the  aspect  of  the  land  represented,  as  it 
would  appear  on  his  line  of  approach.  This  practice  culti- 
vated his  perception  of  the  main  features  of  scenery,  and 
made  easy  his  subsequent  professional  use  of  surveyors'  plans 
and  contour  maps.  In  yachting  Charles  had  the  habit  of 
sketching  objects  which  interested  him,  such  as  lighthouses, 
wharves,  old  houses,  or  outlines  of  hills.  Reproductions  of  a 
few  of  his  sketches  are  placed  on  this  page  and  page  19. 


A  Pier  at  Newport. 


The  accompanying  profile  of  the  Mt.  Desert  hills,  taken  from 
an  island  lying  about  nine  miles  south  of  the  Mt.  Desert 
shore  under  Sargent  Mountain,  fairly  illustrates  the  accuracy 


2  - 


S  .^* 


I"    S  I 

-     if 


^T.  17]  IN  THE  BAY  OF  FUNDY  21 

of  his  boyish  work.  In  another  respect  this  summer  mode 
of  life  cultivated  his  natural  tendency  to  an  admiring  obser- 
vation of  nature.  His  watchfulness  of  the  weather  on  the 
yacht  and  in  camp  contributed  to  the  development  of  his 
maturer  keen  enjoyment  of  the  different  aspects  of  the  sky. 

In  1877  Charles  kept  the  log  altogether,  and  in  that  year 
and  often  thereafter  he  was  the  captain  on  board,  giving  all 
orders  concerning  destination,  navigation,  and  piloting.  In 
September,  1880,  he  was  captain  during  a  cruise  from  Mt. 
Desert  to  Eastport  and  back  to  Boston,  a  cruise  during  which 
he  encountered  fogs,  storms,  the  rushing  tides  of  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  and  heavy  seas,  but  also  enjoyed  much  fine  weather. 
This  cruise  lasted  about  four  weeks.  The  following  extract 
from  the  log-book  will  show  what  the  captain's  responsibili- 
ties and  pleasures  were.  The  yacht  had  been  weather-bound 
for  two  days  at  Grand  Manan  in  a  northeaster  :  — 

Sept.  12th.  Hauled  out  from  the  wharf  at  6.45  a.m. 
Mr.  Gaskell  would  take  no  wharfage  money.  With  a  little 
N.  W.  air  we  got  under  way  at  7.30  o'clock  bound  for  Bos- 
ton. Stood  close  under  Swallowtail,  and  also  followed  the 
shore  close  under  the  Six  Days  Work,  and  Ashburton  and 
Bishop  Heads.  When  the  tide  began  to  flood  we  were 
becalmed,  and  consequently  were  drifted  much  up  the  bay. 
With  some  little  S.  W.  airs  we  stood  over  to  the  N.  and 
made  the  shore  of  Campobello  Island  about  midway  of  its 
length.  The  air  grew  thicker  and  thicker,  until  about  noon 
the  fog-whistles  at  Quoddy  and  N.  Head  began  to  blow.  At 
last  a  respectable  S.  AV.  arose  and  we  made  N.  Head  at  about 
2.30  o'clock.  Here  we  tacked  and  laid  the  course  for  Quoddy 
Head.  The  tide  began  to  ebb  about  4.30,  but  C.  E.  was  un- 
willing to  try  a  night  outside,  and  so  at  5  p.  m.  we  anchored 
in  Quoddy  Roads.  After  an  early  supper  the  cabin  party 
got  milk  and  water  ashore  at  Mr.  Wormell's  house. 

Sept.  13th.  At  about  7  o'clock  got  under  way  with  a  good 
S.  by  W.  wind.  Sky  was  pretty  clear  at  this  time,  but  about 
8,  when  we  were  laying  our  course  alongshore,  a  very  wet  fog 
surrounded  us  very  suddenly.  We  made  the  land  2  or  3 
times,  and  C.  E.  made  up  his  mind  to  get  into  Little  River  if 
he  could  find  the  entrance.  We  tried  to  make  Little  River 
Head,  but  on  hearing  the  fog  bell  at  Little  River  Light  we 
headed  for  that.     Here  the  fog  cleared  up  somewhat,  and 


22  GENERAL  EDUCATION  [1880 

C.  E.  changed  his  mind  and  kept  on.  At  9.15  breakfasted. 
Took  a  long  tack  outside  of  Libby  Island,  which  we  had 
abeam  at  noon,  and  stood  towai-ds  Mark  Island  of  Moos-a-bec 
Reach.  The  island  was  not  to  be  seen  owing  to  a  fog  bank 
which  began  to  envelop  us  when  we  were  S.  by  E.  from  the 
Brothers.  C.  E.  gave  up  trying  to  make  the  Beach,  and  kept 
off,  passing  the  Brothers  at  about  1  P.  M.  The  fog  was  not 
very  thick,  and  we  followed  up  Roques  Island,  and  anchored 
in  Shorey's  Cove  at  about  2  p.  m.  Dined.  During  the  rest 
of  the  day  the  fog  was  thick  and  the  winds  very  variable. 
Whist,  etc.,  in  the  evening,  and  boat-racing  in  the  P.  M. 
S.  A.  E.  and  deW.  beat  R.  T.  and  C.  E.,  and  William  and 
Orrin.  (For  some  information  about  the  E.  entrance  to 
Englishman's  Bay,  see  C.  E.'s  journal.) 

Sept.  14th.  Much  rain  last  night :  very  calm  this  morn- 
ing. Sky  looking  very  rainy.  At  9  there  came  a  little  air 
from  S.  E.,  and  we  got  under  way  with  gafftopsail  set,  and 
stood  down  to  the  first  black  buoy  in  Moos-a-bec  Reach, 
around  which  we  turned,  and  after  crossing  the  Bar  with  a 
fair  tide,  we  anchored  in  Jonesport  at  11  o'clock.  Got  some 
provisions  ashore,  and  mailed  letters.  At  a  quarter  to  12  we 
were  off  again  with  a  very  gentle  N.  E.  wind  and  in  a  heavy 
rain.  Passed  slowly  through  the  Reach  and  down  to  Nash 
Island  Light,  which  we  passed  at  3.45  o'clock.  Here  C.  E. 
gave  up  getting  around  Petit  Manan  and  headed  for  Shipstern 
Island,  the  most  western  land  to  be  seen.  Soon  Pond  Island 
appeared  through  the  rain,  and  we  ran  in  past  its  northern 
end.  The  sky  now  began  to  look  windy,  and  we  took  in  the 
topsail.  Passed  slowly  into  Pigeon  Hill  Bay  between  Cur- 
rant Island  and  Big  Pea  Ledge,  and  anchored  under  Pigeon 
Hill,  just  N.  of  Chitman's  Point,  at  5  P.  m.  C.  E.  got  milk 
ashore  on  the  Point.  At  about  9  p.  m.  got  out  the  second 
anchor,  the  N.  E.  wind  having  begun  to  blow  quite  furiously. 

Sept.  15th.  We  anchored  in  2.^  fathoms  yesterday  after- 
noon, but  at  3  o'clock  this  morning  C.  E.  found  the  yacht 
aground  and  the  wind  blowing  a  gale.  The  bottom  all  over 
the  Bay  is  level  and  eel-grassy,  and  it  being  low  tide  the 
ledges  around  the  Big  Pea  kept  off  all  the  sea.  About  3  ft. 
of  water  was  around  the  yacht  at  this  time.     Knowing  that 


^T.  20]  SEPTEMBER  CRUISING  23 

at  high  tide  the  riding  would  be  pretty  hard,  C.  E.  had  the 
big  mooring  hoisted  out  and  prepared.  At  breakfast  time 
(9.30)  the  yacht  was  riding  pretty  easily  at  2  anchors,  the 
tide  was  high,  and  the  wind  blowing  very  hard  indeed  from 
N.  E.  At  1  o'clock  the  wind  went  down  somewhat,  but  the 
heavy  rain  continued  all  day.  A.  Thorudike  departed  for 
home  via  Mill-bridge. 

Sept.  IGth.  A  doubtful  looking  morning.  Wind  light 
S.  W.  Much  low  cloud  driving  over  our  heads  towards  the 
N.  E.  Breakfasted  at  7  a.  m.  and  soon  after  8  got  under 
way.  The  tide  was  nearly  high,  but  still  rising,  the  wind 
ahead.  We  beat  down  Pigeon  Hill  Bay,  paying  close  atten- 
tion to  the  Pilot's  description  of  the  dangers,  none  of  which 
are  marked.  Took  one  tack  close  to  Boisbubert  Ledge,  which 
was  just  awash.  Stood  towards  Petit  Manan,  leaving  the 
AMiale,  where  the  sea  was  combing,  to  the  eastward.  Crossed 
Petit  Manan  outer  bar  at  about  10.15  o'clock,  having  a  strong 
ebb  tide  in  our  favor.  A  big  rip  all  along  the  bar.  Fetched 
Moulton's  Rock  on  the  same  tack  as  that  on  which  we  crossed 
the  bar,  and  then  stood  off  shore.  When,  at  11.10  A.  M., 
Petit  ]\Ianan  bore  E.  by  N.  ^  N.,  we  tacked  and  laid  a  course 
outside  of  Schoodic  Island.  Passed  the  island  at  11.55,  and 
continuing  across  the  mouth  of  Frenchman's  Bay  on  the  same 
tack  we  passed  Bunker's  Ledge  at  1.20.  Great  fog  banks 
enveloped  Mt.  Desert,  and  stretched  away  down  along  the 
mainland  to  the  eastward.  Abreast  of  Sutton  Island  we  ran 
into  this  fog  region  ;  and  thence  into  S.  W.  harbor,  where  we 
anchored  at  about  2  o'x-lock ;  -we  had  a  very  wet  time  of  it. 
S.  A.  E.  went  to  the  P.  O.,  and  C.  E.  to  the  store.  The 
barometer  was  now  very  low,  having  been  falling  constantly 
since  the  beginning  of  the  last  N.  E.  storm,  and  C.  E.  was 
doubtful  about  putting  to  sea  again.  However,  we  got  up  sail 
again  at  3.45,  and  beat  out  the  Western  Way  with  a  good 
breeze  from  S.  W.  by  W.  Some  very  dark  clouds  came  over 
us,  and  once  or  twice  we  got  heavy  showers  of  rain.  Had  to 
take  2  tacks  to  weather  Bass  Harbor  Head,  and  then  put 
into  the  harbor,  where  we  anchored  at  6  P.  M.  The  sky  was 
very  handsome  during  most  of  the  afternoon,  with  great 
rolling  clouds,  and  now  and  then  a  rift  showing  the  sunlit 


24  GENERAL  EDUCATION  [1880 

blue  above.     A  Fusion  celebration  took  place  ashore  in  the 
evening. 

Besides  keeping  the  log,  Charles  also  kept  a  journal 
throughout  the  summer  of  1880,  in  which  he  entered  many 
particulars  about  anchorages,  provision-stores,  approaches  to 
harbors,  geological  features,  and  hospitalities  given  and  re- 
ceived. So  he  got  much  practice  in  good  writing  during  this 
summer.  He  had  so  much  to  record  that  his  constant  effort 
was  to  write  concisely. 

Between  seventeen  and  twenty-one  Charles  suffered  a  good 
deal  at  times  from  that  mental  and  moral  struggle,  that  ques- 
tioning of  self  and  the  world,  which  all  thoughtful  and  reserved 
boys,  who  have  a  good  deal  in  them,  have  to  pass  through. 
They  become  aware  that  they  are  thinking  and  responsible 
beings,  and  find  themselves  forced  to  consider  questions  of 
conscience,  faith,  and  love,  and  the  meaning  of  life  and  death. 
Sudden  floods  of  emotion  overwhelm  them,  and  seasons  of 
uncontrollable  doubt,  misgiving,  and  sadness  distress  them. 
The  struggle  is  apt  to  be  a  lonely  one.  Nobody  will  or  can 
answer  their  deeper  questions.  "  I  have  trodden  the  wine- 
press alone."  The  struggle  in  Charles's  mind  was  intensified 
and  prolonged  by  the  nature  of  his  voluntary  reading.  He 
read  much  in  Emerson,  Carlyle,  and  Goethe  ;  in  Mill,  Ruskin, 
Spencer,  Lecky,  and  Buckle  ;  in  Huxley,  Tyndall,  Wallace, 
and  Darwin  ;  and  in  Lyell,  Le  Conte,  Geikie,  and  Lubbock. 
He  preferred  poetry  and  history  to  fiction  ;  and  in  all  three 
of  these  realms  of  thought  he  was  more  open  to  the  sad  than 
to  the  cheerful  aspects  of  life.  He  "  browsed  "  in  the  ori- 
ginal texts  of  Schiller,  Lessing,  Rousseau,  Montaigne,  and 
Victor  Hugo,  and  in  translations  of  Plato,  Herodotus,  Lucre- 
tius, Plutarch,  Dante,  and  Boccaccio.  George  Eliot  had  a 
strong  influence  on  him.  He  kept  a  commonplace  book  for 
a  time  while  in  college,  and  the  headings  in  this  book  suggest 
the  seriousness  of  his  meditations.  They  are :  Duty ;  The 
Law  of  Righteousness  ;  Materialism  versus  Idealism  ;  Belief 
in  Dogma ;  Maggie  TuUiver ;  The  Moral  Law ;  Darwin's 
Theory  of  Morals  ;  Art  and  Morality  ;  Beauty  and  Goodness  ; 
the  Pursuit  of  the  Highest ;  The  Beautiful  and  the  Useful ; 
Religion  ;  Measure  not  with  Words  the  Immeasurable  ;  Will ; 
Virtue  and  Vice  ;  The  Eternal  Life  of  Humanity.  In  this 
book  he  entered  extracts  from  most  of  the  authors  above  men- 
tioned, and  also  from  James  Russell  Lowell,  John  Robert 
Seeley,  Geoi'ge  Henry  Lewes,  Charles  Eliot  Norton,  Edwin 
Arnold,  Arthur  Hugh  Clough,  John  Fiske,  David  Friedrich 


^T.  20]  CAMP  CHAMPLAIN  25 

Strauss,  and  William  B.  Carpenter.  It  chanced  that  two  of 
his  most  intimate  friends  at  this  period  were  young  men  of  a 
temperament  similar  to  his  own  ;  so  that  his  converse  with 
them  did  not  tend  to  counteract  the  depressing  effects  of 
much  of  his  reading  and  meditation.  At  home,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  influences  about  him  were  wholesome  and  cheerful, 
particularly  after  the  summer  of  1877 ;  but  even  there  he 
sometimes  felt  lonesome  or  "  left  out." 

In  the  spring  of  1880  his  father  and  mother  decided  to 
spend  the  summer  of  that  year  in  Europe,  and  the  question 
arose  how  Charles  and  Samuel  should  pass  the  vacation. 
Thereupon  Charles  organized  a  party  of  friends,  all  of  whom 
were  college  students,  to  make  use  of  the  Sunshine  and 
the  camping  outfit  at  Mt.  Desert  during  the  summer.  With 
slight  assistance  from  his  father  he  made  the  whole  plan,  and 
put  it  into  execution  himself.  He  invited  twelve  persons  to 
become  members  of  a  club,  and  at  a  second  meeting  of  the 
persons  thus  invited,  eleven  men  agreed  "  to  spend  at  least 
the  number  of  weeks  set  against  their  names  at  the  camp  of 
which  Charles  Eliot  is  to  be  director,"  two  persons  agreeing 
to  stay  eight  weeks,  one  six,  four  four,  one  three,  and  three 
two.  It  was  an  important  element  of  the  plan  that  each 
member  of  the  party  should  do  some  work  in  a  branch  of 
natural  science.  There  was  a  "  primary  assessment  of  three 
dollars  per  week  of  stay,"  payable  in  advance.  An  ad- 
ditioual  assessment  was  levied  on  each  person  actually  in 
camp  each  week.  The  number  in  camp  at  any  one  time 
varied  from  four  to  eight,  the  commonest  number  being  six. 
The  assignment  of  scientific  subjects  to  the  members  of  the 
club  in  1880  included  geology,  ornithology,  marine  inver- 
tebrates, meteorology,  botany,  entomology,  ichthyology,  and 
photography ;  and  some  work  was  done  in  every  one  of  these 
subjects.  Charles  selected  the  place  of  encampment,  man- 
aged the  camp,  gave  all  directions  about  the  use  of  the  yacht, 
and  kept  the  accounts ;  and  the  successful  exercise  of  these 
functions  had  a  considerable  influence  on  the  development  of 
his  character.  The  camp  was  pitched  on  July  5th  in  a  beau- 
tiful position  on  the  east  side  of  Somes's  Sound,  a  little  to 
the  north  of  the  house  of  Mr.  Asa  Smallidge,  and  opposite 
Flying  Mountain  and  the  cliff  of  Dog  Mountain  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  Sound.  A  clear  and  abundant  brook  which 
descended  from  Brown's  Mountain  just  north  of  the  camp 
furnished  an  excellent  supply  of  water.  The  Sunshine  was 
moored  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  cove  just  off  the  camp.  This 
camp  was  maintained  till  August  25th,  when  the  party  dis- 


26:  GENERAL  EDUCATION  [1881 

persed.  The  geological  work  of  the  party  was  much  aided 
by  a  short  visit  in  August  from  Professor  Davis  of  Harvard 
College.  Of  the  young  men  who  took  part  in  this  camp,  one 
turned  out  to  be  a  landscape  architect,  one  a  professor  of 
cryptogamic  botany,  and  one  a  physician,  while  two  others, 
who  are  lawyers  by  profession,  retain  keen  interest  in  their 
respective  subjects,  and  have  an  ample  amateur  knowledge  of 
them. 

The  Champlain  Society,  as  the  club  was  called  in  honor  of 
Samuel  de  Champlain  who  named  Mt.  Desert,  was  main- 
tained for  several  years,  and  two  scientific  publications  re- 
sulted from  it,  one,  an  "  Outline  of  the  Geology  of  Mount 
Desert,"  by  Professor  William  M.  Davis,  and  the  other,  a 
book  on  the  "  Flora  of  Mount  Desert,  Maine,"  by  Edward 
L.  Rand  and  John  H.  Redfield.  The  Society  held  occa- 
sional meetings  in  Cambridge  during  the  winters,  at  which 
papers  were  read  by  various  members  on  their  several  spe- 
cialties. In  1881  the  camp  was  pitched  again  in  the  same 
place,  and  was  carried  on  under  Charles's  direction  during 
that  summer  much  as  before,  though  it  was  not  continued 
after  the  13th  of  August.  The  Society  conducted  a  camp 
again  in  the  summer  of  1882,  but  not  under  the  direction  of 
Charles  Eliot. 

This  experience  in  the  summers  of  1880  and  1881  was 
very  serviceable  to  Charles.  He  found  that  he  could  plan 
and  perform  executive  work,  exercise  authority  over  a  con- 
siderable party,  some  of  whom  were  older  than  himself,  and 
do  business  and  give  orders  in  a  manner  which  satisfied 
the  interested  persons,  and  led  to  success  in  a  somewhat 
complicated  undertaking.  He  saw  that  his  authority  was 
respected,  and  that  the  participants  all  enjoyed  the  camp 
and  did  some  serious  work.  His  previous  experience  on  the 
yacht  of  course  helped  him  in  the  camp  ;  but  the  camp  was 
decidedly  the  more  complex  and  difficult  thing  to  manage. 
At  the  time  of  the  first  camp,  he  had  just  finished  his  Junior 
year  in  college.  It  will  subsequently  appear  that  the  plan  of 
this  enterprise  resembled  in  certain  respects  plans  he  after- 
ward made  for  work  in  connection  with  the  Metropolitan 
Parks  about  Boston.  He  began  to  exhibit  at  this  time  a 
quality  which  was  of  great  value  to  him  in  his  professional 
life,  —  he  showed  that  decision,  and  that  persistence  in  a 
plan  once  conceived,  which  prevent  waste  of  time  for  subor- 
dinates. 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  increase  of  self-confidence  which 
came  to  him  from  these  summer  camps  of  1880  and  1881,  he 


\  *  h 


\;:%  J  i! 


_.     \ 


ra 


^'^Cim  ^ 


'^'■^;|l 


^T.  21]  THE   HOUSE  AT  MT.   DESERT  27 

remembered  in  after  years  that  when  camp  broke  up  in 
August,  1881,  and  he  joined  his  father  and  mother  in  their 
new  house  at  Northeast  Harbor,  he  there  had  days  of  min- 
gled exaltation  and  dejection.  A  flood  of  thought  and  feel- 
ing, such  as  he  had  never  experienced  before,  swept  over 
him.  His  head  was  full  of  memories  and  dreams,  of  fearful 
hopes,  dreads,  and  pains ;  the  beauty  and  the  wonder  of 
God's  earthly  paradise  burst  upon  him  like  a  holy  vision,  and 
the  depths  of  the  hell  on  earth  opened  at  his  feet. 

The  new  house  at  Mt.  Desert  had  resulted  from  his  advice. 
When  his  father  and  mother  returned  from  Europe  in  late 
September,  1880,  Charles  said  to  them :  "  If  you  really  wish 
to  build  a  house  at  Mt.  Desert,  you  had  better  examine  the 
coast  from  our  camp-ground  on  Somes's  Sound  to  Seal  Har- 
bor. Somewhere  on  that  line  you  will  find  a  site  that  will 
suit  you,  — a  site  with  beautiful  views  of  sea  and  hills,  good 
anchorage,  fine  rocks  and  beach,  and  no  flats."  The  father 
and  mother  followed  his  directions  in  October,  explored  the 
shore  he  had  indicated,  —  on  which  at  that  time  not  a  single 
summer  residence  had  been  built,  —  and  found  a  site  of  rare 
beauty  on  which  the  new  house  was  built  in  the  spring  and 
summer  of  1881.  From  that  good  planting  came  much  sub- 
sequent delight  to  three  generations  of  Charles's  kindred  and 
friends,  the  older,  his  own,  and  the  younger.  From  the  new 
house,  at  the  end  of  that  season,  Charles  sailed  away  in  the 
Sunshine  to  return  to  college  work.  It  happened  that  his 
mother  stayed  on  through  October  at  Northeast  Harbor ;  and 
from  Cambridge  Charles  wrote  her  letters  expressing  the 
strongest  affection  and  gratitude.  The  following  is  an  ex- 
tract from  one  of  tliese  delightful  letters  :  — 

My  dear  Mother  :  This  is  the  second  Sunday  that  we  've 
been  away  from  you.  I  met  father  this  morning  before 
church,  and  said,  "  Is  n't  this  a  wretched  business,  this  leaving 
mother  down  East?"  and  he  said  it  was  a  total  failure,  and 
that  he  should  never  do  so  again.  .  .  .  You  asked  me  the 
other  day  if  I  did  n't  find  it  interesting  to  be  growing  up, 
and  I  must  say  that  I  do  find  it  so,  —  very,  —  and  I  'm  par- 
ticularly glad  to  find  one  thing,  —  that  I  am  growing  (though 
only  little  by  little)  out  of  my  habit  of  shrinking  from  show- 
ing my  feelings.  .  .  .  I  've  come  to  see  what  a  blessed  and 
h olpful  thing  real  human  sympathy  can  be,  and  what  a  terri- 
ble loss  it  is  to  live  without  it.    If  Mamma  had  lived,  perhaps 


28  GENERAL  EDUCATION  [1881-2 

I  should  never  have  formed  this  shrinking  habit,  for  I  cer- 
tainly should  have  continued  to  go  to  her  with  all  my  joys 
and  troubles.  As  it  is,  I  know  that  most  people,  judging 
from  my  conduct,  think  me  indifferent,  unenthusiastic ;  but 
the  fact  is  that  I  have  felt  the  enthusiasm,  though  I  have  n't 
shown  it.  Though  I  have  enjoyed  your  singing  as  I  have 
enjoyed  nothing  else,  ever  since  I  first  heard  you  in  Phillips 
Place,  it  was  only  the  other  day  that  I  began  to  show  you 
this ;  and  now,  somehow,  it  adds  greatly  to  my  pleasure  in 
your  singing  to  know  that  you  know  that  I  enjoy  it  with  you. 
.  .  .  Grandma  Peabody  wrote  to  me  when  you  were  engaged 
to  father,  —  "  How  delightful  it  will  be  when  a  sweet  lady 
takes  you  into  her  heart,  sympathizes  with  your  pleasures  and 
your  cares,"  —  and  now  I  'm  so  glad  to  have  found  this  delight 
that  I  can't  help  telling  the  sweet  lady  of  it. 

His  Senior  year  was  somewhat  clouded  by  uncertainty 
about  his  profession.  His  choice  of  electives,  during  the 
three  years  when  election  was  permitted,  was  as  follows :  In 
the  Sophomore  year,  physical  geography  under  Professor 
Davis ;  descriptive  chemistry  with  laboratory  work  under 
Professor  Jackson  ;  the  principles  of  design  under  Professor 
Moore,  with  much  drawing  in  pencil,  ink,  sepia,  and  water 
colors  ;  and  a  rapid  reading  course  in  German.  All  these 
studies  he  found  interesting  and  good.  The  required  themes 
and  rhetoric  he  did  not  enjoy.  For  his  Junior  year  he  chose 
qualitative  analysis  under  Professor  H.  B.  Hill ;  Renaissance 
and  Gothic  art  under  Professor  Norton ;  the  constitutional 
history  of  England  and  the  United  States  under  Professor 
Macvane ;  and  a  second  rapid  reading  course  in  German. 
Forensics  he  liked  better  than  themes ;  but  still  required 
writing  was  not  agreeable  to  him.  In  his  Senior  year  he 
took  Professor  Norton's  course  on  the  history  of  ancient  art ; 
a  course  with  Professor  Dunbar  on  political  economy ;  a 
course  in  mineralogy  with  much  laboratory  work  ;  and  a 
rapid  reading  course  in  French.  All  his  electives  he  liked 
well ;  but  he  succeeded  best  in  fine  arts,  science,  history,  and 
forensics.  He  arrived  at  the  end  of  his  Senior  year  without 
having  any  distinct  vision  of  the  profession  which  awaited 
him,  neither  he  nor  his  father  having  perceived  his  special 
gifts.  Nevertheless,  it  turned  out,  after  he  had  settled  with 
joy  on  his  profession,  that,  if  he  had  known  at  the  beginning 
of  his  Sophomore  year  what  his  profession  was  to  be,  he  could 


iET.  22]  CHOICE   OF   STUDIES  29 

not  have  selected  his  studies  better  than  he  did  with  only  the 
guidance  of  his  likings  and  natural  interests.  He  took  dur- 
ing his  last  three  years  in  college  all  the  courses  in  fine  arts 
which  were  open  to  him  ;  he  subsequently  found  his  French 
and  German  indispensable  for  wide  reading  in  the  best  litera- 
ture of  his  profession  ;  his  studies  in  science  supplied  both 
training  and  information  appropriate  to  his  calling  ;  and  his- 
tory and  political  economy  were  useful  to  him  as  culture 
studies  and  for  their  social  bearings.  In  the  year  of  his 
graduation  Charles  pasted  into  one  of  his  scrap-books  these 
two  lines  from  the  "  Taming  of  the  Shrew : "  — 

"  No  profit  grows  where  is  no  pleasure  ta'en  ;  — 
In  brief,  sir,  study  what  you  most  affect," 

—  an  admirable  bit  of  educational  philosophy.  One  of  his 
Senior  forensics  was  written  on  the  question :  "Is  college 
life  so  far  analogous  to  that  of  the  world  at  large  that  the 
conditions  of  success  are  the  same  ?  "  It  begins  as  follows  : 
"  I  want  to  define,  for  the  purposes  of  this  discussion,  the  word 
'  success.'  I  define  success  in  college  to  be  the  attainment  of 
two  things,  namely,  high  standing  as  a  scholar,  and  influence 
as  an  example  of  right  living.  I  define  success  in  the  world 
at  large  to  be  the  attainment  of  a  sufficient  competency,  com- 
bined with  the  largest  amount  of  usefulness  to  one's  fellow- 
men."  These  two  definitions  are  both  different  from  the 
common  ;  they  combine  a  direct  practical  quality  with  social 
idealism.  He  seemed  while  in  college  to  have  no  desire 
whatever  for  either  sociability  or  popularity.  He  had  a  few 
intimates  and  a  few  more  acquaintances  ;  but  apparently  no 
desire  for  the  society  of  a  large  number  of  his  fellows.  He 
was  physically  incompetent  for  the  competitive  athletic  sports. 
He  was  asked  to  join  both  the  Hasty  Pudding  Club  and  the 
Pi  Eta  Society,  but  declined  the  invitation  to  the  latter,  and 
did  not  rectify  a  misunderstanding  about  his  invitation  to  the 
former.  Most  of  his  classmates  knew  him  only  by  sight. 
He  went  his  way  comparatively  alone  in  a  crowd,  and  when 
he  graduated,  neither  he  nor  his  classmates  knew  what  there 
was  in  him. 

In  the  early  winter  of  1881-82  his  digestion  was  some- 
what disturbed,  and  he  had  more  headache  than  usual.  As 
a  precautionary  measure,  he  and  his  mother  made  an  enjoy- 
able journey  to  Canada  in  December.  While  he  was  thus 
absent  his  father  wrote  to  him  as  follows  :  "  I  hope  you  will 
not  feel  in  haste  to  get  through  with  your  education,  your 
'  infancy,'  or  period  of  training.    There  is  no  reason  why  you 


30  GENERAL  EDUCATION  [1882 

should,  and  I  want  you  to  enjoy  a  sense  of  ease  and  calm  in 
that  matter.  It  would  suit  me  excellent  well  if  you  should 
quietly  study  for  an  A.  M.  next  year,  or  should  spend  a  year 
in  study  and  reading  without  aiming  at  a  degree  at  all.  If 
you  would  like  to  have  two  Senior  years  and  take  your  A.  B. 
in  1883,  I  should  be  entirely  content.  You  need  not  feel 
that  you  ought  to  be  earning  your  living,  or  doing  something 
in  the  actual  market-place.  That  will  come  soon  enough. 
There  are  fields  of  knowledge  and  philosophy  which  you  have 
hardly  set  foot  in.  Take  time  to  view  them  with  a  disen- 
gaged mind.  The  sense  of  being  driven  or  hurried  is  very 
disagreeable  to  you  ;  then  arrange  your  life  so  that  you  can- 
not be  driven  or  hurried.  Nothing  in  the  way  of  college 
rank  or  college  degree  is  of  consequence  enough  to  cause  you 
the  loss  of  enjoyment  in  study  and  of  tranquillity  of  mind.  I 
want  you  to  have  an  intellectual  delight  in  study  for  the 
study's  sake.  You  have  had  a  large  mental  growth  during 
the  past  two  years,  but  have  not  been  as  happy  in  it  as  I 
would  like  to  have  you.  For  the  rest  of  your  infancy  —  and 
do  not  shorten  it  —  seek  quiet  and  cultivate  contentment." 
This  letter  shows  that  his  father  had  no  vision  of  the  calling 
which  Charles  was  so  soon  to  enter  upon. 

During  his  Senior  year  the  indigestion  from  which  Charles 
occasionally  suffered  of  course  affected  his  spirits.  It  caused 
some  palpitation  of  the  heart,  and  a  painful  sort  of  nervous- 
ness. Once  or  twice  he  came  near  giving  up  college  work. 
The  struggle  was  hardest  in  the  spring  months,  when  he 
longed  to  be  in  the  open  air  all  the  time.  By  means  of  short 
absences  from  Cambridge  and  a  careful  use  of  some  free 
hours  in  each  day  for  out-of-door  exercise,  he  got  through 
the  year.  He  made  visits  at  the  Thaxter  place  near  Kit- 
tery,  at  Mt.  Desert,  and  at  Washington,  beside  taking  the 
Quebec  journey.  By  these  means  he  managed  to  keep  at 
work,  and  near  the  end  of  June  he  passed  his  examinations 
successfully,  and  in  due  course  received  the  degree  of  Bach- 
elor of  Arts  cum  laude.  As  soon  as  his  examinations  were 
over,  without  waiting  for  Class  Day  or  Commencement,  he 
started  for  Mt.  Desert,  putting  a  horse  and  light  wagon, 
which  were  to  be  transported  to  the  Mt.  Desert  house,  on 
board  the  Bangor  boat,  landing  at  Bucksport,  and  driving 
thence,  via  Ellsworth,  to  Northeast  Harbor.  His  comment 
on  this  drive,  made  to  his  friend  Thaxter,  is  as  follows  :  "  A 
very  beautiful  road.  Woods,  big  hills,  and  many  lakes  and 
ponds.  Everything  very  fresh  and  green.  Apjdes  in  blos- 
som, and  corn  about  four  inches  up." 


22] 


GRADUATION 


31 


So  ended  his  general  education.  Regarded  as  undesigned 
preparation  for  his  profession,  his  plays,  sports,  and  com- 
pletely voluntary  labors  had  obviously  been  quite  as  impor- 
tant as  the  systematic  work  of  school  and  college. 


Prudence  Island  Light,  Narragansett  Bay. 


CHAPTER  III 

PROFESSIONAL  TRAINING  —  APPRENTICESHIP 

Whatever  contributes  to  better  determine  or  to  emphasize  natural 
character  is  a  resource  of  the  art  of  landscape  ;  whatever  destroys, 
enfeebles,  or  confuses  that  character  the  art  forbids.  —  Hirschfeld. 

Charles's  ichoice  of  profession  was  practically  made  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1882, ,  which  he  spent  at  Mt.  Desert, 
partly  on  shore  and  partly  on  the  Sunshine.  The  Cham- 
plain  Society  conducted  its  summer  campaign  in  a  somewhat 
different  manner  from  that  of  1880  and  1881.  In  those  two 
years  they  had  not  succeeded  in  extending  their  explorations 
all  over  the  island.  They  had  skirted  its  whole  shore,  and 
had  explored  thoroughly  the  regions  within  convenient  walk- 
ing distance  of  the  camp.  In  1882  they  engaged  a  number 
of  houses  in  different  parts  of  the  island  where  the  mem- 
bers could  pass  the  night  or  get  meals ;  so  that  they  could 
conveniently  travel  on  foot  all  about  the  island,  and  cover 
the  whole  ground  for  geological  and  botanical  exploration. 
Charles  was  again  much  interested  in  the  work  of  the  So- 
ciety ;  but  did  not  live  much  at  the  camp,  the  new  house 
being  close  by,  and  the  Sunshine  being  an  appendage  of 
the  house.  During  this  summer  Charles  decided  on  the  first 
step  towards  his  profession,  not  without  much  consultation 
with  his  father,  but  still  on  his  own  responsibility,  and  as  a 
result  of  his  own  reflection  on  the  modes  of  life  which  were 
possible  and  desirable  for  him.  He  proceeded  by  the  method 
of  elimination,  and  rejected  one  after  another  of  the  common 
professions.  Next  he  decided  that  there  was  no  form  of  ordi- 
nary business  which  had  the  least  attraction  for  him.  Hav- 
ing established  these  comprehensive  negative  propositions,  he 
asked  himself,  and  his  father  asked  him,  what  he  would 
best  like  to  do  in  the  world.  His  uncle  Robert  S.  Peabody 
was  well  established  in  Boston  as  an  architect ;  and  through 
him  Charles  had  heard  something  of  landscape  architecture, 
because  Mr.  Peabody  was  a  near  neighbor  of  Mr.  Frederick 
Law  Olmsted  in  Brookline,  and  from  time  to  time  had  pro- 
fessional relations  with  him.      The  Boston  Department  of 


^T.23]  AT  THE  BUSSEY  INSTITUTION  33 

Parks  was  already  eight  years  old,  and  its  great  services  to 
the  public  were  beginning  to  be  manifest.  The  occupation 
of  the  landscape  architect  was  probably  one  which  not  only 
permitted  but  required  a  good  deal  of  open-air  life  ;  and 
its  studies  and  its  results  seemed  to  fall  in  with  Charles's 
natural  tastes  and  desires.  Before  the  end  of  September  he 
had  decided  to  try  to  prepare  himself  for  that  profession ; 
although  as  yet  he  had  no  very  distinct  idea  of  its  func- 
tions and  prospects.  This  preliminary  decision  once  reached, 
he  and  his  father  both  began  to  perceive  how  clearly  his 
whole  education  and  experience  up  to  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  pointed  to  this  occupation.  On  his  return  from  Mt. 
Desert,  he  forthwith  entered  the  Bussey  Institution,  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  and  Horticulture  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity. 

In  a  letter  to  Roland  Thaxter  dated  October  15th,  Charles 
thus  describes  his  first  experience  at  the  Bussey  Institution : 

I  am  at  the  Bussey,  and  find  it  very  interesting  —  quite 
different  from  college.  We  are  a  class  of  five,  with  five 
instructors,  —  Storer  (agricultural  chemistry),  very  interest- 
ing; Watson  (horticulture),  lectures  and  garden  and  green- 
house work,  also  interesting ;  Slade  (applied  zoology),  anat- 
omy of  domestic  animals,  with  dissecting,  etc.,  —  pretty  dry 
at  present,  the  subject  being  bones ;  Faxon  (applied  botany) 
has  not  appeared  yet,  but  will  no  doubt  be  interesting ;  Bur- 
gess (applied  entomology)  does  not  begin  till  the  second 
half  year ;  Motley  (farm  management),  a  queer  old  fellow 
who  lectures  and  takes  us  on  excursions  once  a  week  ;  Dean 
(topographical  surveying),  a  course  given  at  Cambridge 
which  only  three  of  us  take.  The  practical  gardening  work 
is  entertaining  and  tiresome  at  once,  and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  the  surveying.  Mr.  Storer  is  a  very  able  lectui-er, 
and  ought  to  have  a  class  of  a  hundred  men  at  least. 

At  this  time  the  profession  of  landscape  architecture  was 
hardly  recognized  in  the  United  States,  and  there  was  no 
regular  process  of  preparing  for  it.  There  was  no  estab- 
lished school  for  the  profession  in  any  American  university, 
and,  indeed,  not  even  a  single  course  of  instruction  which 
dealt  with  the  art  of  improving  landscape  for  human  use  and 
enjoyment,  or  with  the  practical  methods  of  creating  and 
improving   gardens,   country-seats,  and   public   parks.     The 


34  APPRENTICESHIP  [1883 

course  of  instruction  at  the  Bussey  Institution  did,  however, 
deal  both  theoretically  and  practically  with  several  subjects 
of  fundamental  importance  in  the  landscape  art,  and  sup- 
plied the  best  preliminary  training  for  the  profession  which 
was  then  accessible ;  although  it  offered  nothing  on  the  artis- 
tic side  of  large-scale  landscape  work. 

The  Bussey  Institution  is  situated  on  a  magnificent  estate 
southwest  from  Boston  proper,  and  seven  miles  from  the 
Cambridge  site  of  the  University.  For  greater  convenience 
of  access  to  the  Institution,  Charles  spent  the  fall  and  winter 
of  1882-83  partly  at  the  house  of  one  of  his  Eliot  aunts 
(Mrs.  Charles  E.  Guild),  which  was  near  the  Bussey  Institu- 
tion, and  partly  at  his  grandmother  Peabody's  in  Boston. 
Mrs.  Guild's  house  commanded  a  charming  view  of  the  Great 
Blue  Hill,  and  was  close  to  the  beautiful  region  which  after- 
wards became  Franklin  Park.  The  variety  of  places  about 
Boston  in  which  Charles  lived  at  one  time  or  another  was  an 
important  element  in  his  preparation  for  some  of  his  best 
professional  work  in  after  years.  During  the  winter  his 
father  had  opportunities  at  the  Saturday  Club  of  talking  with 
Mr.  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  about  the  means  of  preparing 
a  young  man  for  Mr.  Olmsted's  profession ;  and  Professor 
Norton,  who  had  formed  a  good  opinion  of  Charles's  capacity, 
had  also  opportunities  of  interesting  Mr.  Olmsted  in  him. 
Finally,  on  the  22d  of  April,  1883,  his  uncle,  Robert  S. 
Peabody,  introduced  him  to  Mr.  Olmsted  at  Brookline. 
There  resulted  from  this  interview  an  invitation  for  Charles 
to  enter  Mr.  Olmsted's  office  as  an  apprentice,  an  invitation 
which  Charles  promptly  accepted ;  for  Mr.  Olmsted  was  at 
the  head  of  his  profession,  and  had  had  a  hand  in  almost 
every  considerable  park-work  that  had  been  attempted  in  the 
country.  He  had  at  the  time  a  large  business  in  landscape 
designing  of  many  kinds,  both  public  and  private.  By  the 
29th  of  April  Charles  was  established  in  Mr.  Olmsted's  office, 
and  on  that  day  he  set  out  with  Mr.  Olmsted  on  a  short  jour- 
ney of  work-inspection.  His  courses  at  the  Bussey  Institu- 
tion were  thus  somewhat  abruptly  interrupted ;  but  he  had 
already  got  from  them  much  valuable  information,  and  he 
had  assured  himself  that  he  wished  to  be  a  landscape  archi- 
tect ;  for  he  found  attractive  and  interesting  all  the  various 
knowledges  which  contributed  to  the  practice  of  that  profes- 
sion. 

Mr.  Olmsted  was  sixty  years  old,  and  not  very  strong  in 
body ;  so  that  it  was  well  for  him  to  be  accompanied  on  his 
frequent  journeys  by  a  young  man  who  could  relieve  him  of 


iET.  23]  VISITING  WORKS  IN  PROGRESS  35 

all  care  in  travelling,  and  could  make  notes  and  write  letters 
for  him.  Charles  writes  on  May  13th  to  his  friend  Thaxter  : 
"  I  am  to  go  about  with  Mr.  Olmsted,  and  am  expected  to 
gather  the  principles  and  the  practice  of  the  profession  in  the 
course  of  this  going.  I  am  to  be  of  what  service  I  can,  and 
this,  if  I  am  to  judge  by  ten  days'  experience,  will  consist 
chiefly  in* doing  draughtsman's  work,  making  working-draw- 
ings from  preliminary  design-plans,  etc.  I  have  already  had 
a  little  journey  with  Mr.  Olmsted  to  Newport  and  Provi- 
dence, and  learned  much  and  enjoyed  more.  I  exj^ect  to  give 
two  years  to  this  apprentice  education,  and  then  hope  to 
study  and  travel  abroad.  I  have  a  high  idea  of  what  a  land- 
scape architect  should  be,  and  a  high  ideal  of  what  his  art 
should  be ;  and  you  may  believe  that  I  was  highly  excited  by 
this  sudden  plunge  into  the  midst  of  things.  The  world  says 
I  am  a  lucky  fellow,  and  congratulates  me  on  all  sides." 

Charles  kept  an  interesting  record  of  his  various  trips  with 
Mr.  Olmsted  and  other  persons  connected  with  the  firm,  a 
record  which  shows  how  very  instructive  to  him  were  these 
opportunities  of  observing  work  in  progress.  The  work  which 
Mr.  Olmsted  had  in  hand  at  that  time  was  of  great  variety. 
Thus,  on  the  first  excursion  Charles  made  with  Mr.  Olmsted, 
they  visited  the  Town  Hall  of  North  Easton,  Mass.  (by  H.  H. 
Richardson),  which  is  set  on  craggy  rocks  made  apparently 
higher  by  removing  earth  at  the  base.  Broad,  easy  flights 
of  steps  with  ample  landings,  and  well  fitted  to  the  jutting 
ledges,  lead  up  to  the  main  door  of  the  hall ;  a  natural  growth 
of  deciduous  wood  flanks  the  building  on  the  uphill  side  ; 
while  the  pockets  in  the  rocks  about  the  building  are  planted 
with  Honeysuckles,  Prostrate  Juniper,  Yucca,  and  Sedums. 
A  remarkable  soldiers'  monument  (of  the  Civil  War)  stands 
before  the  hall  at  a  meeting  of  three  roads.  It  consists  of  an 
irregular  pile  of  large  boulders  brought  together  from  far 
and  near,  and  forming  a  sort  of  cairn,  on  the  highest  point  of 
which  is  a  flagstaff.  Every  chink  in  the  pile  is  crammed  with 
peaty  soil,  and  about  the  foot  of  the  higher  rock-walls  runs  a 
deep  bed  of  rich  earth.  Here  were  planted  Kalmias,  Andro- 
medas,  Rhodoras,  Daphnes,  wild  Roses,  and  Honeysuckles, 
the  tallest  plants  in  the  rear  of  the  bed.  From  North  Easton 
they  went  to  a  Newport  estate,  which  was  originally  a  com- 
pletely bare  field  at  the  end  of  a  point  commanding  a  wide 
sea-view.  Here  Charles  records  that  the  bare  and  gentle 
slope  from  the  house  to  the  shore  is  to  be  left  entirely  un- 
planted,  since  any  elaborate  gardening  or  planting  would  be 
utterly  inappropriate.     Another  estate   in   Newport   in   the 


36  APPRENTICESHIP  [1883 

older  part  of  the  city  was  to  be  improved  by  Mr.  Olmsted  by 
removing  trees  from  the  old  neglected  plantations,  and  de- 
veloping the  principal  lawn.  A  walling-off  of  a  kitchen  and 
stable  court  was  earnestly  recommended  by  Mr.  Olmsted. 
Thence  they  went  to  Providence  to  study  a  design  for  grounds 
about  a  new  suburban  mansion  set  in  one  corner  of  what  had 
been  a  large  village  lot.  Here  the  gardener  was  instructed 
to  plant,  always  irregularly,  three  or  four  of  the  to-be-large 
trees  together,  all  but  one  of  which  were  to  come  out  by  and 
by  ;  to  mix  shrubs  with  the  trees  ;  to  use  shrubs  to  break  the 
edges  of  the  plantations ;  and  to  see  that  there  were  no  sharp 
lines  between  groups  of  this  and  groups  of  that.  All  the 
walls  about  the  estate  were  to  be  vine-clad  —  English  Ivy 
on  the  shady  side  of  the  house  and  in  other  sunless  corners, 
Virginia  Creeper  on  the  brick  walls,  and  Japanese  Ivy  on  the 
stone  posts.  One  can  easily  see  how  instructive  and  interest- 
ing such  days  as  these  were  to  the  receptive  disciple. 

Shortly  after  this  excursion  Charles  spent  a  delightful  day 
with  Mr.  Olmsted  on  Cushing's  Island  in  Portland  Harbor, 
Mr.  Olmsted  having  been  called  on  to  advise  the  owners  of 
the  island  about  laying  it  out  as  a  seashore  resort.  Mr. 
Olmsted's  advice  included  the  enlargement  of  the  brick  hotel ; 
the  reservation  of  a  considerable  area  near  it  for  hotel  cot- 
tages ;  the  making  of  play-grounds  for  common  use  by  all  the 
island  people ;  the  laying  out  of  about  fifty  house-lots  on 
the  island,  small  on  the  landward  and  smooth  part  of  the 
island,  larger  on  the  ocean  shore  where  the  building  sites  are 
finest ;  the  reservation  of  White  Head  at  one  end  of  the 
island,  and  of  the  southwest  point  at  the  other  end,  these  two 
to  be  connected  by  a  wide  strip  down  the  middle  of  the  island 
along  the  highest  ridge,  whence  views  can  be  had  in  both 
directions  at  once.  The  whole  shore  was  to  be  common  to 
all  the  inhabitants.  The  SiJruces  on  the  island  being  badly 
blighted,  Mr.  Olmsted  recommended  that  Pine  seed  should  be 
sown  among  the  dying  Spruces,  so  as  to  have  a  growth  to 
fall  back  on,  when  the  Spruces  should  necessarily  be  removed. 
To  clear  away  the  present  forest  immediately  would  not  be 
safe ;  for  the  mosses,  ferns,  and  other  undergrowth  might  be 
lost. 

The  greater  part  of  Charles's  time  was  of  course  spent  in 
the  office,  and  his  work  there  consisted  in  making  sketches, 
enlarging  or  reducing  plans,  calculating  earth-work,  making 
preliminary  studies  for  laying  out  grounds,  some  private, 
some  public,  and  some  belonging  to  schools  and  colleges ;  and 
finally,  often  after  repeated  reconsideration  and  revision  by 


/ET.  23]      WORKING-DRAWINGS  — PLANTIXG-PLAXS  37 

the  master,  in  preparing  working-drawings,  with  all  tlieir 
elaborate  details  of  figuring,  lettering,  and  coloring.  Before 
Charles  had  been  six  months  in  the  oftice,  he  was  making 
sketch-plans  and  working-drawings  in  considerable  variety, 
and  occasionally  freehand  drawings  to  accompany  letters 
which  explained  designs.  He  also  prepared  not  infrecpiently 
what  he  called  ''  show  maps,"  that  is,  maps  intended  to  inter- 
est prospective  buyers  in  estates  which  it  was  jn-oposed  to  cut 
uj)  into  house-lots.  He  acquired  considerable  skill  in  both 
mechanical  and  freehand  drawing ;  and  gradually  came  to 
prefer  for  his  own  use  the  least  elaborate  sort  of  drawing. 
A  drawing  which  was  clear,  easily  interpreted,  and  as  accu- 
rate as  the  methods  which  were  to  be  used  in  working  from 
it  on  the  ground,  always  answered  his  purpose.  The  prepara- 
tion of  planting-maps  was  also  a  part  of  his  work,  and,  in 
connection  with  these  designs,  he  received  much  instruction 
from  Mr.  Olmsted  and  his  assistants,  —  instruction  relating 
to  the  kinds  of  plants  which  could  be  advantageously  used  on 
the  different  soils  and  in  the  different  climates  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  the  best  mode  of  disposing  plants  in  groups. 
He  was  taught  to  distrust  specimen  planting,  —  that  is,  the 
use  of  single  specimens  of  plants  in  an  ambitious  variety,  — 
and  also  to  be  cautious  about  using  plants  the  hardiness  of 
which  had  not  been  demonstrated  by  the  experience  of  many 
seasons.  While  plants  of  various  merits  would  naturally  be 
used,  —  as,  for  example,  plants  with  colored  stems,  handsome 
blooms,  or  foliage  remarkably  beautiful  in  spring,  summer,  or 
autumn,  —  preference  should  always  be  given  to  such  trees 
and  shrubs  as  will  certainly  thrive  and  come  to  perfection 
under  the  climatic  and  soil  conditions  of  the  places  whei-e 
they  are  to  be  put,  and  the  planting  should  be  in  masses. 
The  ordering  of  plants  for  private  places,  both  in  the  coun- 
try and  by  the  seaside,  was  an  instructive  part  of  Charles's 
practice  in  the  office.  He  learnt  what  the  most  desirable  and 
trustworthy  plants  were,  what  appropriate  effects  could  be 
produced  on  sites  of  various  kinds,  where  the  plants  desired 
could  be  most  advantageously  purchased,  and  how  the  satis- 
faction of  proprietors  with  the  planting  could  be  best  assured. 
In  making  plans  for  the  approaches  to  private  houses,  Charles 
was  early  initiated  into  the  importance  of  frankness  about  the 
kitchen  region.  Some  proprietors  would  rather  pretend  that 
they  had  no  back  door,  kitchen  garden,  or  stable  ;  but  Mr. 
Olmsted  always  advised  perfect  frankness  about  the  whole 
service  region,  the  convenience  of  every  household  requiring 
that  waofons  should  be  able  to  stand  at  the  back  door,  and 


38  APPRENTICESHIP  [1883 

stables  and  kitchen  gardens  being  Indispensable  adjuncts  of 
every  large  establishment. 

By  frequent  visits,  often  with  some  specific  object  in  view, 
Charles  became  familiar  with  the  Arnold  Arboretum, — a 
collection  of  all  the  trees,  shrubs,  and  herbaceous  plants 
which  will  thrive  in  the  New  England  climate,  —  to  which  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  Bussey  estate  had  been  devoted 
by  an  agreement  between  the  University  and  the  City  of  Bos- 
ton. Here  was  a  precious  opportunity  to  study  the  materials 
available  for  artificial  plantations.  It  fortunately  happened 
that  in  the  winter  of  1884-85  the  planting-plans  of  the  Ar- 
boretum, which  were  originally  made  by  Mr.  Olmsted,  had 
to  be  thoroughly  revised  in  view  of  ultimate  extensions  of  the 
Arboretum.  Charles  worked  on  the  new  drawings,  and  It 
was  a  great  advantage  to  him  that  he  was  thus  obliged  to 
study  carefully  systematic  planting  in  a  very  large  collection, 
in  which  not  only  a  great  variety  of  species  was  to  be  ex- 
hibited, but  fine  specimens  of  each  species  as  well. 

Sundays  and  occasional  half-holidays  Charles  contrived  to 
utilize  for  walks  and  drives.  Under  date  of  Sunday,  May 
27,  1883,  he  writes  :  — 

Delightful  spring  weather.  Woods  full  of  delicate  tints 
and  shades  of  color,  and  soft  and  feathery  with  the  young 
leafage.  Thickets  still  more  or  less  transparent,  and  horse- 
chestnuts  and  some  maples  as  yet  the  only  trees  that  are  solid 
against  the  sky.  This  Sunday  a  delicious  drive  to  Belmont 
and  over  Wellington  Hill  with  E.  L.  B.  [one  of  his  Eliot 
aunts].  Apples  in  bloom,  Judas-trees  out,  and  many  flower- 
ing shrubs  In  their  glory. 

Towards  the  end  of  September,  1883,  he  made  a  short  visit 
at  Mt.  Desert,  at  the  end  of  which  he  records  :  — 

What  with  Mother,  Sally  Norton,  and  Sara,  there  was  much 
good  music.  On  last  Sunday  evening  the  music  —  mostly 
gentle  and  tender  —  went  straight  to  my  heart  of  hearts  as 
music  seldom  has  before.  I  hope  that,  some  day  or  othev, 
work  of  mine  may  give  some  human  being  pleasure,  plea- 
sure of  that  helpful  kind  which  beauty  of  music  and  of  scenery 
gives  me. 

Charles  continued  to  profit  very  much  by  casual  but  fruit- 
ful suggestions  which  he  received  from  Mr.  Olmsted  during 
the  inspection-tours  on  which  he  accompanied  him.     Thus, 


iET.23]  MR.  OLMSTED'S  PRINCIPLES  39 

when  visiting  Easton's  Pond  at  Newport  in  1883,  —  a  shal- 
low lagoon  behind  the  bathing-beach,  largely  overgrown  with 
sedges,  and  partly  filled  with  blown  sand  from  the  beach,  — 
Mr.  Olmsted  suggested  a  treatment  of  the  unsightly  pond 
which  foreshadowed  the  method  afterward  so  admirably  used 
at  the  Chicago  Fair.  He  proposed  to  the  city  to  dredge  an 
irregular  water-basin,  and  with  the  material  so  obtained  to 
raise  the  level  of  the  remaining  area,  thus  making  land  and 
water  of  a  place  then  neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  On 
the  same  occasion,  Mr.  Olmsted  pointed  out  that  any  large 
structure,  like  a  city  bathing-house,  on  the  sandy  and  surf- 
beaten  beach  would  appear  wholly  incongruous  and  out  of 
place.  This  hint  bore  fruit  in  Charles's  mind  thirteen  years 
afterward  on  Revere  Beach,  one  of  the  Boston  jMetropolitan 
reservations.  A  visit  to  the  Capitol  grounds  at  Washington 
was  very  instructive.  Charles  here  noted  that  an  immense, 
massive  building  requires  visibly  firm  and  broad  ground- 
suppott,  and  adequate  and  dignified  approaches  ;  that  curved 
drives  and  foot-paths  must  be  justified  by  some  necessity  of 
climbing  by  easy  grades ;  that  there  should  be  no  curves  for 
the  curves'  sake,  unless  in  absolutely  formal  gardening  on 
a  small  scale  ;  that  single  conifers  tend  to  betray  the  small 
size  of  a  piece  of  ground,  acting  as  exclamation  marks  or 
measuring-poles  ;  that  the  sclieme  of  planting  round  a  build- 
ing should  consider  the  permanent  visibility  of  the  best 
aspects  of  the  building  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the  other, 
should  provide  for  the  obscuring  of  the  necessary  spaces  of 
gravel  and  asphalt. 

By  reading  Mr.  Olmsted's  printed  writings,  by  listening 
to  his  conversation,  and  going  over  the  letters  he  wrote  about 
new  undertakings,  Charles  soon  absorbed  the  fundamental 
principles  which  had  long  guided  Mr.  Olmsted  in  his  land- 
scape work.  Mr.  Olmsted  always  desired  to  emphasize  in 
park-work  the  antithesis  between  the  objects  seen  in  city 
streets  and  the  objects  of  vision  in  the  open  country.  He 
thought  that  trimmed  trees,  flowers  in  pots,  clipped  grass, 
and  variegated  flower  or  foliage  beds  savored  of  the  city,  or 
at  least  of  the  suburb ;  and  he  preferred  for  the  purpose  of 
refreshing  a  city  population,  undulating  meadows  fringed 
with  trees,  quiet,  far-stretching  pastoral  scenery,  and  groves 
which  preserved  the  underbrush  and  the  rough  surface  of  the 
natural  forest.  Paths,  roads,  resting-places,  and  restaurants 
were  always  to  be  regarded  as  the  necessary  facilities  for 
enabling  the  population  to  enjoy  the  essentially  restful  ele- 
ments of  park  scenery.     These  artificial  features  were  not  the 


40  APPRENTICESHIP  [1883 

objects  of  any  landscape  undertaking,  but  its  necessary 
impediments. 

Although  in  general  Charles  had  the  greatest  admiration 
for  his  master,  and  sympathized  completely  with  his  general 
principles  in  landscape  work,  he  took  the  liberty  of  exercis- 
ing his  own  independent  judgment  about  some  of  Mr.  Olm- 
sted's designs.  A  high  degree  of  complication  and  artifi- 
ciality in  a  design  never  pleased  him.  Within  three  months 
of  his  entrance  into  the  Olmsted  office,  he  records  his  objec- 
tions to  the  design  for  a  small  suburban  lot  in  which  stood  a 
house  and  stable,  partly  of  brick  and  partly  of  wood.  "  The 
cramped  turn  at  the  door,  the  brick  wall  around  it,  the  hand- 
some but  far-fetched  and  out-of-place  boulders,  the  equally 
improbable  made  valley  with  its  boulder  bridge  across  a  dry 
brook,  make  it  altogether  the  least  pleasing  work  of  Mr. 
Olmsted's  I  have  yet  seen." 

In  connection  with  various  pieces  of  work  which  were  in 
hand  during  the  years  1883  and  1884,  Charles  had  steady 
guidance  towards  fundamental  principles  of  landscape  work 
which  he  was  already  well  prepared  to  accept  and  transmit. 
Thus,  in  one  New  England  city  the  owner  of  a  large  estate 
had  given  the  city  a  tract  of  land  of  varied  and  delightful 
interest,  comprising  a  steep  gi-avelly  shore  with  its  islands 
and  peninsulas  of  drift  all  clothed  with  woods,  rocky  spots 
overgrown  with  wild  verdure,  and  groves  of  large  trees.  It 
commanded  also  a  noble  prospect  from  the  top  of  its  hill. 
The  park  commissioners  appointed  by  the  city  expected  a 
general  smoothing  of  everything,  —  a  cutting  down  of  the 
rough  sumacs  and  brambles,  and  a  making  of  nicely  kept 
lawns  with  flower-beds  and  plantations  of  fancy  trees  and 
shrubs.  Mr.  Olmsted  advised  against  all  such  work.  He 
regarded  the  park-land  in  its  actual  condition  as  a  fine  piece 
of  rural  scenery,  to  be  religiously  preserved  so  far  as  the  use 
and  enjoyment  of  the  place  by  the  public  would  permit,  as  a 
scene  of  quiet  character,  graceful  and  picturesque  by  turns, 
in  which  only  such  changes  and  additions  should  be  per- 
mitted as  would  bring  out  still  further  the  prevailing  char- 
acter of  the  place,  —  such  work,  for  instance,  as  the  removal 
of  stone  walls  and  fences,  the  cutting  out  of  the  poorest  trees, 
and  the  planting  of  indigenous  trees  and  thickets  in  further- 
ance of  nature. 

One  of  the  important  works  of  which  Mr.  Olmsted  had 
charge  during  Charles's  apprenticeship  was  the  Belle  Isle 
Park  of  Detroit.  The  river  is  the  pleasure  resort  of  Detioit. 
There  are  many  excursion  steamers ;  there  is  always  a  breeze; 


iET.  24]     BELLE  ISLE  — LAWRENCEVILLE  SCHOOL  41 

and  great  numljers  of  lake-craft  are  to  be  seen.  Belle  Isle 
itself  is  a  flat,  wet  island,  two  miles  long-  by  balf  a  mile  broad, 
with  a  thin  soil  and  a  clayey  subsoil.  The  highest  point  is 
but  six  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river,  and  many  acres  are 
subject  to  flood.  The  interior  is  well  wooded  with  Elm,  Oak, 
and  Hickory,  of  natural  but  too  close  growth.  The  chief 
elements  of  Mr.  Olmsted's  plan  were  drainage  by  means  of  a 
system  of  canals  with  tile  drains  discharging  into  them,  and 
gates  and  pumps  to  keep  the  canals  at  the  normal  level  when 
the  river  should  be  in  flood.  The  shores  of  the  island  were 
wearing  away  ;  so  it  was  a  part  of  the  plan  to  give  the  exposed 
parts  of  the  shore  a  beach  form  with  a  grade  of  one  in  six. 
The  quality  of  the  natural  woods  was  allowed  to  determine 
the  character  of  the  park.  The  usual  park  woods  were  out 
of  the  question,  owing  to  tlie  spindling  form  of  the  trees ; 
but  the  interest  of  the  existing  woods  was  heightened  by  open- 
ing glades,  by  judicious  thinning,  and  by  breaking  into  the 
edges.  The  scheme  involved  the  raising  of  the  roadways  by 
means  of  the  material  derived  from  the  canals,  in  order  to 
ensure  the  dryness  of  the  driveways  even  immediately  after 
rain.  On  this  design,  with  its  landing-pier  and  other  acces- 
sories, Charles  worked  a  long  time  as  a  draughtsman,  his 
interest  in  the  drawings  being  greatly  stimulated  by  visits  to 
the  locality.  The  steamboat  pier  presented  many  complica- 
tions of  curvature  and  structure.  It  had  two  decks  and  a 
roof,  and  inclined  i)lanes  on  brackets  leading  to  the  second 
deck.  The  line  of  the  eaves  was  undulating,  and  the  roof 
was  full  of  curvature.  The  ridge  rose  and  fell  according  to 
the  width  of  the  deck  below,  and  the  section  of  the  roof  varied 
with  every  wave  of  the  eaves-line.  It  will  easily  be  seen  that 
such  a  complicated  design  cost  the  draughtsman  much  labor, 
particularly  as  the  design  was  repeatedly  modified.  After  all, 
it  was  never  built. 

Another  very  interesting  project  which  was  in  the  office 
some  months,  and  on  which  Charles  frequently  worked  as  a 
draughtsman,  was  the  layout  of  the  grounds  of  the  Lawrence- 
ville  School,  at  Lawrenceville,  N.  J.,  the  school  buildings  be- 
ing simultaneously  designed  by  Messrs.  Peabody  &  Stearns, 
his  uncle's  firm.  The  designing  of  these  spacious  grounds 
and  numerous  buildings  was  an  interesting  piece  of  work, 
such  as  is  very  seldom  presented  to  a  landscape  architect  and 
an  architect  together.  The  estate  was  handsome  and  ade- 
quate ;  and  the  buildings  were  to  be  erected  simultaneously 
on  a  well-studied  scheme. 

In  the  autumn  of  1883  work  was  active  on  the  Back  Bay 


42  APPRENTICESHIP  [1884 

Fens,  and  Charles  had  ample  opportunities  of  watching  its 
progress.  At  the  end  of  November  he  records  the  interest- 
ing variety  of  work  which  was  going  forward  there.  The 
great  dredge  was  digging  into  the  existing  marsh  across  the 
channel  near  the  gate-house,  and  the  material  there  obtained 
was  going  to  fill  the  promontory  which  was  to  carry  West- 
land  Avenue  across  the  reservation.  Men  and  teams  were 
carrying  marsh-mud  from  the  vicinity  of  Westland  Avenue 
and  spreading  it  over  the  bare  gravel  slopes  near  Beacon 
Street.  Teams  were  carrying  marsh-sod  for  the  shores  and 
coves  between  Boylston  and  Beacon  streets.  Trains  were 
bringing  gravel  for  filling,  and  good  soil  from  the  new  Sud- 
bury River  water-basins  of  the  Boston  Water  Works  ;  and 
men  with  barrows  were  spreading  this  loam  on  the  finished 
slopes  north  of  Boylston  Street.  Carts  were  bringing  quan- 
tities of  suitable  manure  to  compost  heaps  which  were  being 
prepared  for  use  when  planting  should  begin  in  the  spring ; 
and  plants  were  arriving  and  being  heeled-in  close  to  Beacon 
Street,  so  as  to  be  handy  in  the  spring.  He  noted,  also,  the 
quantities  of  plants  received  at  the  Fens  for  planting  at  the 
opening  of  the  season  of  1884. 

At  this  time  the  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad  was  rebuild- 
ing many  of  its  stations,  and  laying  out,  under  Mr.  Olmsted's 
direction,  the  grounds  about  them.  With  all  these  plans 
Charles  was  familiar,  and  on  many  of  them  he  worked.  He 
came  to  value  more  and  more  a  good  topographical  survey  of 
an  estate  or  region  for  which  he  was  to  prepare  road-plans  or 
a  division  into  house-lots  ;  and  his  test  of  the  excellence  of 
the  engineer's  plan  was  the  amount  of  revision  which  his  own 
plans,  made  in  the  Brookline  office,  required  when  with  these 
plans  in  hand  he  visited  the  ground.  On  a  good  topographi- 
cal survey  he  maintained  that  he  could  do  his  own  work  as 
well  in  the  office  as  on  the  ground,  and  often  better,  —  par- 
ticularly in  the  laying  out  of  roads.  For  Owners  he  thought 
it  a  real  economy  to  get  a  good  survey. 

During  February,  1884,  he  made  some  progress  in  gather- 
ing material  for  a  paper  on  the  History  of  Mount  Desert, 
which  he  proposed  to  read  before  the  Champlain  Society ; 
and  in  due  time  he  presented  the  results  of  his  researches 
to  the  society.  At  times  there  was  not  work  enough  in 
the  office  during  Mr.  Olmsted's  absences  to  keep  both  Mr.  J. 
C.  Olmsted  and  Charles  busy.  At  such  moments  Charles 
turned  with  pleasure  to  the  study  of  the  best  authors  on 
landscape  architecture,  and  to  out-of-door  excursions.  In  the 
spring  of  1884  he  had  leisure  to  copy  many  citations  from 


JET.  24]  NOTES  OF  LANDSCAPE  43 

the  best  authors  on  his  subject.  In  the  winter  of  1883-84 
Charles  worked  for  some  weeks  on  the  City  Point  design 
made  for  the  Boston  Park  Commission,  one  of  the  most 
interesting  of  the  many  designs  of  extraordinary  originality 
and  utility  which  the  city  of  Boston  owes  to  Mr.  Olmsted's 
genius.  It  included  two  long  piers,  facilities  for  bathing, 
rowing,  and  sailing,  the  improvement  of  Castle  Island,  — 
which  belongs  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  — 
a  small  artificial  island  as  a  pier-head,  and  several  build- 
ings for  the  accommodation  of  the  public.  The  whole  was 
planned  with  great  forethought  and  a  vivid  conception  of  the 
needs  of  the  future.  On  all  the  details  of  these  plans  Charles 
worked  with  enthusiasm,  in  company  with  Mr.  J.  C.  Olmsted; 
and  when  the  great  design  was  itself  nearly  finished,  he  pre- 
pared a  reduced  map  of  Boston  Bay  to  serve  as  a  key-map  to 
accompany  the  City  Point  design.  This  public  reservation, 
which  is  not  yet  completely  executed,  though  it  has  long  been 
in  use,  stands  as  one  of  the  best  monuments  of  the  genius  of 
its  designer. 

On  all  the  journeys  Charles  took  during  his  apprentice- 
ship, he  made  notes  of  the  landscape  through  which  he 
passed.  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  him  just  to  ride  rapidly 
through  fine  country,  though  he  could  only  see  the  alternat- 
ing woods  and  fields,  the  cultivated  valley-bottoms,  the  fields 
of  buttercup  or  clover  or  white-weed,  the  various  shades  of 
green  in  the  growing  crops,  and  the  moulding  of  the  hill- 
sides. He  always  noted,  also,  the  prevailing  industries  of 
the  regions  through  which  he  passed.  If  it  was  a  coal  region, 
for  example,  he  observed  the  picturesque,  ungainly  shaft- 
houses  and  breakers,  the  great  waste  dumps,  and  the  miser- 
able hovels  of  the  miners.  If  it  was  a  Western  city,  he 
observed  the  mode  of  planting  the  streets,  the  addition  of  the 
radial  system  of  streets  to  the  rectangular,  and  the  quality  of 
the  houses,  pretentious  or  simple,  commonplace  or  pictur- 
esque, of  the  Greek  portico  period  or  the  Queen  Anne.  Of 
course  he  always  visited  any  public  parks  which  lay  in  his 
way  ;  and  before  long  he  was  familiar  with  the  parks  of  Bal- 
timore, Philadelphia,  New  York,  Brooklyn,  and  Buffalo. 

In  the  opening  months  of  1884  he  began  to  record  in  his 
commonplace  book  the  action  of  the  various  public  bodies 
with  which  jNIr.  Olmsted  dealt  in  carrying  on  his  chief  works. 
He  noted  the  appropriations  made,  and  the  conditions  at- 
tached to  the  appropriations.  On  a  single  day  at  the  end 
of  March,  1884,  he  records  the  condition  of  fourteen  different 
undertakings  which  were  then  under  way,  part  of  them  pub- 


44  APPRENTICESHIP  [1885 

lie  parks,  part  school,  college,  and  railway  grounds,  part  real 
estate  speculations,  and  part  grounds  of  private  owners.  He 
was  thus  studying  the  conditions  under  which  both  public 
and  private  landscape  work  had  to  be  carried  on.  By  the 
summer  of  1884  he  had  begun  to  pay  attention  to  contract 
prices  for  dirt  roads,  stoned  roads,  drains  supplied  and  laid, 
silt  basins,  and  stone  walls.  The  prices  of  such  construction 
varied,  of  course,  in  different  parts  of  the  country ;  but  as 
work  of  tliis  descriptiou  often  enters  into  landscape  work, 
whether  of  large  scale  or  small,  he  found  it  desirable  to  inform 
himself  concerning  its  cost.  He  began  to  classify  trees  and 
shrubs  in  his  mind  according  to  their  uses.  For  example,  he 
made  lists  of  plants  in  the  summer  of  1884  suitable  for  the 
following  objects  :  for  the  seaside,  for  cascade  planting,  for 
covering  ground  under  thick-growing  trees,  for  autumn 
beauty  of  foliage  or  fruit,  for  autumn  flowering,  for  high 
exposed  places,  and  for  bare  or  rocky  places. 

The  winter  of  1884-85  Charles  spent  at  his  father's  house 
in  Cambridge,  going  to  and  from  the  Brookline  office  on 
horseback  or  by  wagon.  His  office  work  during  the  autumn 
was  chiefly  draughting  on  a  variety  of  private  places,  all  in- 
structive, but  less  interesting  to  Charles  than  public  work. 
Near  the  end  of  October,  1884,  he  took  time  to  lay  out  a  new 
approach  road  to  his  father's  house  at  Mt.  Desert,  and  did  a 
considerable  quantity  of  planting  about  the  roads  and  the 
house,  using  only  plants  native  to  the  place,  such  as  Birches, 
Spruces,  Ashes,  Oaks,  Pines,  Golden-rod,  Blueberry,  Huckle- 
berry, wild  Roses,  wild  Asters,  Brakes,  and  Ferns,  and  care- 
fully avoiding  the  introduction  of  grass.  The  onl}-^  plants  he 
used  which  were  not  absolutely  native  were  Virginia  Creeper, 
Clematis,  Honeysuckle,  and  a  Japanese  Willow. 

The  study  of  the  Arboretum  planting-plans,  which  began 
in  January,  1885,  continued  at  intervals  during  the  spring 
of  that  year,  and  was  very  profitable  to  Charles.  He  also 
worked  at  this  time  on  the  Franklin  Park  plans,  which  were 
then  developing  in  Mr.  Olmsted's  office.  This  great  project 
was  at  that  time  referred  to  in  Charles's  notes  as  the  West 
Roxbury  Park.  He  labored  on  the  design  until  the  close  of 
his  service  as  an  apprentice.  The  last  entries  in  his  diary 
during  his  apprenticeship  relate  to  large-scale  drawings  of 
what  was  then  called  the  Corso  in  the  West  Roxbury  Park, 
now  the  Greeting  in  Franklin  Park.  On  tlie  1st  of  April 
Charles  makes  the  laconic  remark  in  his  diary :  "  No  more 
draughting,"  and  thereupon  his  service  as  an  apprentice 
seems  to  have  ceased,  although  he  was  frequently  at  the 


iET.  25]  WALKS -EXCURSIONS  45 

office  during  the  spring.  He  also  worked  at  the  Arboretum, 
staking  out  shrub  beds  from  plans  he  had  helped  to  prepare. 
It  was  not  till  the  31st  of  May  that  he  wrote  a  letter  of 
farewell  to  Mr.  Olmsted  thanking  him  for  the  instruction  he 
had  received  and  for  the  great  privilege  of  working  under  his 
direction. 

After  the  1st  of  April  that  spring,  he  renewed  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Bussey  liistitution  by  attending  there  a  course 
of  lectures  on  horticulture  and  arboriculture  by  Mr.  Benja- 
min M.  AVatson.  He  also  began  to  make  a  collection  of  dried 
plants,  coufiuing  himself,  however,  to  those  trees,  shrubs,  and 
other  plants  which  would  be  useful  in  his  pi'ofessional  work. 
Mr.  Watson's  class  was  often  carried  through  the  Arboretum, 
so  that  Charles  had  further  opportunities  of  becoming  familiar 
with  this  comprehensive  collection.  During  this  period  of  col- 
lecting, Charles  took  many  walks  with  congenial  friends 
through  the  wild  parts  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Metro- 
politan District.  He  thus  completed  his  knowledge  of  the 
flora  of  the  district,  not  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  botanist, 
but  from  that  of  the  student  of  scenery.  He  covered  in  these 
walks  the  whole  half-circle  from  Nahant,  Lynn,  and  East 
Saugus,  on  the  north,  by  the  Middlesex  Fells,  Belmont,  Lin- 
coln, and  Waltham,  through  Wellesley  and  the  Newtons,  by 
Dedham,  Readville,  Hyde  Park,  Milton,  and  Quincy,  to  the 
south  siiore.  He  also  spent  several  days  on  tlie  upper  parts 
of  the  Charles  River,  renewing  his  acquaintance  with  the  most 
beautiful  parts  of  that  stream.  These  excursions  bore  ample 
fruit  in  later  years. 

He  travelled  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1885  into 
other  States,  visiting  Newport  and  Bridgeport,  the  popular 
seashore  resorts  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  city,  Greenwood 
Cemetery  and  Prospect  Park  in  Brooklyn,  Sandy  Hook,  and 
Long  Branch.  On  this  joiu-ney  he  spent  several  profitable 
days  in  the  Bridgeport  Park,  which  he  had  visited  two  years 
before.  His  notes  of  botanical  observations  on  this  journey 
cover  tlnrty-five  pages,  and  relate  to  the  flowers  and  shrubs  in 
bloom  at  that  season,  to  the  materials  of  hedges  and  of  vine 
coverings  for  walls,  to  decoration  by  tub-plants  and  green- 
house exotics,  to  the  extraordinary  defacing  of  the  beaches 
accessible  from  New  York  by  badly  placed  hotels,  shops,  and 
pile-work,  to  the  selection  of  plants  in  the  great  parks  of 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  to  the  autumnal 
condition  of  the  parks  as  regards  flowers  and  the  foliage  of  the 
less  familiar  trees  and  shrubs.  At  Sandy  Hook  he  was  at 
pains  to  make  a  list  of  the  luxuriant  vegetation  which  covered 


46  SANDY  HOOK  — BRIDGEPORT  — MT.   DESERT     [1885 

the  sand.  He  admired  greatly  the  fine  old  Cedars  of  all  shapes 
and  habits,  —  many  intensely  blue  in  color,  by  reason  of  great 
quantities  of  berries,  —  the  thrifty  Sumacs,  the  vast  quantity 
of  poison  Ivy  and  Golden-rod,  and  the  interesting  sand  grasses 
or  sedges.  During  his  stay  at  the  Beardsley  Park  at  Bridge- 
port, he  made  twenty-three  pages  of  notes,  relating  to  plant 
hardiness,  to  changes  of  color  in  the  course  of  the  season,  to 
spread,  to  color  of  bark,  twigs,  or  foliage,  to  power  of  resist- 
ance to  cold,  ice,  and  drought,  and  to  strength  or  rankness  of 
growth,  and  consequent  tendency  to  kill  oat  weaker  plants. 

In  a  letter  to  his  mother  he  tells  how  he  passed  a  Sunday 
at  Bridgeport :  — 

Yesterday  was  a  delightful  day  —  the  sky  pai'tly  cloudy,  so 
that  it  was  not  too  hot  for  walking.  I  tramped  out  over  some 
pretty  roads  and  lanes,  not  caring  whither,  and  by  and  by 
came  in  sight  of  some  church  spires  rising  from  a  fine  mass 
of  woods.  Slowly  I  travelled  towards  them,  and  discovered  a 
very  pretty  village  hidden  under  the  trees,  and  hard  by  the 
churches  a  little  inn  —  the  Fairfield  Hotel  —  where  I  got  a 
good  dinner.  In  the  afternoon  I  returned  by  a  still  ci'ookeder 
course  than  that  of  the  morning,  climbed  some  gentle  hills, 
got  many  delightful  views  of  the  shadow-flecked  country, 
investigated  many  woodsides  and  shrubberies,  and  enjoyed 
myself  highly. 

Whenever  in  his  travels  he  found  himself  in  the  vicinity 
of  a  large  nursery,  he  invariably  explored  its  resources,  and 
made  himself  acquainted  with  its  prices  and  its  methods  of 
work. 

From  Bridgeport,  in  the  midst  of  these  labors,  he  wrote  to 
his  intimate  friend  Roland  Thaxter  :  — 

Why  did  n't  you  come  along  with  me  ?  ...  I  approve  less 
than  ever  of  travelling  alone.  I  have  not  had  a  soul  to  speak 
to  for  fourteen  long  days  and  nights,  and  I  think  another 
fourteen  would  probably  drive  me  mad.  How  in  Heaven's 
name  am  I  ever  to  spend  nine  months  in  Europe  ?     I  can't. 

He  allowed  himself  but  a  short  vacation  this  year,  and  that 
was  spent  at  beloved  Mt.  Desert. 

On  the  14th  of  September  he  started  for  AYashlngton,  Vir- 
ginia, and  the  southern  peaks  of  the  Appalachian  range,  visiting 
with  several  older  friends,  Natural  Bridge,  Roan  Mountain, 


^T.  25]  THE   APPALACHIANS  47 

Burnsville,  Marion,  Asheville,  Charleston,  Great  Smoky  Moun- 
tain, Nantahala,  Hiawassee,  and  Highlands,  whence  he  re- 
turned to  Asheville.  On  this  journey  he  saw  forests  of  a 
different  character  from  those  of  New  England,  and  a  pop- 
ulation whose  history,  traditions,  and  habits  were  very  unlike 
those  of  the  New  England  people.  From  Roan  Mountain  he 
wrote  thus  to  his  mother :  — 

Thus  far  our  trip  has  been  very  enjoyable.  The  valley  of 
the  Shenandoah  is  very  beautiful  in  a  soft  and  fertile  way,  the 
Natui-al  Bridge  is  far  finer  than  the  Geography  picture  would 
lead  one  to  expect,  and  this  mountain,  and  the  approach  to  it, 
are  grand  and  lovely  at  once. 

In  the  limestone  gorges  near  the  Bridge  grow  Cercis  and 
Ptelea  and  other  trees  not  seen  North,  beside  large  and  fine 
specimens  of  Sassafras,  Magnolia,  Linden,  Beech,  and  Hem- 
lock, and  many  fine  shrubs.  In  the  mountain  passes  climbed 
by  the  narrow-gauge  railroad  on  its  way  to  the  Cranberry 
Forge  and  the  foot  of  this  mountain,  grow  acres  of  Rhodo- 
dendron and  Kalmia,  with  Holly  and  Oxydendron  and  Aralia, 
and  Andromeda  in  variety.  The  most  beautifully  wooded  hill- 
sides I  ever  saw.  Then  the  flanks  of  the  mountain  (which  it 
took  us  seven  hours  to  climb)  are  clothed  with  a  great  forest  of 
large  timber  ti'ees,  among  which  are  nineteen  species  attaining 
such  size  that  clean  logs  fifty  feet  long  can  be  got  from  them. 
None  of  this  is  yet  cut  save  the  Cherry.  Near  the  top  conifers 
take  possession,  and  —  wonderful  to  relate  —  the  summit, 
which  is  some  three  miles  long,  is  almost  wholly  in  grass,  great 
thickets  of  Rhododendron  and  some  patches  of  Fir  with  oc- 
casional ^Mountain  Ash  being  the  only  trees  of  the  place.  Fine 
ledges  crop  out  at  a  few  points,  and  give  glorious  views  over 
a  vast  stretch  of  wooded  mountains,  only  one  or  two  of  which 
are  higher  than  this. 

Later  he  wrote  to  her  about  the  journey  as  follows :  — 

We  saw  a  great  deal  in  our  three  weeks  of  travel  —  much 
beautiful  scenery  —  some  magnificent  forests  of  large  trees  — 
innumerable  beautiful  shrubs  and  flowers  —  and  a  few  very 
interesting  human  beings  —  all  men!  Much  of  the  country 
we  rode  through  is  but  just  being  settled  —  we  found  one  new 


48  NATURAL  BRIDGE  —  FIRST   EARNINGS  [1885 

colony  made  up  largely  of  New  Englanders,  and  in  another 
place  a  little  band  of  Germans.  The  few  mountain  valleys 
that  were  occupied  before  the  war  have  not  yet  recovered 
from  the  killing  off  of  their  men.  In  these  parts  the  war- 
times still  monopolize  conversation.  The  mountains  abounded 
in  Unionists,  and  their  trials  and  adventures  make  fine  stories. 
Men  are  now  living  in  the  same  valley  who  burned  each 
others'  houses  in  the  war-time  —  and  in  Swain  County  almost 
everybody  seems  to  have  shot  a  man.  Everywhere  the  people 
are  shiftless  and  ignorant,  and  have  plenty  of  time  to  waste 
in  hunting,  and  in  attending  Court  at  the  county-seat.  Whole 
families  travel  to  town,  and  women  carry  babies  into  the  court- 
room to  watch  the  progress  of  the  shooting  cases.  In  all  the 
western  counties  of  North  Carolina  only  one  man  has  been 
hanged  since  the  war. 

On  his  return  he  spent  a  week  at  Natural  Bridge,  having 
been  recommended  by  Mr.  Olmsted  to  Colonel  Parsons,  the 
proprietor  of  over  2000  acres  of  diversified  lands,  to  help  him 
about  thinning  the  woods  and  making  cuttings  for  roads  and 
vistas.  Although  Colonel  Parsons  gave  him  his  board  and 
lodging  in  consideration  of  his  services,  and  these  were  his 
first  professional  earnings,  he  by  no  means  regarded  himself 
as  practising  his  profession,  but  rather  as  trying  his  'prentice 
hand.     To  his  mother  he  described  this  experience  as  follows : 

My  week  at  Natural  Bridge  was  very  pleasant.  I  was  out 
every  morning  and  afternoon,  nearly  half  the  time  with 
Colonel  Parsons.  As  I  never  had  more  than  two  axemen, 
results  are  not  very  tremendous.  We  attempted  only  easy 
work  giving  immediate  effects  —  breaking  up  straight  edges 
of  woods  —  opening  vistas  —  clearing  to  bring  out  fine  trees 
—  and  oj)ening  lines  through  the  woods  for  two  new  roads. 

Returning  homeward  through  Philadelphia,  he  made  there 
a  stay  of  several  days  to  refresh  his  knowledge  of  the  admira- 
ble parks  of  that  city.  In  a  note  to  his  mother  he  speaks 
with  delight  of  the  Cumberland  valley,  —  "  the  most  ideal 
farming  country  I  ever  saw."  By  the  middle  of  October  he 
was  again  in  Cambridge.  He  now  began  to  prepare  for  a  year 
of  travel  in  Europe,  in  execution  of  the  purpose  he  had  formed 
when  he  first  entered  Mr.  Olmsted's  office,  —  largely  on  his 
advice  that  for  the  education  of  a  landscape  architect  much 


.ET.  26] 


OFF  FOR  EUROPE 


49 


observation  of  many  kinds  of  scenery  was  indispensable. 
On  November  5th  lie  took  steamer  for  Liverpool,  and  on  the 
14th  arrived  in  England  for  the  third  time  in  his  life.  His 
own  country  was  in  great  part  rough  and  wild,  and  its  large 
agglomerations  of  population  were  but  recent ;  he  was  going 
to  see  what  landscape  and  scenery  had  become  in  regions 
which  had  been  occupied  by  man  for  many  centuries,  and 
what  rural  delights  remained  possible  for  the  population  of 
great  cities  a  thousand  years  old. 


Tlie  placing  of  a  new  house  on  top  of  a  high  rock  close  to  the  sea,  too 
near  the  public  road,  and  surrounded  by  rough  ledges  between  which 
grow  Bay,  Sumac,  Juniper,  Huckleberry,  and  the  like.  The  shore  is  bold 
and  surf-beaten. 


Mr.  Olmsted's  design  for  tlie  avenues  (1883).  The  approach-road 
passes  between  two  big  ledges,  and  goes  under  one  wing  of  the  house. 
No  proper  grade  could  in  any  way  be  obtained  short  of  the  distance  to 
the  other  side  of  the  house.  The  turning  space  on  the  seaward  side  of 
the  house,  and  the  road  which  leads  out  across  the  head  of  the  little 
ravine  are  held  by  low  retaining-walls.     (C.  E.'s  note-book.) 


CHAPTER  IV 
LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    LONDON  AND  PARIS 

Invention,  strictly  speaking',  is  little  more  than  a  new  combination 
of  those  images  which  have  been  previously  gathered  and  deposited  in 
the  memory,  —  nothing  can  come  from  nothing ;  he  who  has  laid  up 
no  materials  can  produce  no  combinations.  —  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 

Chahles  went  to  Europe  to  study,  just  as  mucli  as  if  It 
had  been  possible  for  him  to  settle  down  at  a  university  like 
a  student  of  languages,  history,  or  philosophy ;  but  his 
objects  and  methods  were  necessarily  very  different  from 
those  of  the  ordinary  student.  His  first  object  was  to  ex- 
amine public  parks  and  gardens,  private  country-seats  and 
suburban  house-lots,  nurseries,  and  public  collections  of  trees 
and  plants.  Next,  he  needed  to  study  in  the  gi-eat  art- 
museums  paintings  of  landscape,  that  he  might  learn  what 
sort  of  scenes  the  masters  of  landscape  painting  had  thought 
it  worth  while  to  depict.  Then,  he  wanted  time  to  acquaint 
himself  with  the  bibliography  of  his  subject,  and  to  read  the 
works  of  some  of  the  chief  authors,  where  he  could  grasp 
the  European  conditions,  both  climatic  and  social,  under 
which  they  were  written.  Finally,  whenever  the  weather  and 
the  situation  permitted,  he  observed  scenery  and  studied  its 
parts  and  its  composition. 

From  the  start,  November  5,  1885,  to  October  7,  1886, 
he  kept  a  journal,  and  he  maintained  through  all  the  year 
of  his  absence  a  tolerably  regular  correspondence  with  his 
father  and  mother,  five  female  cousins,  two  male  cousins, 
and  two  college  friends.  He  also  made  lists  of  plants  and 
books,  and  numerous  sketches  and  diagrams  as  notes  of 
scenes  and  designs.  This  large  amount  of  writing  was  chiefly 
done  in  the  evenings  or  in  bad  weather.  It  proved  to  be  a 
very  valuable  part  of  his  year's  work ;  for  it  gave  him  prac- 
tice in  a  graphic,  condensed,  and  interesting  style  of  writing 
which  was  subsequently  of  great  advantage  to  him. 

The  journal  begins  with  the  voyage  to  Liverpool.  "  There 
never  was  a  smoother  or  more  prosperous  voyage."  His 
letters  describe  some  of  his  fellow-passengers,  most  of  whom 


^T.  26]  THE  VOYAGE  — LIVERPOOL  51 

he  found  uninteresting.  "  Sunday  I  was  assailed  by  my 
room-mate  on  the  subject  of  becoming  a  '  Christian ; '  and 
also  by  a  Methodist  gentleman  of  emotional  character  who 
wept  over  me."  But  there  was  one  party  from  Philadelphia 
which  engaged  his  attention,  —  "a  Mrs.  Beadle,  who  was  a 
Miss  Yale,  Mr.  Beadle  her  son,  and  three  young  ladies,  a 
Yale  and  two  Pitkins,  —  all,  I  believe,  of  Philadelphia.  The 
eldest  jVIiss  Pitkin  is  very  good  to  look  at,  and  I  must  con- 
fess that  after  I  was  at  length  (on  the  fourth  day)  intro- 
duced to  her,  the  voyaging  became  much  more  agreeable." 

At  Liverpool  he  began  at  once  the  study  of  the  parks,  and 
presented  a  letter  of  introduction  from  Mr.  Olmsted  to  Mr. 
Kemp,  — 

a  jovial  old  Englishman,  very  cordial  and  agreeable,  —  a 
man  who  has  worked  hard  in  his  profession  in  his  day,  and 
who  seemed  interested  in  my  account  of  the  works  going  on 
in  our  country.  He  told  me  that  his  profession  was  lan- 
guishing in  England  ;  that  proprietors  were  all  too  ready  to 
accept  the  services  of  nurserymen  instead  of  landscape  gar- 
deners proper,  and  that  the  results  of  this  practice  were 
necessarily  inartistic  and  bad.  The  nurseryman  offers  his 
services  as  designer  for  little  or  no  pay,  getting  his  reward 
from  the  plants  he  supplies.  ...  It  is  impossible  for  him  to 
have  an  eye  solely  directed  to  his  client's  interest  and  the 
interest  of  good  design. 

Birkenhead  Park  he  found  excellent  as  regards  botli 
grading  and  planting ;  but  Sefton  Park  seemed  to  him  bad, 
and  he  records  his  opinion  with  great  candor.  After  his 
inspection  of  Prince's  and  Sefton  Parks,  — 

feeling  like  walking,  I  kept  on  towards  the  country,  and 
discovered  Mossley  Hill,  a  little  suburban  district  of  beauti- 
fully planted  grounds  and  gardens,  which  I  enjoyed  very 
much.  Most  of  the  places  are  on  the  American  scale.  The 
houses  are  brick  or  stone,  and  the  grounds,  whether  large 
or  small,  shut  off  from  the  path  by  high  walls  grown  with 
Ivy.  Evergreens,  such  as  Hollies,  Laurels,  Arbutus,  and 
Laurustinus,  make  the  plantations  very  beautiful,  even  at 
this  season.  Primulas,  Violets,  AVallflowers,  and  so  forth, 
are  abundantly  used  in  the  foregrounds,  and  under  the 
shrubs.     Then  I  also  had  a  glimpse  of  real  country,  with 


52  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1885 

hedgerows  and  farmsteads ;  and  a  look  at  a  small  village  of 
"tenantry,  with  its  church,  school,  and  inn  —  newish,  and  look- 
ing as  if  built  to  order,  but  very  neat,  and  orderly,  and 
petite. 

Another  gala  day  he  spent  at  Chester,  a  place  he  had 
visited  when  a  boy.  "  Almost  the  last  thing  in  our  walk 
about  the  walls,  we  came  upon  the  so-called  Phoenix  Tower, 
which  1  have  remembered  well  all  these  years  —  the  Tower 
from  which  King  Charles  saw  his  army  defeated  at  Rowton 
Moor."  That  night  he  passed  at  the  house  of  a  hospitable 
Englishman  who  had  visited  Harvard  University ;  and  the 
next  morning  he  had  the  advantage  of  examining  liis  host's 
grounds,  which  had  been  designed  by  Mr.  Kemp,  and  were 
adorned  with  many  plants  new  to  him. 

On  Saturday,  November  20th,  he  went  up  to  London  and 
took  rooms  with  his  steamer  acquaintance,  Mr.  Beadle,  in 
Southampton  Row,  Russell  Square.  Then  followed  a  week 
of  sight-seeing  in  London,  some  parks  being  always  taken  in 
the  daily  route.  When  the  weather  was  too  bad  for  walking, 
the  British  Museum,  close  by  his  lodgings,  was  his  resort. 
The  whole  daylight  of  one  day  he  gave  to  the  Kensington 
Museum,  where  the  great  collections  of  architectural  casts, 
sculpture,  and  stucco  work  especially  interested  him. 

Thursday,  November  26th,  was  Thanksgiving  Day  at 
home ;  but  in  London  it  was  "  very  dark,  too  dark  for  col- 
lections or  interiors.  .  .  .  The  atmosphere  and  weather  gen- 
erally are  utterly  abominable  and  oppressing.  At  the  Zoo 
all  the  morning,  and  for  luncheon.  A  walk  through  the 
Regent's  Park  and  Regent  Street  in  the  rain."  Of  West- 
minster Abbey  he  remarks :  "  Beautiful  interior  greatly 
marred  by  hideous  modern  monuments."  At  St.  Paul's,  too, 
he  says :  "  More  monstrous  monuments  to  unheard-of  mili- 
tary and  naval  gentry." 

On  the  28th  of  November  he  records  an  "  intensely  inter- 
esting morning  at  the  National  Gallery,  and  the  pictures  not 
half  seen ;  after  lunch,  across  Hyde  Park,  —  glorious  sky- 
scape." On  Thanksgiving  Day  he  wrote  to  his  mother  as 
follows :  — 

One  year  ago  Sam  and  I  dined  at  Aunt  Annie  Bob's. 
Since  then  I  believe  I  have  had  the  best  year  of  my  life  to 
date,  —  the  first  half  of  the  year  with  Mr.  Olmsted,  and 
this  made  pleasanter  than  the  preceding  eighteen  months  by 
the  presence  of  Codman  in  the   office ;  the  latter  half  spent 


^T.  26]  LONDON  —  KEW  —  PARKS  53 

in  roaming  about,  observing  and  enjoying  in  so  many  differ- 
ent and  intei-esting  places,  —  the  Arboretum,  the  Botanical 
Garden,  and  New  York,  Washington,  Philadelphia,  Bridge- 
port, and  Mt.  Desert.  A  very  rich  year,  and  one  that  has 
been  hugely  enjoyed  by  reason  of  my  seeing  so  much  that 
was  beautiful.  My  introduction  to  the  Old  World  has  been 
gloomy  enough,  —  dark,  sunless  weather  ever  since  landing. 
Here  in  London,  the  yellow  darkness  is  peculiarly  disheart- 
ening and  oppressive.  A  young  man  in  our  square  killed 
himself  the  other  day  ;  and  he  had  eighty  pounds  and  a 
check-book  with  him  at  the  time.  And  London  is  so  hor- 
ribly ugly  and  so  abominably  grimy,  and  poverty  and  vice 
are  so  conspicuous  in  the  streets,  and  the  darkness  of  mid- 
day is  such  that  the  things  of  beauty  in  the  museums,  to 
which  one  goes  for  relief,  are  only  dimly  seen.  On  the  other 
hand,  my  voyage  over  here  to  this  dark  Old  World  was  a 
time  to  be  always  remembered  with  exceeding  pleasure. 

On  the  1st  of  December  he  remarks  in  his  journal: 
"  Yesterday  the  Tower,  —  the  last  sight-seeing  for  the  pi-e- 
sent.  To-day  Kew."  The  Kew  gardens  offer  to  the  student, 
not  only  an  immense  collection  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  herba- 
ceous plants  in  open  ground,  with  extensive  plant-houses  of 
every  sort,  but  also  very  lovely  landscape  effects.  It  was 
always  the  landscape  which  most  delighted  Charles.  Al- 
though he  found  many  trees  and  shrubs  of  extraordinary 
beauty  in  the  grounds,  he  was  chiefly  struck  with  the  pleas- 
ing effects  of  distance  in  the  soft  English  atmosphere,  and 
with  the  long  shadows  cast  in  a  tolerably  clear  day  by  the 
very  low  December  sun.  On  his  way  back  to  London,  by 
Brentford  and  Hammersmith,  he  noticed  especially  "  one 
extremely  picturesque  farmstead  with  old  and  crooked  tile- 
roofed  barns."  Those  were  the  pictures  which  remained  in 
his  memory. 

The  London  parks  afforded  him,  even  in  December,  very 
interesting  i-esorts.  He  contrasts  the  simple,  broad,  and  dig- 
nified character  of  Hyde  Park  and  Regent's  Park  with  the 
recent  Battersea  Park,  made  in  the  American  way  out  of  the 
whole  cloth  at  great  cost,  —  with  its  large,  well-outlined 
lakes,  and  big  cement  rock-work,  "with  springs  issuing  from 
near  the  summit,  —  the  highest  ground  anywhere  about,  — 
and  this  on  the  extreme  end  of  a  longish  promontory  in  the 
lake."     Such  unnatural  features  in  park  or  landscape  —  like 


54  LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN   EUROPE  [1885 

an  artificial  pond  placed  on  a  hill-top  and  filled  by  pumping 
—  Charles  always  found  extremely  distasteful.  In  his  view 
they  were  wholly  unlike  ponds  or  reservoirs  in  natural  val- 
leys :  they  were  mere  engineering  necessities,  which  by  good 
judgment  might  be  adoi*ned  and  slightly  disguised.  His 
journal  criticises  the  "  clumpish "  spaded  shrubberies  in 
Battersea  Park,  their  borders  trimmed  with  some  low  grow- 
ing herbaceous  edging-plant,  and  the  beds  for  exotics  scat- 
tered about  everywhere,  with  other  beds  of  Koses,  Pinks, 
and  Wallflowers.  He  found  the  best  part  of  Battersea  Park 
to  be  that  which  was  most  like  the  old  parks,  — "  long 
stretches  of  greensward  with  trees  in  ranks,  or  scattered  on 
the  borders."  Conspicuous  artificiality,  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  flower-garden  treatment,  he  found  intolerable  in  any 
large  park.  For  him  the  flower  garden  was  a  thing  distinct. 
An  artificial  treatment,  appropriate  to  a  small  city  enclosure 
into  which  many  elaborate  features  might  be  compressed  to 
interest  and  amuse  children  or  childish  men  and  women, 
he  thought  never  desirable  in  spacious  country  parks.  Any 
unnatural  treatment  of  the  banks  of  a  brook,  or  of  the 
shores  of  a  pond  or  lake,  always  distressed  him.  Thus  he 
writes  of  the  water  in  Regent's  Park  as  "  the  miserable  ditch, 
called  the  lake,  with  its  shore  a  wide  muddy  path,  and  an 
iron  fence  at  the  brick  edge  of  the  water."  The  Park  Road 
at  Regent's  Park  afforded  him  a  profitable  study  of  house- 
yards  in  great  variety:  some  decorated  with  piles  of  slag, 
white  quartz,  or  blue  glass  (probably  called  "  rockeries "); 
and  some  with  statuettes  or  rustic  seats  made  of  iron ;  the 
best  "  those  in  which  the  path  to  the  door  is  carried  conven- 
iently direct,  and  simple  green  grass  or  Ivy  covers  most  of 
the  remaining  ground.  Ivy  as  a  green  cover  is  particularly 
useful  in  the  shade  of  trees  or  shrubs."  Here  he  notes  the 
good  effect  of  plantations  of  low-growing  shrubs  set  under 
the  windows  of  the  house  itself.  We  shall  see  hereafter  how 
he  applied  these  observations  at  home  in  the  suburbs  of 
Boston. 

On  the  8th  of  December  he  writes  thus  in  his  journal  of  a 
day  spent  at  Hampstead  :  — 

A  gloriously  bright,  cold  day,  —  bright  for  London.  Off 
for  Hampstead  by  ten  o'clock,  by  means  of  a  'bus  from 
Tottenham  Court  Road.  After  some  twenty  minutes'  ride 
over  stone  pavements  a  third  horse  was  hitched  on,  and  the 
ascent  of  the  northern  heights  began.  Open  fields  ap- 
peared between  the  buildings  along  the  highway  ;   but  the 


^T.  26]  HAMPSTEAD  —  HIGHGATE  65 

road  itself  is  now  built  up  all  the  way  to  the  Heath,  —  a 
picturesque  road  it  is,  as  it  winds  and  struggles  up  the 
steep  hill.  Numerous  narrow  footpaths  and  lanes  appear, 
sometimes  lined  with  pollarded  trees.  Up  on  the  height 
is  an  indescribable  mixture  of  tree-planted,  private  places 
enclosed  by  high  walls,  clusters  of  tile-roofed  cottages,  little 
inns  now  and  then  with  their  hanging  signs,  a  big  church, 
a  little  old  church,  and  a  chapel ;  and  worked  in  and  among 
and  around  these  the  bays,  straits,  and  reaches  of  the  wild, 
untamed  Heath,  with  its  Furze,  Gorse,  and  Bracken,  and 
its  innumerable  trodden  cross-paths  leading  in  every  direc- 
tion. And  then  the  glorious  outlook,  —  southward  over  all 
London ;  westward  to  Harrow-on-the-Hill  ;  northward  over 
a  smiling  farming  land  as  green  as  green  can  be ;  and  east- 
ward to  the  companion  height  of  Highgate  with  its  con- 
spicuous church,  and  its  tree-embowered  gentlemen's  places. 
After  a  delightful  tramp  all  through  and  about  Hampstead, 
I  pushed  on  for  the  town-end  of  Highgate  by  way  of  the 
open  fields  and  hills,  by  the  Ponds,  and  through  a  big  farm- 
yard with  its  elaborate  ricks,  to  the  beginning  of  the  villa 
region  ;  then  to  the  top  of  the  hill  by  a  footpath  leading 
between  private  places.  At  the  top  is  a  confused  meeting  of 
many  ways,  lanes,  highroads,  and  paths,  and  one  wide  and 
straightish  '  Broadway  '  lined  with  small  irregular  buildings, 
such  as  cottages,  shops,  inns,  and  stable-yards.  At  one  end 
an  (open)  toll-gate  and  an  old  inn  building  block  the  way,  — 
the  Old-Gate  Inn,  1671. 

Letters  of  introduction  brought  from  home  procured  for 
Charles  a  brief  acquaintance  with  a  considerable  number  of 
persons  interested  in  forestry  and  horticulture.  At  a  single 
dinner  of  a  horticultural  club  he  met  a  learned  horticulturist, 
editor  of  a  paper  devoted  to  that  subject,  a  white-haired 
grower  of  flowers,  a  fern  specialist,  a  fruit-tree  grower,  a 
landscape  gardener  to  some  of  the  nobility,  and  several  nota- 
ble amateurs  in  gardening.  There  was  real  profit  for  the 
young  student  in  intercourse  with  such  men,  who  showed  him 
much  kindness,  and  manifested  an  interest  in  what  he  had  to 
tell  them  of  the  difficulties  of  the  New  England  garden  and 
landscape  work.  One  evening  he  listened  to  the  recom- 
mendations of  a  master  in  the  art  about  shrubs  for  London 


56  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1885 

town  gardens ;  and  when  called  upon  to  contribute  some- 
thing himself  to  the  discussion  of  the  subject,  he  was  able  to 
tell  them  that  of  all  the  twenty  evergreens  recommended  by 
the  author  of  the  paper,  only  one,  the  Box,  would  endure  the 
New  England  climate. 

In  the  pleasant  English  fashion,  the  first  professional 
acquaintances  Charles  made  in  London  passed  him  on  to 
others,  who  could  give  him  valuable  information  or  introduc- 
tions not  only  in  England  but  also  on  the  Riviera. 

On  those  December  days  when  the  weather  did  not  lend 
itself  to  excursions  in  the  open  air,  Charles  had  other  re- 
sources in  the  Reading-Room  of  the  British  Museum  and  in 
the  South  Kensington  Library,  where  he  had  access  to  many 
books  relative  to  his  profession,  and  to  valuable  collections  of 
photographs  and  plates  illustrating  English  and  Continental 
gardens  and  parks.  In  the  long  evenings  there  was  time  for 
much  note-making,  journal  and  letter  writing,  and  for  occa- 
sional dining  or  theatre-going  with  the  members  of  the  plea- 
sant Philadelphia  family  whose  acquaintance  he  had  made  on 
the  steamer,  or  with  English  friends.  Some  of  the  indoor 
days  were  highly  profitable,  —  thus,  one  was  spent  at  Mr. 
Milner's  office,  looking  over  plans,  and  hearing  from  the 
master  about  his  manner  of  making  his  charges,  and  of 
carrying  out  his  designs  ;  but  the  out-of-door  days  were  for 
Charles  much  the  more  enjoyable.  On  the  17th  of  Decem- 
ber he  sjjent  the  best  part  of  the  short  day  on  horseback, 
going  with  the  superintendent  of  Epping  Forest  through  that 
beautiful  reservation  of  about  6000  acres,  which  is  only 
sixteen  miles  from  London.  Here  he  saw  the  work  of  thin- 
ning coppice,  the  product  being  made  up  in  three  grades 
from  poles  to  fagots.  The  Forest  has  immense  masses  of 
coppice  and  thicket  where  the  trees  and  shrubs  kill  each 
other,  —  the  result  being  dangerous  quantities  of  materials 
for  fires.  Yet  the  superintendent's  intelligent  efforts  to  clear 
and  thin  the  woods  encounter  incessant  popular  opposition, 
and  it  is  a  useful  part  of  his  function  to  make  "  explanatory 
excursions  "  with  committees.  There  is  no  large  variety  of 
vegetation  in  the  Forest ;  and  no  large  variety  is  necessary  to 
produce  the  finest  landscape  effects.  Gorse,  Heather,  Broom, 
Thorns,  Hornbeam,  Crabs,  Birch,  Beech,  and  Oak  are  quite 
sufficient. 

On  the  22d  of  December  he  had  an  interesting  day  in  the 
country,  of  which  his  journal  gives  the  following  account :  — 

Gloomy,  as  usual ;  but  being  thoroughly  sick  of  the  town  I 


g^:r  :';::>i)iiiijiiJJiJi!i'M^viiiipi™^ 


0 

1h 


-ET.  26]  BEDFORD  PARK -FAUST  — PINNER  57 

took  train  to  Bedford  Park  where  I  tramped  till  lunch  time. 
It  is  a  whole  town,  built  of  pretty  houses  of  red  brick  and 
tile,  with  picttiresque  chiraneystacks,  dormers,  and  roofs, 
stoops,  porches,  and  leaded  windows,  a  church,  a  block  of 
"  supply  "  stores,  and  a  "  Tabard  Inn."  The  houses  are  rather 
crowded  ;  but  in  a  few  streets  there  are  little  gardens,  — 
some  extremely  well  contrived  and  pretty.  The  roads  are 
narrow,  with  curbstones,  paved  gutters,  and  street  trees 
throughout.  There  are  no  service  alleys  ;  so  that  in  some 
parts  of  the  town  the  houses  look  across  the  street  at  the 
backs  of  other  houses ;  but  then,  the  backs  are  good-looking. 
There  is  a  pleasing  variety  of  street  palings,  walls,  and 
fences,  and  a  few  houses  are  well  grouped  with  large  elms. 

After  luncheon  in  a  neat  little  den,  I  walked  down  to  the 
Thames  and  Chiswick  by  way  of  a  snarl  of  narrow  lanes,  and 
thence  turned  cityward  by  footways  and  lanes,  sometimes  on 
a  river  wall,  sometimes  behind  factory  or  wharf  properties, 

—  everywhere  crookedness  and  surprises.  There  were  a  few 
regions  of  pretty,  riverside  dwellings,  one  or  two  boat-land- 
ings, groups  of  large  Elms  on  the  river  wall,  and  occasional 
red-sailed  barges  drifting  by.  It  was  a  population  of  poor 
folk,  living  in  jumbled  cottages,  in  many  parts  approached 
only  by  footways  or  by  the  river. 

That  day  closed  with  a  sharp  contrast,  —  "  Faust  "  at  the 
Lyceum  Theatre  in  company  with  two  young  ladies  of  the 
Philadelphia  family  and  their  male  cousin.  Of  this  per- 
formance Charles  wrote  in  a  letter  home  :  "  It  was  a  won- 
derfully perfect  work  of  art  and  acting  in  every  particular, 

—  superlatively  beautiful  and  appropriate  scenery  and  cos- 
tuming, and  wholly  faultless  acting.  Not  a  failing  or  imper- 
fection or  regrettable  thing  about  it  anywhere,  save  that  phy- 
sically Miss  Terry  is  not  one's  idea  of  Margaret.  It  does 
one  good  to  see  work  of  human  skill  and  thought  and  taste 
accom]>li.shed  in  such  perfection." 

On  December  23d,  which  brought  a  brightish  morning  soon 
changing  to  cloud,  Charles  got  out  to  Pinner  by  a  forty- 
minute  journey  from  Gower  Street,  his  object  being  to  see 
a  true  country  village,  —  an  object  which  was  completely 
attained.  He  found  a  rambling,  uphill  street  of  cottages, 
farm  barns,  shops,  taverns,  yards,  and  gardens,  with  a 
square-towered   church  built  of  flints  at  the  top,  and  old 


68  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUEOPE  [1885 

graves  about  the  cliurch.  In  the  neighborhood  there  were 
a  few  very  pleasant  small  country-seats,  one  or  two  "  half- 
timbered  i^arks,"  and  many  time-worn  houses. 

Thence  I  followed  a  crooked  lane  past  two  outlying  farms, 
—  with  great  ricks  and  tottering  tile-roofed  barns,  —  towards 
the  dimly  visible  church  on  Harrow-on-the-Hill.  Finally,  the 
lane  having  become  untravelled  and  grassy  from  hedge  to 
hedge,  I  took  a  path  across  fields  and  stiles  which  brought 
me  to  the  foot  of  the  hill  most  pleasantly.  On  the  hill  —  on 
the  London  road  —  I  passed  many  small  "  parks  "  pastured 
by  sheej).  When  I  became  hungry,  the  "  Mitre  "  supplied  me 
with  a  half-bitter  and  some  crackers.  At  the  "  Swan "  I 
turned  back  by  another  road,  and  climbed  to  Harrow  itself,  — 
a  hill-top  village  commanding  great  views,  —  and  there  pro- 
cured beef  and  potatoes  in  a  little  shop  frequented  by  the 
schoolboys  (it  is  vacation  now).  In  a  graveyard  on  the 
brink  of  the  hill,  with  old  trees  about  it,  stood  the  church, 
built  of  flints  again,  and  showing  some  Norman  work.  Inside 
the  village,  maids  were  busy  putting  up  Christmas  green.  On 
the  hillside  were  two  or  three  delightsome  views  out  over  the 
surrounding  counties,  through  openings  between  tree  masses 
or  between  great  trunks.  The  school  buildings  were  scat- 
tered, and  all  but  the  old  one  which  stands  on  the  hill  terrace 
were  uninteresting. 

The  London  weather  towards  the  end  of  December  gave 
Charles  some  gloomy  days.  On  the  28th  of  December  he 
writes :  "  Raining  now  and  then,  —  miserable  weather  ; 
Christmas  Day,  Boxing  Day,  and  Sunday  are  three  mon- 
strously doleful  days  for  any  one  who  is  a  stranger  in  Lon- 
don :  the  streets  are  muddy,  dark,  wet,  and  slippery,  and 
nearly  half  of  such  people  as  are  in  the  streets  are  drunk  or 
partly  so,  the  public  houses  being  open,  and  crowded  with 
men,  women,  and  children  on  all  these  days,  —  drunken  men 
and  women  being  in  the  omnibuses,  in  the  underground  rail- 
way, and  on  the  church  steps."  His  best  refuge  in  this 
weather  was  in  the  Reading-Room  of  the  British  Museum, 
where  he  could  always  find  what  was  to  him  very  interesting 
professional  reading.  On  the  29th  of  December  he  wrote 
his  father  and  mother  as  follows  :  "  I  always  learn  something 
on  my  suburban  and  country  excursions  ;  and  from  Kemp's 
books  in  the  Library  I  have  got  some  good  points.     I  enjoy 


^T.  26]    UGLY  LONDON -DELIGHTFUL  COUNTRY  59 

my  country  walks  exceedingly,  as  I  do  the  National  Gallery, 
and  Henry  VII.'s  Chapel,  and  the  Elgin  Marbles,  and  the 
Cast  Room  at  South  Kensington ;  but  it  is  all  solitary,  self- 
centred,  unexpressed  enjoyment ;  and  will  it  help  me  at  all 
to  create  what  shall  be  beautiful  when  I  may  get  a  chance  to 
try  my  hand  ?  " 

On  the  30th  of  December  he  wrote  thus  to  his  brother 
from  the  Eeading-Room  of  the  British  Museum :  — 

My  digestion,  about  which  you  inquire,  is  in  good  shape 
most  of  the  time ;  and  I  want  to  assure  you  that  I  am  not  at 
all  gone  in  the  other  region  you  mention.  My  heart  is  sound 
as  ever,  though  on  the  Germanic  I  was  really  frightened  lest 
I  was  about  to  lose  it.  I  have  explored  this  hateful  London 
pretty  thoroughly,  finding  a  monstrous  deal  of  interest  mixed 
up  with  all  the  ugliness  and  foulness.  The  streets  are  always 
interesting  ;  there  are  so  many  more  marked  types  of  men 
and  women,  houses,  vehicles,  and  buildings,  than  in  our  towns. 
But  the  suburbs  and  the  country  I  like  so  much  better,  ■ — 
the  great  Elms,  the  Lebanon  Cedars,  the  half-timbered 
houses,  the  parish  churches,  the  quaint  village  streets,  the 
lanes  and  hedges,  the  footpaths,  the  occasional  parks,  the  soft 
greensward,  the  soft  atmosphere,  and  the  long  shadows.  In 
spring  and  summer  this  land  must  be  a  very  garden  of  de- 
lights. .  .  .  The  political  situation  here  has  interested  me 
much.  Parnell's  almost  complete  victory  throughout  Ii-eland 
has  made  home-rule  the  question  of  the  hour  ;  and  only  just 
behind  this  (to  the  English  mind)  momentous  question  stand 
the  problems  of  church  disestablishment,  free  schools,  and 
land  reform.  Curiously  enough,  all  these  were  questions 
settled  for  us  in  America  some  time  ago.  .  .  .  Such  talk  as 
one  hears  about  the  Church  goes  beyond  belief,  —  such  cant, 
bigotry,  and  intolerance,  such  crying  that  disestablishment 
means  the  knell  of  religion  in  England  and  the  beginning  of 
the  end  for  the  Empire.  And  then  I  never  realized  at  all, 
till  now,  what  a  monstrous  burden  is  this  almost  feudal  land- 
system,  and  the  whole  aristocratic  concern. 

In  the  worst  days  of  cold,  rain,  and  fog,  Charles  could 
always  go  to  the  British  Museum  and  study  Repton,  Kemp, 
and  other  masters  of  his  art.     There,  also,  he  made  numerous 


LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE 


[1886 


tracings  of  plans  and  sketches,  and  notes  on  practice.  There, 
too,  he  found  much  good  reading  on  landscape  gardening  of 
the  last  century,  such  as  Horace  Walpole's  "  Essay  on  Gar- 
dening," and  Thomas  Whately's  "  Observations  on  Modern 
Gardening,"  and  the  works  of  Shenstone,  another  of  the  dis- 
coverers of  the  beauty  of  natural   scenery.     He  was  often 


Spacious  driveways  to  a  large  house  and  four  screened  out-buildings. 
Highway  oblique  to  the  buildings. 

amused  by  his  companions  at  the  Reading-Room.  Here  is  one 
of  his  descriptions  of  them  :  "  There  are  all  manner  of  cranks 
in  the  Reading-Room,  male  and  female  ;  men  with  whole 
walls  of  books  piled  about  them  ;  men  copying  and  making 
drawings,  and  painting  in  water  colors  ;  many  very  old  gen- 
tlemen, their  noses  rubbing  the  pages  of  great  books :  many 
youthful  women  in  strange  dress,  most  of  them  reading 
Ruskin ;  a  few  old  women  hard  at  work  copying  or  at  water 
colors,  and  looking  as  if  they  had  been  in  the  room  all  their 
lives.  The  attendants  are  very  civil ;  but  the  time  required 
to  get  out  a  book  is  incredibly  long." 

In  spite  of  the  advantageous  use  he  was  making  of  his 
time  in  London,  and  of  his  thorough  enjoyment  of  his  excur- 
sions to  the  country,  he  was  quite  capable  of  falling  into  a 
mood  of  depression,  such  as  moved  him  to  write  as  follows  to 
his  father :  — 


I^ACGjvVSH      Coi^Pf-^ct      Pkl^Q.f^, 


jjSe,.^ ri  »2-  >4.rO«.*j^v^ 


A  TRACING  FROM   KEMP 


^T.  26]  BOOKS  —  PICTURES  61 

Sunday,  3  Jan'y,  1886.  I  am  oppressed  with  a  sense  of  ac- 
complishing little  or  nothing.  Somehow  I  am  getting  to  think 
that  nothing  I  can  or  may  do  will  make  much  difference  in 

my  professional  life  ;  just  as  Aunt  A says  that  she  can 

hardly  influence  her  children's  characters  at  all;  and  just  as 
college  makes  so  much  less  difference  in  men's  lives  than  it 
is  commonly  supposed  to.  After  all,  it  is  what  a  man  is  by 
nature  that  counts. 

On  the  7th  of  January  he  records  his  Reading-Room  ex- 
perience thus  :  "  I  finished  Girardin,  —  good  ;  W.  Mason's 
poem,  '  The  English  Garden ; '  and  another  Mason's  essay 
on  '  Gardening,'  both  very  intei-esting,  —  the  first  dated 
1772 ;  the  second,  1768,  the  time  of  the  breaking  away  from 
the  old  formal  style.  I  also  discovered  a  five-volume  book  in 
French  by  one  Hirschfeld,  published  in  1785,  and  full  of  the 
then  new  spirit."  His  letters  of  introduction  having  pro- 
cured him  admission  to  certain  friendly  gatherings  of  ai'chi- 
tects  and  artists,  sometimes  at  clubs,  sometimes  in  private 
houses,  he  not  infrequently  remarks  that  he  had  seen  the  whole 
thing  before  in  Du  Maurier's  drawings.  He  was  always 
much  interested  in  any  proof  of  the  accuracy  of  an  artist's 
representations,  whether  of  landscape  or  of  human  society. 
On  the  9th  of  January  he  spends  the  greater  part  of  the  day 
at  a  winter  exhibition  of  old  masters  at  the  Royal  Academy. 
"  The  day  fled  all  too  fast ;  a  I'oom  full  of  old  Italian,  another 
room  of  Flemish,  and  a  much  mixed  room  of  English  and 
Dutch  works,  Wilkies,  Constables,  and  Teniers,  with  a  great 
show  of  ladies'  portraits  by  Gainsborough  and  Sir  Joshua  ;  but 
far  beyond  all  these  in  interest  for  me  was  a  collection  of  forty- 
six  water-color  landscapes  by  Turner,  —  for  the  most  part 
scenes  in  England  and  Scotland,  and  in  the  Alps,  — every  one 
of  them  poetic,  lovely,  enchanting,  like  the  poetry  of  Shelley ; 
all  the  landscape  painting  I  have  ever  seen  is  as  nothing  in 
comparison  with  these.  These  pictures  take  right  hold  of  my 
heart,  and  move  me  as  real  landscape  sometimes  does.  I  am 
transported."  He  refreshed  himself  also  with  music  occa- 
sionally. Thus,  on  January  11th  :  "  After  dinner  I  went 
dowai  to  St.  James's  Hall  for  the  Monday  '  Pop,'  one  shilling, 
which  admits  one  to  an  unreserved  region  behind  the  players, 
where  on  a  steep  grade  are  arranged  a  few  rows  of  chairs, 
and  behind  them  some  backless  benches.  The  concert  was 
of  chamber  music.  A  new  pianist,  in  whom  the  audience 
was  much  interested,  played  several  bits  of  Schumann  that 


62  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1886 

E plays ;  and  Mr.  Lloyd  sang,  among  other  things,  Schu- 
bert's '  Serenade  '  most  beautifully.  At  Mrs.  S.'s  invitation 
I  took  an  omnibus  with  herself  and  Mr.  B.,  and  at  their 
house  partook  of  a  supper,  —  curry  and  rice,  bread  and 
cheese,  and  beer.  Bed  at  12.30."  He  is  often  at  the  Read- 
ing-Room  of  the  British  Museum,  reading  Hirschfekl  and 
Hermann  Jaeger,  and  Sir  W.  Chambers's  "  Essay  on  Orien- 
tal Gardening,"  and  R.  P.  Knight's  poem  "  The  Landscape," 
—  both  good  works  of  the  last  century,  —  and  Gilpin  and 
Price,  of  which  he  says  :  "  After  all  perhaps  the  best  general 
works  on  modern  landscape  art."  There  was  an  inner  sanc- 
tuary at  the  Reading-Room  where  he  could  look  over  volumes 
of  plates,  such  as  Adolphe  Alphand's  superb  volumes,  "  Les 
Promenades  de  Paris." 

On  the  16th  of  January  the  sun  was  actually  visible ;  and 
he  immediately  took  train  for  Ashstead  Park,  a  forty-minute 
ride,  to  see  one  of  Mr.  Milner's  places. 

The  station  is  in  the  fields,  some  distance  from  a  very 
small  hamlet.  Beyond  this  hamlet  is  a  rising  ground,  cov- 
ered with  great  woods,  and  in  the  edge  thereof  stands  an 
old  square-towered  church.  I  walked  up  the  hill  accom- 
panied by  an  old  fellow  in  big  boots,  who  told  me  all  about 
the  farms  and  the  gentry  of  the  neighborhood.  With  him  I 
followed  the  public  way  through  and  across  a  park  to  the 
house  of  the  head-gardener ;  but  the  head-gardener  had  gone 
away  with  the  owner,  so  I  walked  all  about  the  walled  gar- 
dens and  the  neighborhood  by  myself,  observing  the  houses 
for  peaches,  pineapples,  and  grapes,  the  convenient  quarters 
for  the  workmen,  the  very  old  espalier  fruit  trees,  the  stand- 
ard roses,  and  the  old  house  of  brick,  its  chimneys  clasped  by 
the  twisted  branches  of  an  old  espalier  pear  planted  at  one 
corner.  At  one  o'clock  the  head-gardener  arrived,  and  walked 
with  me  until  3  o'clock,  showing  me  Milner's  terrace,  and 
other  architectural  work  about  the  mansion,  his  "  pleasure- 
ground,"  with  undulations  and  evergreen  plantings  (which 
harmonized  but  ill  with  the  surrounding  park),  his  "  new 
pond "  and  his  many  "  game  covers."  The  deer  formerly 
browsed  up  to  the  very  walls  of  the  house.  A  new  walled 
entrance  court  on  one  side,  and  double  terraces  on  the  other 
side,  add  greatly  to  the  views  both  of  and  from  the  house. 


£T.  26]  ONE   OF  MR.   MILNER'S   PLACES  63 

There  is  a  grand  view  from  the  terrace  front  down  a  long 
sweep  of  greensward,  having  groves  of  noble  trees  on  both 
hands,  to  the  wide  hills  of  Ashstead  Common  on  the  further 
side  of  the  intervening  valley.  I  did  not  like  the  "  pleasure- 
ground," —  some  wandering  paths  in  undulating  ground,  the 
little  swells  invariably  crowned  with  elose-phmted  masses  of 
shrubs,  mostly  evergreens.  All  this  in  the  edge  of  the  finest 
possible  wood  of  great  Oaks  and  ancient  Elms,  where  no 
shrubs  ever  grew  and  no  undulations  ever  were.  The  pond  is 
still  worse,  though  it  will  appear  much  better  when  the  planta- 
tions are  grown.  Its  jiosition,  near  the  foot  of  the  said  long 
hill,  involved  a  dam  on  the  lower  side  of  its  whole  length,  —  a 
thing  very  difficult  to  conceal.  The  outlines  are  stiffly  curvi- 
linear, and  are  all  neatly  sodded  and  trimmed,  and  the  plan- 
tations are  too  dressy,  and  such  as  will  never  harmonize  with 
the  surrounding  great  woods.  These  open  woods  are  the 
glory  of  the  Park,  —  no  undergrowth,  numerous  trunks,  deer 
browsing  among  them.  The  old  church  is  very  picturesque, 
a  great  yew  being  crowded  into  the  corner  beside  the  squat 
tower. 

At  three  o'clock,  Mrs.  S.  having  provided  me  with  two 
buns  and  three  apples,  I  set  out  again  and  walked  to  Leather- 
head,  where  about  four  o'clock  I  got  a  train  for  Dorking, 
and  there  put  up  at  the  White  Horse  at  dark.  Dorking  is  a 
crooked  little  place,  with  narrow  streets,  save  in  the  centre 
where  a  greater  breadth  gives  room  for  markets.  The  Lon- 
don road,  for  instance,  is  twenty-one  feet  wide,  with  one  side- 
walk twenty-one  inches  wide  ;  and  other  streets  are  even 
narrower,  and  with  no  flags.  There  are  many  crooked  old 
buildings,  narrow  lanes,  and  small  cottages  crowded  among 
patches  of  garden.  Over  all,  rules  a  tall-spired  parish 
church.  I  explored  the  town  by  moonlight ;  for  the  evening, 
like  the  day,  was  gloriously  fine.  The  inn  was  very  com- 
fortable, save  for  its  low  ceilings  and  doorwa5'S.  In  the 
centre  of  the  building  was  an  inner  s(inctuary,  having  sliding 
small-paned  sasl)es  on  three  sides  and  the  chimney  on  the 
fourth  side,  whence  drinkables  were  supplied  to  gentlemen  in 
the  smoking-room  on  one  side,  and  to  mere  men  in  the  hall 
on  the  other. 


64  LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1886 

Sunday,  litli  of  January.  As  I  am  the  only  guest  of  the 
house,  my  meals  are  served  in  great  state  in  a  good-sized 
room,  with  a  fire  and  many  newspapers.  Chops  for  break- 
fast ;  and  for  dinner,  roast  beef,  of  course,  carved  by  myself, 
with  apple  tart,  and  celery  and  cheese  later.  This  morning 
I  had  a  grand  tramp,  the  weather  being  still  clear,  eastward 
through  an  old  park  —  Betchworth  —  to  a  hamlet  called 
Brockham  Green,  where  a  number  of  cottages,  an  inn,  and 
a  church  are  prettily  clustered  together.  Thence,  across  the 
Mole,  and  by  several  seats  and  farms,  to  the  great  hill  of 
the  North  Downs,  —  Box  Hill,  —  which  stands  over  against 
Dorking,  and  commands  a  most  interesting  view  of  one  of 
the  many  gardens  of  England,  —  the  county  of  Surrey.  The 
extent  of  the  woodlands  about  Dorking,  and  the  great  num- 
ber of  country-seats,  not  counting  mere  villas,  were  most  sur- 
prising to  me.  The  hill  itself  is  really  grand ;  its  slopes 
very  steep  though  reckless,  and  the  groves  of  Box-trees  on 
the  summit  very  remarkable.  Then,  the  road  descending 
into  the  valley  of  the  Mole  (by  which  the  railway  from  Lon- 
don reaches  Dorking)  overlooks  a  lovely  country,  well  watered 
and  richly  cultivated,  the  great  ranges  of  the  surrounding 
Downs  carrying  much  wood  and  many  mansions  on  their 
slopes  and  summits.  I  crossed  the  Mole  again  at  Burford 
Bridge,  where  the  Guide  tells  me  Keats  wrote  "  Endymion." 
Between  half-past  three  and  dark  I  wandered  close  to  town 
among  the  lovely  lanes  and  woods,  and  in  the  mansion 
grounds  of  Deepdene,  the  estate  of  the  Hope  family ;  also 
through  and  over  several  bits  of  rough  common,  —  where 
the  lord  of  the  manor  has  set  up  signs  forbidding  the  cut- 
ting of  peat  or  fagots,  —  and  through  the  highland  wood 
called  the  "  Glory."  In  the  smoking-room  I  wrote  letters, 
and  listened  to  the  village  worthies  growling  about  the  length 
of  the  sermon  and  the  late  bad  weather  for  hunting. 

18th  of  January.  Weather  not  so  fine,  but  still  too  good 
to  think  of  going  back  to  grimy  London.  To-day  I  took  the 
Guildford  road,  having  the  hills  of  the  Downs  white  with 
frost  on  my  right,  and  many  ridges  stretching  towards  Leith 
Hill  (the  top  of  all  this  country)  on  my  left.  Again  there 
were  many  seats  and  many  bits  of  common ;  and  one  mile 


JET.  26]  THE  HOME  OF  MALTHUS  65 

out  a  hamlet  called  "Westcott,  with  a  church  in  the  midst  of 
a  Furze-common  on  a  steep  hillside.  Presently  the  road 
crosses  a  brook ;  and  looking  upstream  I  see  an  ancient 
manor-house  in  a  lovely  green  valley,  the  hills  around  it 
clothed  with  great  woods.  By  the  side  of  the  brook  is  an 
"  avenue  "  arched  with  enormous  Beeches.  Down  this  road 
comes  a  little  cart  drawn  by  two  donkeys  tandem ;  and  from 
the  driver  thereof  I  learn  that  a  public  footpath  passes  the 
house,  and  that  the  place  is  the  "  Rookery."  In  the  Guide  I 
read  that  the  Rookery  was  the  home  of  Malthus,  translator 
of  Girardin's  "  Essay  on  Landscape,"  and  author  of  the 
"  Essay  on  Population."  Therefore  I  enter  said  arch  of 
Beeches,  and  passing  some  small  mill-buildings,  smothered  in 
vegetation,  and  the  house  with  its  terrace-garden,  I  reach  the 
head  of  the  valley,  whence  the  backwai'd  view  of  the  house 
set  on  this  hillside  and  backed  by  woods,  with  a  gentle  slope 
from  terrace  to  millpond,  and  then  hanging  woods  again  on 
the  other  side,  is  very  lovely.  No  dressy  planting  is  here,  — 
nothing  out  of  place  or  unharmonious,  —  all  is  simple,  and 
yet  rich  enough.  The  foot  of  the  pond  is  shrouded  in  thick 
evergreens.  The  two  or  three  islands  near  the  head,  and  the 
slopes  about  a  rock-set  fall  of  water  from  a  second  pond 
above,  are  clothed  with  overhanging  shrubbery.  The  pond 
shore  is  not  geometrically  curved,  and  the  steep  hill  on  the 
opposite  bank  is  wooded  in  part,  the  trees  standing  on  its 
steepest  parts  only.  All  in  all,  this  is  a  spot  which  art  of 
man  has  made  more  beautiful,  and  much  more  characteris- 
tically expressive,  than  ever  it  could  have  been  in  its  natural 
condition.  Is  not  this  the  true  object  of  real  landscape 
gardening  ? 

A  public  path  beyond  the  house  looked  tempting,  and  I 
kept  on,  —  first,  over  a  really  wild-wooded  hill,  and  into 
another  meadow  valley,  this  one  with  a  farmstead  in  the 
midst.  Keeping  the  path  which  followed  the  stream,  the 
valley  began  to  lose  its  soft  character,  and  finally  came  to  be 
narrow  and  deep,  shut  in  by  steep  Fir-clad  hills,  with  now 
and  then  open  Gorse-covered  patches.  Suddenly  there  ap- 
penred  a  cluster  of  four  or  five  very  poorly  kept  cottages 
with  thatched  or  tiled  roofs,  and  small  enclosures  for  vegeta- 


66  LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1886 

bles,  —  tbeir  water  drawn  only  from  the  streamlet.  Thence 
I  advanced  over  a  high  wind-swept  common  towards  an  ap- 
parently endless  Pine  forest.  No  houses  were  in  sight ;  but 
the  sound  of  a  church  bell  came,  striking  the  quarter  hours, 
from  the  great  valley  between  me  and  the  Downs.  The  Pine 
v/ood  had  its  many  paths,  and  a  lovely  undergrowth  with 
many  little  Beeches ;  and  by  and  by  I  struck  a  distinct  lane 
which  soon  began  to  dive  downhill,  sinking  itself  into  the 
earth  in  the  process  (as  roads  do  in  North  Carolina)  ;  and 
soon  it  brought  me  to  cottages,  and  to  the  wall  of  a  park. 
Then  the  "great  house"  appeared, — a  very  great  house, 
rambling  in  the  extreme,  built  of  red  brick,  and  in  some 
parts  evidently  Elizabethan,  at  least.  From  a  little  hill 
before  the  lodge  gates  I  could  overlook  the  whole  place, 
lying  as  it  does  in  a  tight  little  valley  surrounded  by  woods, 
most  characteristically  English,  and  ancient,  and  aristocratic. 
When  I  asked  the  only  visible  inhabitant  —  a  very  old  man 
in  the  road  —  what  house  this  was,  he  said,  "  Wotton  House, 
sir,  —  Mr.  Evelyn's."  True  enough,  —  the  Guide  confirmed 
him,  and  told  me  this  was  the  house  of  John  Evelyn,  the 
writer  of  the  "  Sylva,"  in  whose  family  the  place  has  been 
since  Queen  Elizabeth's  days.  Then  I  went  down  and,  ask- 
ing permission  at  the  lodge,  I  had  fifteen  minutes'  strolling 
in  the  ancient  gardens,  to  my  delight.  The  blue  smoke  from 
the  old  chimneys  rose  straight  into  the  air.  In  the  outer 
court  a  young  lady  was  playing  with  a  big  dog.  There  was 
not  a  sound  but  her  voice,  and  the  notes  of  some  birds  now 
and  then.  Really,  I  felt  as  if  I  were  in  a  dream.  However, 
I  managed  to  arouse  myself  in  time  to  walk  back  through 
Westcott  to  dinner  at  the  White  Horse  at  1.30.  This  time 
it  was  calf's  head  and  bacon ;  and  I  was  hungry  and  tired, 
and  sat  long  over  it ;  and  did  nothing  in  the  afternoon  but 
buy  three  poor  photographs,  and  get  myself  back  to  London. 

On  disagreeable  days,  towards  the  end  of  January,  he  was 
reading  the  work  of  Fiirst  Piickler-Muskau  on  "  The  Land- 
scape Art."  He  found  it  tough  reading,  but  good ;  and 
when  he  had  finished  it,  he  notes  that  "  after  all  it  is  one  of 
the  best  books  on  the  subject."  London  society  was  con- 
sumed at  this  time  by  the  home-rule  question  in  Ireland ; 


;ET.  26]  PROFESSIONAL  READING  — OXFORD  G7 

and  at  almost  every  breakfast,  or  dinner,  to  which  Charles 
was  invited,  this  was  the  topic  of  a  somewhat  exciting  con- 
versation. Even  his  horticultural  and  landscape  frienels 
could  hardly  keep  out  of  it.  Charles  was,  of  course,  inter- 
ested in  these  discussions,  but  would  have  much  prefei'red  to 
hear  about  English  gardens,  parks,  and  scenery.  On  the 
20th  of  January,  after  a  breakfast  with  Professor  James 
Bryce,  M.  P.,  at  wiiich  there  was  a  great  deal  of  talk  about 
Ireland,  Charles  went  into  the  Grosvenor  Gallery  where  are 
Millais's  works.  His  comment  in  his  journal  was  that  the 
collection  was  very  interesting,  as  showing  all  the  stages  of 
Millais's  development  from  his  pre-Raphaelite  times  to  the 
latest  of  his  pretty  children  pictures.  "  Interesting,  too, 
to  see  how  throughout  all  he  has  held  to  the  central  truth 
of  pre-Kaphaelitism,  —  the  all-surpassing  importance  of  ex- 
pression and  character."  Among  the  few  landscapes,  Charles 
especially  noted  the  wonderfully  expressive  "  Chill  October." 

All  through  December  and  January  Charles  went  with 
much  regularity  to  hear  the  preaching  of  the  Kev.  Stopford 
Brooke,  finding  his  discourses  luiusually  interesting  and 
profitable.  He  is  occasionally  at  pains  to  enter  the  sub- 
stance of  the  sermon  in  his  journal,  and  repeatedly  expresses 
his  pleasure  in  the  evening  services  at  Mr.  Brooke's  church. 
On  the  30th  of  January  he  records  that  he  had  comi)leted,  at 
the  Reading-Koom  of  the  British  Museum,  the  course  of  pro- 
fessional reading  which  he  had  determined  on  for  the  bad 
weather  of  the  winter ;  and  he  celebrated  the  completion  of 
this  undertaking  by  going  to  the  pantomime  at  Drury  Lane, 
where  he  saw  "  a  great  show,  being  a  combination  of  ifarce, 
comedy,  opera,  spectacle,  ballet,  and  old-fashioned  columbine 
and  hai'lequin  business." 

At  the  end  of  January  and  the  first  of  February,  he  had  a 
five  days'  visit  to  Oxfoi-d,  where  he  was  very  kindly  received 
by  English  friends  of  his  father,  friends  who  had  known  him 
as  a  boy  in  New  England  Cambridge.  He  was  entertained 
for  short  periods  in  Oriel  College,  at  All  Souls,  and  at  the 
house  of  the  Master  of  Merton.  He  walked^  all  about  the 
town  and  through  the  grounds  and  buildings  under  the  best 
and  kindest  possible  guidance,  and  was  presented  to  a  laj-ge 
number  of  cultivated  and  interesting  strangers.  He  listened 
to  the  talk  of  a  considerable  number  of  young  men  who  had 
won  high  standing  at  the  University,  and  fellowships  as  the 
appropriate  prizes  for  such  attainment.  But  the  total  result 
of  his  observation  of  these  young  men  was  a  feeling  of  sad- 
ness,—  almost  of   pity:  "They  strike   me — with  all  their 


68  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1886 

learning,  which  in  things  classical  and  accepted  is  plainly- 
great  —  as  a  monstrously  anti-natural  product  of  civilization, 

—  a  very  much  forced  crop.  They  seem  to  me  a  set  of  fel- 
lows tightly  bound  in  the  bonds  of  conformity,  conservatism, 
and  precedent,  and  unable  to  see  the  narrowness  of  the  educa- 
tion they  have  all  received  at  the  hands  of  their  public  school 
and  their  college.  I  like  much  better  the  average  under- 
graduate who  spends  his  days  at  tennis  or  on  the  river  and 
just  gets  through  his  pass  examinations."  The  general  views 
of  Oxford  delighted  him  ;  and  he  says  of  it :  "  There  is  no 
town  of  man's  building  with  more  character  of  its  own  than 
this."  The  hospitality  of  Professor  James  Bryce,  both  in 
London  and  at  Oriel  College,  was  of  great  advantage  to 
Charles,  for  he  heard  at  the  London  house  much  interesting 
political  talk ;  and  at  Oxford  the  son  was  entertained  just  as 
the  father  had  been  more  than  twenty  years  before.  At  this 
moment  Mr,  Bryce  was  about  to  receive  an  appointment  in 
the  new  government,  —  the  appointment  of  Under-Secretary 
of  Foreign  Affairs. 

On  February  6th  Charles  awoke  "  with  a  strong  desire  to 
get  out  of  London,  and  away  from  the  ill-managed  house 
in  which  I  have  been  lodging.  The  liorridness  of  it  seems 
worse  after  life  at  Oxford."  That  evening  he  arrived  at 
Canterbury  on  his  way  to  Paris.  Sunday,  the  7th  of  Febru 
ary,  he  spent  in  Canterbury,  and  went  to  the  Cathedral  morn 
ing  service.  Here  are  his  comments  thereon  :  "  Long,  —  fit 
rather  for  the  Dark  Ages  than  for  the  nineteenth  century 
Sermon  very  bad,  —  a  perversion  of  the  meaning  of  the 
phrase  'the  liberty  with  which  Christ  hath  made  us  free. 
Shocking  !    A  carefully  arranged  seating  of  the  congregation 

—  the  quality,  their  coaclimen  in  livery,  their  house  servants 
the  commoners  and  ordinary  townspeople,  the  charity  school 
children,  the  strangers,  —  the  latter  put  behind  the  reading- 
desk  and  pulpit."  After  the  service  he  walked  westward 
up  a  little  hill  beyond  the  embattled  Westgate  and  the  Stour, 
whence  he  gained  a  good  general  view  of  the  town  lying  in 
a  shallow  depression,  the  cathedral  rising  high  from  the 
midst.  "  Cultivated  slopes  rise  all  about  the  town,  crowned 
by  several  large  windmills,  —  a  dust  of  snow  over  all."  The 
next  morning  he  explored  the  Cathedral,  recalling  Professor 
Norton's  lectures  on  the  great  structure  ;  but  what  he  most 
enjoyed  was  the  "  lovely  intricate  region  adjoining  the 
Cathedral,  —  garden  mixed  with  old  buildings  and  ruins." 
The  fresh  appearance  of  the  Cathedral  surprised  him  ,•  it  had 


^T.  26]  ARRIVAL  IN  PARIS  69 

"  nothing  of  the  ancient  look  of  dirty  Westminster."  That 
evening  he  reached  Paris  long  after  dark ;  and,  having 
thoroughly  studied  the  map  of  Paris  beforehand,  he  walked 
from  the  station  to  the  hotel  he  had  decided  to  try,  —  No.  55 
Kue  de  Provence.  Supper  over,  he  forthwith  walked  out 
on  the  boulevards.  He  had  not  seen  Paris  since  he  was 
nine  years  old.  This  was  his  earliest  comment :  "  Interesting 
shop  windows,  lively  people,  —  vast  contrast  to  the  gloom 
and  glumness  of  London."  The  next  day  he  made  a  sort  of 
general  tour  of  the  city,  which  appeared  to  him  wonderfully 
fresh,  bright,  and  cheerful.  Almost  his  first  performance 
was  to  mount  the  tower  of  Notre  Dame  for  the  fine  view 
of  the  city.  Having  an  extraordinary  facility  in  mastering 
the  map  of  any  city  and  all  its  means  of  transportation,  — 
omnibuses,  tramways,  and  steam  railways,  —  he  wa«  com- 
pletely independent  of  guides,  and  of  the  usual  resorts  of 
English-speaking  people.  His  first  luncheon  in  Paris  was 
taken  in  a  cafe  in  the  Latin  quarter,  on  which  he  chanced 
at  the  right  hour.  "  I  found  I  comprehended  the  geogi'apliy 
very  well,  and  knew  many  of  the  buildings  at  sight."  He 
also  understood  the  language  well  enough  for  the  common 
purposes  of  a  traveller.  In  the  evening  he  ordinarily  wi'ote 
either  in  his  journal  or  letters  to  go  homewai'ds ;  but  on 
this  first  day  in  Paris  he  took  pains  to  buy  a  ticket  for 
"  Faust "  at  the  Grand  Opera  the  next  night. 

On  the  11th  of  February  he  wrote  as  follows  to  his 
mother :  — 

"What  a  sight  are  Paris  shop  windows,  and  how  fine  are  the 
new  boulevards  with  their  handsome  terminations  in  domes  of 
Pantheons,  and  Columns  of  July,  and  pediments  of  Made- 
leines. Verily,  it  is  good  to  see  a  well-designed  city,  and  one 
so  superlatively  well  kept.  Our  American  cities  have  been 
made  to  order ;  but  how  ill  in  comparison  with  this  made- 
over  one.  I  knew  that  Paris  was  handsome  and  cheerful ; 
but  I  never  realized  the  degree  of  its  beauty  and  brightness. 
Already  I  have  been  to  the  Louvre,  —  first  to  the  shrine  of 
the  Venus  of  Milo  (pity  to  call  her  a  Venus,  as  if  she  were 
one  of  the  softly  pretty  creatures)  ;  and  then  to  stand  before 
the  glorified  men  and  women  of  Titian.  "What  superb  crea- 
tures !  gifted  with  the  same  calm  divinity  as  the  Victory ; 
more  than  humanly  lovely,  healthy,  and  sane.  "We  folk  of 
to-day  —  and   particularly  these  French  —  are  the   veriest 


70  LANDSCAPE   STUDY   IN  EUROPE  [1886 

apes  and  idiots  in  comparison.  How  I  wish  I  might  liave  a 
drop  or  two  of  their  rich,  warm  blood  put  into  my  feeble 
heart.  What  would  n't  I  give  for  something  of  their  com- 
plete naturalness,  their  unconsciousness,  their  magnificent 
physical  perf ectness  ?  After  a  sight  of  these,  the  rest  of  the 
Louvre  counts  for  little,  —  at  least  one  cannot  care  for  it 
the  same  day. 

His  journal  thus  describes  his  first  morning  at  the 
Louvre :  — 

I  discovered  She  of  Melos  from  afar;  and  fell  down  in 
worship  at  her  shrine  like  any  Pagan.  Then  in  the  Salon 
Carre  and  the  next  room  I  discovered  adorable  creatures 
of  Titian's,  Giorgione's,  and  Veronese's  painting  ;  and  after 
long  gazing  on  these  I  found  I  could  not  care  for  the  rest  of 
the  liouvre,  and  so  left,  surprised  at  finding  it  three  o'clock. 
The  landscape  backgrounds  of  the  Titians  were  not  the  least 
interesting  parts  to  ufie,  —  some  of  them  being  very  lovely, 
and  all  interesting  as  first  examples  of  landscape  painting  in 
the  modern  sense.  The  thi'ee  or  four  Raphaels  were  very 
sweet  and  beautiful ;  but  not  nearly  so  interesting  to  me  as  the 
Titians,  beside  lacking  the  richness  of  color  of  the  Venetian's 
work.  The  several  reputed  da  Vincis  were  very  disappoint- 
ing, —  all  the  same  type  of  gently  smiling  woman,  figuring 
as  "  Virgin,"  "  Mistress,"  or  what  not.  It  is  impossible  to 
record  the  innumerable  impressions  and  delights  of  my  four 
hours. 

That  evening  he  visited  the  Place  de  I'Etoile,  where  he 
used  to  play  when  a  little  boy,  and  climbed  to  the  top  of  the 
arch  for  the  fine  view.  Thence  he  went  to  the  little  Pare  de 
Monceaux.     He  says  of  it :  — 

The  little  Pare  was  interesting,  —  nearly  spoilt  by  being 
cut  into  four  quarters  by  two  cross-roads,  but  possessed  of 
some  well-modelled  little  lawns,  shady  walks,  and  some  bits 
of  made  ruins,  set  about  a  pool  and  elsewhere,  that  smack 
of  the  earlier  days  of  naturalistic  gardening,  and,  being  well 
planted  and  partly  vine-clad,  and  hidden  away  in  groves,  are 
not  unlovely.  In  summer  the  whole  park  is  evidently  given 
over  to  the  exhibition  of  exotics,  many  strangely  shaped  and 
conspicuously  placed  beds  being  scattered  about. 


^T.  26J  FAUST  — PARIS   PARKS  71 

After  dinner  I  went  early  to  the  Grand  Opera,  loafed  in 
the  magnificent  foyer,  watched  the  coming  of  the  throngs, 
and  saw  several  parties  I  took  to  be  American.  From  my 
seat  (in  the  very  centre  of  the  parterre,  and  just  in  front  of 
the  abominable  claque)  I  studied  the  gorgeous  decoration  of 
the  room,  and  the  behavior  of  the  demi-nude  females  in  the 
first  circle.  "  Faust "  was  very  well  sung  and  acted  ;  —  as  a 
whole,  it  was  not  nearly  so  interesting  or  beautiful  as  the  play 
at  the  Lyceum,  but  in  parts,  by  reason  of  the  power  of  music, 
exceedingly  thrilling  and  moving.  There  was  a  really  lovely 
ballet  (in  place  of  Irving's  witch-scene  of  the  Brocken),  — 
the  first  charming  one  I  ever  beheld.  After  a  bock  bier  and 
a  petit  pain,  to  bed  considerably  weary,  it  being  one  o'clock. 

He  was  chiefly  bent  on  seeing  the  parks  and  out-of-door 
recreation-grounds ;  but  when  the  weather  was  unfit  for 
such  explorations,  he  resorted  to  the  museums,  where  the 
landscapes  and  seascapes  always  interested  him.  On  the  13th 
of  February  he  went  to  the  Pare  des  Buttes-Chaumont,  where 
he  foixnd  much  good  planting,  and  some  very  well-executed 
rock-work.  "  As  a  ^yhole,  the  place  is  dangerously  close  to 
being  fantastic  and  far-fetched  :  originally,  a  quarry ;  now, 
a  recreation-ground  for  a  poor  quarter  of  Paris.  A  well- 
planted  railway  cutting,  ingenious  concrete  brooklets  (!),  and 
very  good  rock-plantings,  —  too  many  carriage  roads,  per- 
haps." He  noticed  that  the  men  who  were  at  work  pruning 
were  evidently  trained  hands.  On  the  14th  of  February  he 
had  a  day  of  great  enjoyment  which  he  thus  described :  — 

Pont  Royal  to  Suresnes,  by  river.  The  day  bright  and 
warmish,  the  water  blue,  the  company  gay.  We  changed 
boats  at  the  city  line.  The  heights  of  Meudon  and  Mont 
Valerien  were  on  the  left,  and  low  suburban  districts  on  the 
right  bank.  We  had  a  glimpse  of  the  architectural  cascade 
of  St.  Cloud ;  and  in  the  park  of  St.  Cloud  there  was  a  con- 
spicuous mass  of  pink  twigs  of  Limes  (?).  At  Suresnes  I 
crossed  the  bridge  and  entered  the  Bois  de  Boulogne.  The 
effect  of  the  great  open  space  of  the  race-course  of  Long- 
champ  was  grand.  The  windmill  of  Longchamp  was  very 
pretty,  —  Ivy-clad,  standing  on  a  mound  of  well-clothed  arti- 
ficial rocks,  with  moat-like  water  about  it.  Near  by  was 
much   interesting  planting.     The  "  Grande  Cascade "  has  a 


72  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1886 

good  effect  from  the  distance  of  the  cascade  knoll,  with  its 
lichen-covered  ledges,  its  Pines  and  White  Birches.  The 
detail  of  rock-forming  and  rock-planting  is  admirable ;  but 
the  anti-naturalness  of  the  position  of  the  cascade  spoils  half 
the  charm.  I  walked  to  the  Carrefour,  between  the  two 
lakes.  Great  crowds  were  hurrying  to  the  Auteuil  steeple- 
chases. The  view  down  the  larger  lake  was  very  pretty,  with 
swans  flying  in  the  distance.  At  Pre  Catelan  I  had  beer 
and  bread  and  butter ;  and  then  strolled  by  crooked  paths 
through  the  wood  till  I  came  out  at  the  end  of  the  lake. 
Here  was  a  vast  throng  of  carriages  and  foot-passengers,  a 
very  gay  scene,  —  far  beyond  anything  I  ever  saw.  I  walked 
thence  all  the  way  to  the  Tuileries,  meeting  the  same  throngs 
on  the  way.  The  crowd  on  the  Champs-Elysees  was  very 
democratic,  with  many  shows  in  progress,  much  eating  and 
drinking,  crowds  at  open-air  tables  as  if  it  were  summer, 
swarms  of  children  and  pretty  bonnes,  —  all  very  amusing. 

February  15th  was  spent  at  the  Botanical  Garden,  "  getting 
acquainted  with  unknown  evergreens  and  other  strangers 
lately  met  with  in  the  parks  (Chionanthus  [Fringe-tree] 
and  Rhod.  Dahuricum,  in  bloom)."  The  next  day  he  visited 
the  Jardin  d' Acclimatation,  "  where  I  loafed  away  the  after- 
noon,—  not  very  profitably  professionally,  unless  a  zoological 
garden  should  be  required  of  one.  There  were  many  amus- 
ing creatures,  —  human,  and  other."  February  17th  he  men- 
tions that  after  dinner  he  had  a  talk  with  a  Rev.  somebody,  a 
Cambridge  man,  —  "  my  first  conversation  since  Oxford,  ex- 
cept a  few  words  with  an  American  on  the  Channel  steamer. 
I  find  the  mere  riding  on  tram  and  omnibus-tops  highly 
interesting,  —  the  people  very  easy,  good  tempered,  and 
democratic  in  their  ways.  It  is  strange  to  see  so  many 
women  bareheaded,  and  so  few  men  with  overcoats  or 
gloves.  The  cheerfulness  of  even  the  very  poor  is  a  great 
contrast  to  the  desperate  glumness  of  the  hideous  London 
poor.  Apparently  they  know  better  how  to  live  on  very 
little."  Another  day  he  called  upon  the  leading  French 
landscape  architect,  having  an  excellent  letter  to  him.  This 
gentleman's  practice  was  enormous,  as  was  that  of  the  Eng- 
lish landscape  architect  whose  acquaintance  Charles  had 
made  earlier  in  London.  Charles  made  the  same  comment 
on  both  offices,  the  English  and  the  French,  — "  Work  of 
men  so  much  driven,  as  these  men  are,  can  hardly  be  artistic, 


^T.  26]  THEATRE  — PARIS   PARKS  73 

I  fear.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  an  architect,  like  U.  R.  for 
example,  can  do  artistic  work  of  any  excellence  under  such 
circumstances ;  much  less  can  a  landscape  gardener,  whose 
works  cannot  be  executed  from  drawings  only." 

On  the  21st  of  February  he  wrote  to  his  mother :  — 

The  fine  weather  fled  three  days  ago.  Chill,  and  cloud, 
and  some  wet  have  succeeded.  No  more  wandering  in  parks, 
or  riding  on  tops  of  omnibuses ;  and  the  Louvre,  too,  is  cold ; 
and  the  Luxembourg  remains  closed.  .  .  .  Last  night  I  was 
at  the  Eden  Theatre.  Lots  of  ballet,  and  a  very  Parisian 
audience ;  innumerable  dangerous-looking  women ;  but  all 
well-dressed  and  well-behaved.  I  concluded  I  regarded  the 
ballet  dancers  (as  I  do  the  professional  ball-players  in  Amer- 
ica) with  much  more  respect  than  their  audience.  At  mid- 
night, when  the  show  was  over,  I  adjourned  to  a  cafe  for  a 
bock  and  a  sandwich,  and  then  to  the  Place  de  1' Opera, 
where  a  great  throng  was  enjoying  the  arrival  of  innumera- 
ble maskers,  a  bal  masque  being  about  to  begin  at  the  Grand 
Opera,  — a  strange  Sunday  morning  spectacle!  And  it  was 
so  cold  that  the  half-clothed  dancers  had  to  run  from  their 
cabs  up  the  great  steps,  —  a  brilliant  sight  under  the  light 
of  long  rows  of  gas  jets  on  the  front  of  the  building  and  of 
electrics  in  the  square. 

The  weather  during  the  last  week  of  February  was  often 
bad  ;  but  he  could  always  find  plenty  of  occupation  at  the 
Louvre  or  the  National  Library,  or  in  reading  guide-books  in 
anticipation  of  his  proposed  INIediterranean  journey.  On  the 
22d  of  February,  although  the  weather  was  still  cold  and 
dreary,  he  walked  to  IMontsouris,  where  he  was  much  inter- 
ested in  the  artificial  hiding  of  the  two  railways  that  cut  the 
land  into  four  quarters.  There,  too,  he  found  some  excellent 
planting,  and  more  artificial  rocks,  brooklets,  and  cascades. 
Of  these  he  says  in  a  letter  to  his  father :  "  I  am  astonished 
at  the  French  work  in  the  smaller  city  squares  and  places. 
Their  formal  work  —  fountains,  parterres,  etc.  —  I  like  well ; 
but  artificial  rocks,  cascades,  streams  (all  edged  with  con- 
crete!), and  cement  stalactites  in  concrete  caves,  seem  some- 
what childish."  From  Montsouris  he  went  again  to  the 
Luxembourg  to  study  the  cold  and  dreary  gardens,  and 
thence  to  the  Trocadero,  where  were  more  grounds  and  gar- 
dens to  be  studied.     On  the  23d  he  wrote  in  his  journal : 


74  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1886 

"  Another  bad  day  ;  but  I  concluded  not  to  go  south  just 
yet,  considering  yesterday  was  so  profitable."  On  the  24th 
the  clouds  partly  broke  at  last,  and  he  was  off  at  once  to  the 
western  end  of  the  Bois  de  Vincennes,  where  he  had  a  plea- 
sant walk  about  the  lake.  There  he  found  many  very  good 
bits  of  planting,  —  Tamarix  with  Pine  and  much  Mahonia, 

—  delightful  rock-plantings,  and  a  lovely  bit  of  shore  near 
the  bridge  to  the  island.  Thence  he  walked  to  the  terrace 
at  Gravelle,  noting  the  wide  prospect  over  the  Seine  and 
Marne  valleys,  peaceful  as  possible  save  for  the  incessant 
rattle  of  musketry  on  the  practice-ground  in  the  Bois.  Then 
he  went  on  past  the  race-course,  and  some  great  batteries, 
into  the  eastern  part  of  the  Bois,  where  were  thick  woods  of 
trees  generally  small,  meandering,  ditch-like,  made  brooks,  a 
largish  lake  with  islands,  —  for  the  most  part  well  handled, 

—  and  one  especially  pretty  strait,  with  steep  bank,  thickets, 
overhanging  trees,  and  rushes  on  the  water  side.  At  Porte 
Jaune  Island  there  is  a  good  bridge. 

After  such  a  long  day  out-of-doors  he  was  generally  glad 
to  spend  a  day  in  a  library.  Accordingly,  he  sought  the 
reading-room  of  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  and,  on  demand- 
ing a  book  not  to  be  had  there,  was  admitted  "  exceptionnelle- 
ment'*'  to  the  fine  Salle  de  Travail,  where  he  stayed  till  4 
p.  M.  "  A  fine  time  !  Then  I  crossed  the  Seine  and  bought 
one  of  the  books  I  had  there  discovered, — the  descriptive 
catalogue  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  herbaceous  plants  used  in 
planting  for  ornament  in  the  City  of  Paris,  —  a  book  in  de- 
fault of  which  I  have  spent  much  time  in  making  lists  of  my 
own."  The  next  day,  February  26th,  it  snowed,  with  sleet 
and  rain,  till  nearly  5  o'clock,  when  the  sky  suddenly  cleared. 
Immediately  he  got  out  for  a  walk,  and  noted  the  "  admira- 
ble and  successful  activity  of  the  street-cleaning  gangs."  On 
the  27th  the  sky  was  partly  clear,  and  he  took  a  tram-car  to 
the  Bois  de  Boulogne.  The  streets  were  all  perfectly  dry, 
the  snow  having  been  swept  into  the  gutters  before  it  hard- 
ened. The  Bois  was  all  white  and  bright.  "  I  walked  to  the 
Butte  near  the  Auteuil  grand-stand,  viewing  the  upper  lake, 
and  thence  by  a  woodland  path  to  the  Bois  gate,  seeing  many 
pretty  glades  on  the  way.  Thence  I  passed  along  the  edge  of 
tlie  Longchamp,  getting  glorious  views  of  the  snowy  heights* 
beyond  the  Seine,  to  the  Cascade  ;  and  into  the  cafe  thei-e 
for  lunch.  On  by  the  gates  of  the  Bagatelle  to  the  Mare  de 
St.  James,  and  so  to  Porte  Maillot  and  the  Arc  de  Triomphe, 

—  a  fine  walk  in  a  lonely  country,  for  Paris  is  apparently 
kept  at  home  by  snow."     The  next  day,  February  28th,  he 


^T.  26] 


CURIOSITIES  OF  PARIS 


75 


explored  again  Pare  Monceaux,  and  also  the  so-called  Square 
or  Place  des  Butig-nolles.  "  Both  these  are  interesting  works, 
wholly  different  from  any  city  plots  of  similar  area  in  Eng- 
land or  America,  or  anywhere  but  just  here  in  Paris,  —  such, 
at  all  events,  is  my  present  imagining."  In  the  evenings  he 
was  now  studying  Italian  tours,  and  narrowing  his  choice 
between  several  attractive  routes. 

When  he  had  been  in  Paris  three  weeks,  he  made  the  fol- 
lowing memorandum,  headed,  "  Some  curiosities  of  Paris  :  " 
"  Sharp-cracking  whips  ;  cabmen's  white  glazed  hats  ;  hatless 
women  ;  funeral  processions  ;  also  les  noces  ;  fried  potatoes  ; 
public  cigar-lighting  gas  jets ;  fish-women  with  a  basket  on 
each  arm,  and  perhaps  three  fish  in  each ;  hand-carts  drawn 
by  harnessed  men  ;  women's  hand-carts  loaded  with  fruit, 
vegetables,  beans,  and  flowers,  the  women  enormous,  strong, 
wooden-shod ;  monstrous  three-horse  omnibuses ;  long  and 
narrow  high  two-wheeled  cai*ts  ;  huge  horses ;  processions  of 
school-children  ;  pack-men  who  are  also  bootblacks  ;  funeral 
decorations  at  house  doors  ;  countless  small  newspapers  ;  vast 
array  of  trashy  books  prettily  got  up  ;  square  yards  of  pho- 
tographs of  Salon  pictures  of  the  nude  hung  up  in  shop 
windows  ;  acres  of  sharply  worded  manifestoes,  political  and 
such,  posted  up  on  walls  ;  also  whole  speeches  in  the  Cham- 
ber or  the  Senate,  and  innumerable  public  notices  headed 
'  Liberie,  Egalite,  Fraternite  ; '  pretty  theatre  posters." 


Short  driveways  —  French. 


CHAPTER  V 

LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    THE  KIVIERA 

Let  our  artists  be  those  who  are  gifted  to  discern  the  true  nature 
of  beauty  and  grace  ;  then  will  our  youth  dwell  in  a  land  of  health, 
amid  fair  sights  and  sounds  ;  and  Beauty,  the  effluence  of  fair  works, 
will  meet  the  sense  like  a  breeze,  and  insensibly  draw  the  soul  even  in 
youth  into  harmony  with  the  beauty  of  reason.  —  Plato. 

The  excessive  variety  of  which  some  European  gardeners  are  so 
fond  in  their  plantations,  the  Chinese  artists  blame  ;  observing  that  a 
great  diversity  of  colors,  foliage,  and  direction  of  branches  must  create 
confusion  and  destroy  all  the  masses,  —  they  admit,  however,  a  mod- 
erate variety.  —  Sm  W.  Chambers. 

On  the  3d  of  March  he  left  Paris  for  the  south,  wishing 
that  he  had  left  some  time  earlier.  To  his  mother  he  wrote 
on  the  3d  of  March  :  — 

I  have  bought  my  ticket,  and  propose  to  take  the  night 
train  to  Lyons.  The  continued  bad  weather,  and  the  "  state 
of  mind  "  it  has  got  me  into,  are  the  reasons  of  my  sudden 
fleeing.  1  have  stayed  one  week  too  many  in  Paris.  I 
wanted  to  study  evergreens,  but  the  weather  has  prevented 
being  outdoors ;  and  I  ought  to  have  remembered  that  the 
evergreens  will  still  be  here  in  early  May.  ...  I  vow  I  do 
not  know  why  I  did  not  start  off  south  several  days  ago. 
...  It  is  going  to  be  a  great  treat,  —  the  greatest  of  the 
many  I  have  had  in  my  life;  though  I  am  sure  I  cannot 
enjoy  it  any  more  than  I  have  enjoyed  days  and  days  of  our 
yachting,  camping,  and  tramping. 

4th  of  March.  Comfortable  enough  ride.  ...  I  awoke 
as  the  train  passed  a  small  town.  The  snow-sprinkled  roofs 
were  in  silhouette  against  the  glow  of  dawn  ;  the  sky  clear 
and  starry.  More  sleep.  Later,  the  river  Saone ;  countless 
Lombardies ;  the  Jura  dimly  visible  under  the  rising  sun ; 
vineyards  on  hillsides  ;  higher  and  higher  hills,  the  valley 
narrowing;  suddenly  two   romantic  hillside   chateaux,  with 


^T.  26]  LYONS -FOURVIERES  77 

towers  round  and  towers  square,  and  high  terrace  walls ; 
then  a  tunnel  and  Lyons.  I  went  to  the  Hotel  de  I'Europe 
for  breakfast  at  10  o'clock,  the  quay  of  Saone  and  the  heights 
of  Fourvieres  before  my  window.  After  breakfast  I  went  up 
the  heights  in  the  bright  cold  morning.  The  prospect  was 
vastly  wide,  with  the  snowy  mountains  of  Auvergne,  winding 
rivers,  and  a  great  city  in  sight.  At  the  foot  of  the  hills  were 
steep  flights  of  steps,  a  maze  of  alleys,  and  all  manner  of  in- 
tricacies ;  on  the  top,  great  fortifications,  numerous  charity 
schools,  nunneries,  barracks,  poorhouses,  and  hospitals,  and 
the  far-seen  church  of  strange  architecture  containing  the 
miraculous  image  (1,500,000  pilgrims  annually)  ;  below  the 
church  on  the  hillside,  a  garden  with  a  toilsome  zigzag  path 
having  "  stations  "  and  many  shrines.  Here  were  proces- 
sions of  priests,  soldiers,  nuns,  barefooted  brothers,  and  school- 
children ;  and  continuous  pealing  of  church  bells,  and  sound- 
ing of  bugles  in  the  still  air.  A  cJiainj^s  de  manoeuvres  lies 
close  behind  the  church.  All  these  are  high  in  the  air. 
Wide  prospects  stretch  into  faint  blue  distances  round  every 
corner,  and  down  every  alley. 

Descending  the  hill  and  crossing  the  Saone,  I  took  a  tram- 
car,  which  passed  over  the  rushing  Rhone,  and  brought  me 
to  the  Pare  de  la  Tete  d'Or.  I  came  first  to  a  pretty  lake 
with  two  islands  in  it,  yellow  with  the  bloom  of  Alders. 
Taking  a  boat,  I  explored  all  its  shores,  studied  the  plant- 
ings, and  admired  the  careful  designing  of  the  views  from 
the  head  of  the  lake,  —  the  long  water-perspectives,  with  the 
blue  heights  of  Fourvieres  and  the  church  as  termination. 
There  was  also  a  good  log  bridge,  and  a  pretty  chalet.  Next, 
I  walked  round  the  skirts  of  the  Pare,  —  a  charming  glade, 
long,  rather  narrow,  and  gently  hollowed,  the  bounding 
woods  consisting  of  Conifers  in  great  variety  of  species,  and 
presenting  interesting  and  beautiful  contrasts  of  forms  and 
colors,  all  well  grown,  evidently  planted  some  thirty  years. 
...  A  small  grotto  was  visible  among  the  evergreens  from 
far  down  the  glade.  It  was  apparently  made  of  cement,  on 
an  iron  frame  ;  but,  being  planted  about  with  brambles,  etc., 
had  a  good  effect.  INIany  lovely  and  delightfully  framed 
views  of  Fourvieres  were  to  be  gained  from  points  beyond 


78  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1886 

the  head  of  the  lake.  The  lake-creeks  were  well  planted 
with  rushes,  hanging  willows,  and  white  birches.  Nowhere 
was  there  anything  gardenesque  or  presumptuous.  The  roads 
were  well  curved,  and  not  too  numerous,  and  they  led  to  good 
jjoints  of  view.  They  wei-e  narrow  and  without  sidewalks. 
The  paths  were  few  and  simply  curved.  There  was  one  good 
road-bridge  of  ingenious  timberwork  frankly  shown,  with  a 
well-designed  roof  over  it.  There  was  also  one  shockingly 
bad  bridge  of  cement  concrete,  in  the  form  of  an  arch,  but 
wholly  without  apjDcarance  of  keying,  so  that  it  had  a  look  of 
great  instability.  There  was  very  little  underwood  or  shrub- 
bery in  the  Pare ;  and  there  was  no  attempt  at  massing 
flowering  shrubs,  —  such  as  Rhododendron  or  the  like.  That 
sort  of  thing  was  to  be  found  in  a  separate  garden  at  one 
side,  together  with  a  very  large  Palm  house  and  other  glass 
houses.  Late  in  the  afternoon  I  discovered  a  botanical  gar- 
den in  a  corner  of  the  Pare,  and  therein  cleared  up  several 
doubts  and  ignorances.  Apparently  there  is  no  great  change 
of  climate  between  Paris  and  Lyons ;  for  the  same  things 
were  covered-in  that  were  covered-in  at  Paris.  I  was  much 
pleased  with  the  Pare  as  a  whole,  and  thought  it  about  what 
Cambridge  or  Worcester  ought  to  have. 

To  bed  early,  after  reading  of  papers.  No.  1  of  my  sixty 
days  [excursion  ticket] ,  —  excellent  well  spent. 

March  6.  I  set  out  in  the  rain,  without  having  determined 
on  an  alighting-place  ;  but  at  3.30  alighted  at  Avignon,  after 
a  railway  journey  memorable  and  exciting  by  reason  of  the 
variety  and  interest  of  the  scenery.  The  total  effect,  as  I 
look  back  on  it  to-night,  is  rather  confused,  being  made  up 
of  visions  of  blue,  purple,  and  snow-white  mountains,  the  yel- 
low-flowing Rlione,  wide  cultivated  plains,  vineyards  on  steep 
hillsides,  hill-climbing  towns,  hill-crowning  ruins  of  castles, 
and  hilltop  churches.  There  were  hillsides  of  barren  whitish 
rock  ;  slopes  of  stone  chips  (like  those  on  Pierce's  Head,  Mt. 
Desert)  ;  ragged  and  raw  torrent  beds  and  gulches  ;  rocks  of 
fantastic,  wildest  form  (those  near  Montdragon)  ;  rocks,  and 
great  steeps  clad  with  evergreens,  Pines,  Savins,  Box,  and  low- 
growing  Furze  and  Broom ;  lands  deep  coveiod  with  debris 
of  torrents  ;  fields  separated  by  high  and  wide  ridges  made 


iET.  26]  AVIGNON  — THE  MISTRAL  79 

of  small  stones  picked  up  from  the  soil ;  and  irrigated  lands 
also.  At  length  we  came  to  a  more  open,  peaceful  country, 
with  Olive-trees  both  cultivated  and  wild  growing.  Some 
sort  of  Prunus  was  in  full  bloom,  pink  and  white,  looking 
chilly  enough  in  the  blast  of  the  fierce  mistral.  There  was 
one  region  of  bright-colored  soils,  the  mountain  sides  being 
pink,  orange,  and  chalky,  but  clad  in  part  with  dark  Cedars 
and  Pines.  The  train  reached  Avignon  at  3.30.  I  went 
immediately  to  the  Rocher  des  Doms.  The  wind  was  fairly 
howling  through  the  narrow  streets  and  round  the  strange 
building  called  "  Chateau  des  Papes,"  the  Pines  on  the  rock 
bending  low.  The  view  was  glorious,  including  rivers,  moun- 
tains, and  many  towns.  Across  the  Rhone  were  the  quaint 
towers  of  Villeneuve  (what  a  name !)  ;  and  at  my  feet  the 
crowded  tile-roofed  mass  of  the  houses  of  Avignon,  girt  by  a 
wall  with  many  towers.  I  stayed  till  sunset  on  the  hill, 
studied  the  layout  of  the  terraced  garden,  measured  and 
sketched,  and  rejoiced  in  the  wealth  of  lovely  evergreens  in 
the  plantations.  Photinia  serrul.  a  foot  through  ;  Arbutus 
Unedo  the  same !  Viburnum  Tinus  coming  into  bloom,  save 
on  exposed  corners  where  frost  has  killed  the  buds ;  For- 
sythia,  Jasminum,  and  Iberis  in  bloom  ;  also  many  Almond- 
trees,  and  Pansies.  The  sun  set  behind  distant  hills,  the  sky 
but  partly  clouded,  and  the  stars  coming  out  brightly. 

This  garden  of  evergreens  and  waving  Pines,  on  a  terrace 
on  a  great  200-foot  cliff  immediately  above  the  Rhone,  with 
the  old  church  behind  ci'owned  by  an  image  of  Mary  Virgin, 
with  its  several  shrines,  its  monument  to  the  discoverer  of 
madder,  its  memories  of  Rienzi,  and  Petrarch,  and  of  Pe- 
trarch's "  Laura,"  —  the  whole  a  veritable  Acropolis.  C.  E.'s 
first. 

Sunday,  March  7.  A  cloudless  sky.  Tlie  mistral  (twin 
brother  of  our  own  northwester)  still  blowing  a  very  gale. 
The  view  from  the  rock  was  far  wider  than  last  night.  In 
the  northeast  a  vast  pile  of  high  mountains  rose  into  dazzling 
snow  peaks.  Again,  C.  E.'s  first.  I  made  choice  of  the 
direction  for  my  walk,  and  went  down  across  the  Rhone, 
getting  a  fine  view  of  Avignon  and  the  Mont  Blanc  (?)  behind. 
I  walked  down  the  river  bank,  and  then  turned  westward, 


80  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1886 

finally  taking  a  seven-foot  lane  leading  up  one  of  the  many 
semi-wild  hills.  There  were  views  in  all  directions,  —  or- 
chards of  small  Olive-trees  ;  little  terraces  for  vine-growing ; 
many  small,  windowless,  white-stuccoed  cottages  and  villas. 
In  the  distance,  westward,  were  rougher  and  higher  hills, 
terribly  stony,  torrent-swept,  and  soilless.  My  lesser  hill  was 
very  barren  also,  made  of  gravel  full  of  large  pebbles.  The 
bits  of  vine  or  olive  land  had  been  cleared  with  great  labor. 
Elsewhere  there  was  a  dense,  low  growth  of  a  very  small- 
leafed  Holly,  mixed  with  various  Brooms,  Euphorbias, 
Thorns,  and  a  sort  of  Green  Brier  bearing  red  berries.  The 
general  effect  was  much  like  that  of  Cape  Ann  thickets 
where  Myrica  (Bayberry)  predominates.  I  found  Genista, 
Periwinkle,  and  Dandelion  in  bloom.  I  returned  through 
more  lanes,  and  finally  by  a  white  highway  over  the  long 
bridges,  the  suspended  bridge  rocking  violently  with  a  wave- 
motion  from  end  to  end  by  reason  of  the  gale. 

Leaving  Avignon  by  train,  we  first  passed  more  white 
rock  hills  with  little  Olive  orchards  in  the  narrow  valleys, 
then  Tarascon,  —  a  castle  above  the  town,  and  another  over 
the  river.     This  was  the  home  of  Rene  and  the  Troubadours ! 

Next  came  Aries,  and  then  the  sad  country  of  the  Camar- 
gue,  low,  often  stony,  fiat,  and  dismal.  The  sun  set  over  the 
dark  green  water  of  the  Etang  de  Berre.  Then  came  more 
barren  hill-country,  a  three-mile  tunnel,  darkness,  down  a 
long  valley  a  glimpse  of  the  sea,  and  was  that  a  flashing 
light  ?  —  Marseilles  at  6.30.  Provence  is  a  sad  land,  with 
gray  rocks,  gray  stony  soils,  little  or  no  grass,  gray  Olives 
and  almost  black  Cypresses,  dull-colored  buildings,  and  faded 
tile  roofs. 

No  companionable  people  have  been  met  with  yet.  I  was 
alone  coming  from  Avignon,  and  dreamt  of  its  past ;  of 
Hannibal  marching  up  the  Isere  ;  of  Csesar  marching  into 
Gaul ;  of  Cinq-Mars,  and  "  In  His  Name ; "  of  Petrarch 
(whom  I  read  in  the  Junior  year),  who  loved  the  wild  ravine 
of  Vaucluse ;  of  the  minstrels  of  Beaucaire  and  Tarascon ;  of 
the  Eoman  builders  of  Aries ;  and  of  the  fleets  of  Phoenicians, 
Greeks,  Carthaginians,  Romans,  Venetians,  and  Saracens, 
who  have  harbored  in  this  port  of  Marseilles. 


£T.  26]  MARSEILLES  81 

He  was  up  betimes  next  morning,  and  could  not  help  visit- 
ing first  the  ancient  port,  being  "  drawn  thither  as  by  a  mag- 
net, just  by  the  sight  of  masts  and  gleaming  water."  But 
soon  he  climbed  the  great  hill  of  Notre-Dame  de  la  Garde, 
a  steep,  almost  bare  rock,  above  the  house  line,  having  on  top  a 
high  building,  —  church,  fort,  and  lookout  for  ships  combined. 

A  glorious  prospect :  two  fifths  the  blue  sea,  three  fifths  a 
jagged  hill  horizon,  the  great  city  filling  the  valley,  and  the 
liills  about  it  set  thick  with  white  villas.  Seaward  there 
were  long  breakwaters,  miles  of  quays,  and  a  coast  in  both 
directions  rockbound,  naked,  jagged,  high,  white,  and  some- 
what indented.  Abreast  of  the  city  was  a  group  of  bare,  high 
islands,  clifty,  and  castle-crowned.  Far  seaward  was  a  low 
rock  with  a  tall  tower  (like  Boone  Island,  Maine).  About 
the  islands  were  many  clustered  fishing-boats ;  and  here, 
there,  and  everywhere  the  graceful  lateens  were  beating  or 
running  free,  —  lovely  to  see.  The  water  was  blue  and  pur- 
ple, flecked  with  cloud  shadows,  and  ruffled  but  gently  by 
the  warm  west  wind.  Two  sorts  of  flowers  were  blooming  in 
rocky  chinks.  I  laid  me  down  and  basked  in  the  warm  sun. 
Uncle  F.'s  little  field-glass  is  a  great  pleasure. 

In  the  afternoon  Charles  surveyed  a  portion  of  the  road 
which  winds  along  the  coast,  sometimes  walled,  sometimes 
carried  on  arches  across  valley-mouths.  The  coast  is  high, 
and  is  broken  by  little  coves  with  rough  beaches.  The 
heiglits  bear  Pines  and  villas ;  a  vast  variety  of  evergreens 
adorns  the  way,  with  gigantic  Aloes,  Agaves,  tree  Tamarisks, 
masses  of  yellow-flowering  Genista,  Periwinkle,  and  a  Cactus 
which  hangs  over  the  cliffs.  "I  kept  one  eye  on  the  sea 
and  the  sails,  the  other  on  the  cliffs  and  blooming  vales, 
and  watched  a  lateen  run  into  a  tiny  cove  and  land  her  catch 
of  fish.  Finally,  the  shore  near  town  becoming  rather  Coney 
Islandish,  I  took  the  tram  and  rode  through  the  main  streets 
of  the  city  to  the  hotel." 

The  next  morning  he  went  to  the  Jardin  d'AcclImatation, 
in  hopes  of  finding  the  plants  named ;  but  labels  were  few 
and  far  between,  as  usual.  Enormous  Agaves  were  flourish- 
ing under  fine  parasol  Pines  ;  and  there  was  much  interest- 
ing, if  nameless,  vegetation. 

Eain  coming  on,  I  looked  into  the  Art  Museum  for  an 
hour,  —  a  poor  collection  in  costly  haUs.     Outside,  there  is  a 


82    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    THE  RIVIERA    [1886 

fountain  arrangement  like  that  of  the  Trocadero, —  more 
curious  than  likable.  Train  for  Hyeres  at  1.20,  having  seen 
all  of  profit  in  big,  busy  Marseilles.  The  population  seems 
remarkably  homogeneous  and  tremendously  democratic  ;  if 
there  are  any  nabobs,  they  are  careful  not  to  show  them- 
selves. No  swell  turnouts ;  hardly  a  well-dressed  person,  man 
or  woman,  anywhere  to  be  seen.  The  streets  were  thronged 
with  chattering  humanity,  apparently  loafing. 

The  town  of  Hyeres  is  built  on  the  south  slopes  of  a  high, 
rocky  hill  which  bears  many  walls,  towers,  terraces,  gardens, 
and  olive  orchards.  The  old  town  is  in  a  sheltered  hollow, 
and  walled ;  but  the  walls  are  built  over  with  houses.  It  is 
a  genuine  feudal  strong-place,  with  a  complication  of  steep 
alleys,  arched  passages,  flights  of  steps,  stuccoed  houses,  ter- 
races, and  little  gardens.  Above  the  town  are  the  rock  and 
the  ruined  castle. 

I  clambered  all  round  the  castle  rock,  observing  its  hedges 
of  Agaves  and  Aloes,  the  blooming  Euphorbia  and  Jasmine, 
the  evergreen  Oaks  and  Olives,  and  many  smaller  evergreens 
making  Cape-Ann-like  thickets  between  ledges,  filling  the 
crevices  in  the  cliffs,  and  growing  out  of  the  very  walls  of 
the  castle,  —  lovely  old  walls  growing,  as  it  were,  from  the 
ledges  and  cliffs.  There  were  round  towers  and  square  in 
all  stages  of  dilapidation,  Olives  growing  out  of  them,  and 
Ivy,  Smilax,  and  Green  Brier  clambering  over  them.  On  a 
shelf  below  a  bristling  row  of  Agaves,  I  met  the  goatherd 
and  the  village  flock,  behind  him  the  blue  sky  and  the  sea, 
—  a  perfect  picture.  I  met  nobody  else.  The  stillness  was 
wonderful,  the  air  good,  and  the  whole  walk  delightsome. 
Next,  I  went  to  the  Jardin  d'Acclimatation,  a  branch  of  that 
of  Paris,  situated  in  the  plain,  but  sheltered  by  plantations 
of  Cypress,  Pine,  and  Eucalyptus.  Here  were  glorious  for- 
eign evergreens,  a  big  collection  of  hardy  Cacti,  many  sorts 
of  Palms,  Palmettos,  Bamboos,  Yuccas,  Dracoenas,  Acacias  in 
glorious  golden  bloom.  Viburnum  Tinus  a  snowy  mass,  Tem- 
pletonia  [?]  a  mass  of  red  ;  with  Violets,  Pansies,  Periwinkle, 
Salvia,  and  Geranium  in  prolific  bloom ;  early  Spiraeas, 
Pruni,  and  Willows  coming  into  full  leaf  (March  10).  Re- 
turning to  town,  I  stopped  in  the  Place  des  Palmiers  to  study 


^T.  26]  HYERES  — TO  CANNES  83 

the  layout  of  the  terrace  and  garden.  In  the  evening,  very 
tired,  I  read  a  good  book  bought  in  Marseilles,  —  "  La  Pro- 
vence Maritime." 

11th  of  March.  This  morning  is  gloriously  bright,  clear 
as  a  bell,  and  rather  warmer.  I  shall  stay  another  day.  A 
very  lovable  place  this,  in  spite  of  the  English  quarter. 

The  morning  he  spent  at  the  nursery  garden  of  Huber  et 
Cie.,  which  was  filled  with  all  manner  of  strange  and  familiar 
plants,  —  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers.  He  found  blooming  all 
the  bulbs,  Eoses,  Camellias,  Acacias,  Viburnum,  Temple- 
tonia,  Vinca,  Tritoma,  Anemone,  Viola,  Houstonia,  Myosotis, 
and  much  else,  —  Iris  of  many  sorts,  for  instance.  The 
afternoon  was  passed  — 

most  happily  on  the  castle  rock,  where  was  much  lovely 
mixing  of  walls,  cliffs,  jutting  crags,  and  bastions  overgrown 
with  Agaves,  Wallflower,  or  Smilax,  or  crowned  with  clus- 
tered Cypresses,  or  shrouded  in  evergreen  Oak.  .  .  .  The 
old  walls  are  mostly  bare ;  but  like  the  ledges,  richly  spotted 
with  Lichens,  —  orange,  brown,  and  pale  green.  The  sum- 
mit is  exceedingly  abrupt,  approached  by  steps  built  in  a 
narrow  cleft ;  thence  a  grand  prospect,  —  the  sea  and  the 
isles,  the  plain,  the  presqu'ile  of  Giens,  the  wooded  ranges 
of  les  Maures,  the  rock-capped  hills  and  mountains  back  of 
Toulon,  and  a  glimpse  of  the  Bay  of  Toulon. 

The  next  day  he  enjoyed  the  railway  ride  to  Cannes. 

At  Fr^jus  I  got  a  glimpse  of  a  Roman  amphitheatre,  and 
saw  close  to  the  railway  the  big  stone  beacon  that  once 
marked  the  end  of  the  Roman  jetty,  but  is  now  more  than  a 
mile  from  the  sea.  A  sudden  leap  of  the  railway  into  the 
red  rocks  of  the  Esterelle  Mountains,  a  struggling  along, 
through,  and  under  heights  and  cliffs,  by  many  tiny  coves, 
and  deep,  narrow  valleys  filled  with  Heath  breast  high  and 
blooming  ;  under  fantastic  mountain-topping  rocks ;  by  grand 
headlands,  white  surf  and  deep  red  cliffs,  and  one  little  port 
with  a  lighthouse  and  a  single  lateen  at  anchor.  This  is  a 
sparsely  inhabited  shore,  reminding  one  a  little  of  that 
between  Seal  Harbor  and  Great  Head  [Mt.  Desert].  .  .  , 
To-day  has  been  cloudy,  —  the  sea  purple,  green,  and  gray. 


84    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPK     THE  RIVIERA    [1886 

Two  days  of  stormy  weather,  and  a  troublesome  ankle 
hurt  at  Hyeres,  intervened.  But  on  the  15th  of  March  he 
writes :  — 

I  went  down  to  the  port  and  out  on  the  breakwater,  where 
I  spent  a  delicious  hour,  —  the  weather  bright,  blue,  warm, 
and  still.  I  watched  the  surf,  the  quaint  boats,  the  bare- 
legged, red-capped  fishermen,  and  a  row  of  moored  trading 
coasters,  their  great  lateen  sails  hanging  from  the  long  taper- 
ing booms  to  dry.  Behjnd  all  this  was  the  ancient  rock  with 
its  old  walls  and  towers ;  and  far  in  the  west,  beyond  a 
stretch  of  sea  all  topaz  and  emerald,  the  shadowy  masses  of 
the  blue  and  hazy  Esterelles.  Next  I  went  along  the  shore 
promenade,  planted  with  Palms  and  Planes,  —  and  Venetian 
masts  with  banners.  Then  slowly,  and  with  many  pauses  to 
look  at  pergolas,  water-towers,  and  other  strange  construc- 
tions, I  walked  up  the  height  called  la  Californie,  through 
loveliest  winding  lanes,  bordered  by  hedges  and  walls  of 
Roses,  Jasmine,  Acacia,  Mimosa,  and  Agave,  past  many 
charming  villas,  commanding  westward  views,  through  rus- 
tling Palms  or  waving  Eucalyptus,  the  sea  spread  wide  below, 
the  enchanting  Esterelles  waiting  to  hide  the  descending  sun. 

After  calling  on  two  English  ladies  who  have  lived  at 
Cannes  many  winters,  presenting  to  them  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Bryce,  and  being  instructed  in  respect  to  the  gardens  best 
worth  seeing,  he  walked  down  the  hill,  "  the  rapturous  sunset 
squarely  befoi'e  me.     What  changeful  color  of  sea !  " 

The  next  day  was  spent  in  studying  the  marvellous  garden 
called  Vallombrosa,  situated  on  a  rather  steep  slope  between 
the  chateau  ("  a  poor  castellated  affair  thoroughly  out  of 
place  ")  and  the  highroad  to  Frejus.  This  famous  garden 
Charles  considered  rather  a  museum  of  specimen  plants  than 
a  piece  of  landscape  work.  He  found  its  general  effect  to 
be  fantastic,  stagy,  astonishing,  and  exciting,  rather  than 
restful  or  calming.  As  an  exhibition  of  splendid  plants  in 
immense  variety  it  was  intensely  interesting  ;  but  it  reminded 
him,  in  its  general  effect,  of  the  scenery  of  the  pantomime 
stage  rather  than  of  anything  in  the  real  world.  It  was  to 
him  a  medley  of  incongruous  things,  —  such  as  Palms  of  many 
sorts  and  all  ages,  grouped  or  standing  singly  on  grass,  with 
brilliant  flowers  massed  at  their  feet.  His  journal  enumer- 
ates a  profusion  of  trees  and   plants   from   many  different 


^T.  26]   VALLOMBROSA— LAROCHEFOUCAULD       85 

climates  and  parts  of  the  world  all  flourishing  here  together ; 
but  he  says  of  the  scene  as  a  whole  :  ''  There  is  absolutely  no 
breadth  of  effect,  no  landscape  gardening  save  that  success- 
fully directed  to  concealing  the  bounds.  ...  I  loafed  all  the 
morning  here ;  and  in  the  afternoon  walked  on  wild  hills 
further  inland  ;  and  concluded  I  should  rather  live  among 
Heath  and  Pines  and  red  rocks  than  in  any  Vallombrosa." 

The  gardens  called  Larochefoucauld  gave  Charles  much 
more  satisfaction  than  Vallombrosa. 

These  lovely  grounds  are  situated  between  the  Frejus  road 
and  the  sea.  They  contain  but  little  specimen  gardening. 
The  house  is  of  a  sober  and  somewhat  Italian  character, 
white  but  pleasant,  concealed  in  rich  foliage,  which  yet  is 
not  too  near  the  walls.  The  views  from  the  terrace  —  over 
a  sunken  orange  garden  in  one  direction  —  of  sea  and  sails, 
and  in  another  direction  of  the  Esterelles,  are  set  in  frames 
of  tree  masses.  The  sea-view  might  have  been  a  wide  one  ; 
but  it  is  delightfully  broken  up  into  bits  and  glimjDses  by 
plantings  of  a  most  varied  character,  —  Pines,  and  particu- 
larly Stone  Pine,  predominating.  One  little  knoll  bears  a 
dozen  Pines,  which  reach  out  seaward  and  bend  low,  and 
break  the  glare  from  the  water  without  really  concealing 
anything.  In  one  part  there  is  a  steep  bank  which  a  path 
follows,  the  bank  being  clothed  with  a  crowded  thicket.  Ilex 
and  other  trees  stretch  their  limbs  and  trunks  over  the  path. 
In  rough  places  there  are  Agaves  in  shade  of  Pines,  mon- 
strous Sedums  on  rocks,  and  an  undergrowth  of  Abutilon 
and  Aralia,  and  such  greenhouse  plants,  mixed  with  com- 
moner things.  Unfortunately,  the  railway  passes  between 
the  garden  and  the  beach  ;  but  a  sea  terrace  hides  it.  Com- 
pared with  ambitious  Vallombrosa,  this  is  a  most  charming 
place.  Once  within  it  the  whole  world  is  shut  away,  and  one 
can  see  nothing  but  loveliest  foliage,  the  sea,  and  the  Este- 
relles. One  is  not  distracted  by  "exclamation  marks," — ■ 
Asparagus  shoots  twenty  feet  long,  and  Dracaenas  like  long- 
handled  mops,  and  glowing  carpets  of  flowers  as  at  Vallom- 
brosa. I  have  great  respect  for  whoever  made  this  place. 
Design  is  discoverable  at  many  points  ;  and  it  is  much  to 
have  refrained  from  turning  the  place  into  a  museum  in  a 
region  where  the  climate  offers  such  temptation  to  indulge  in 
coUectino^  curiosities. 


86    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     THE  RIVIERA     [1886 

The  Villa  Valletta,  near  Cannes,  was  a  second  example  of 
a  garden  of  specimen  plants  which  Charles  saw  under  the 
most  favorable  auspices,  and  thought  "  probably  the  most 
wondrous  specimen  garden  to  be  seen  in  Europe."  It  is  said 
that  the  place  was  cleared  of  3500  trees  in  1878,  and  then 
sodded  and  planted.  "  No  vestige  of  the  original  wild  hill- 
side now  remains.  All  is  shaved,  exquisitely  trimmed,  and 
'  well  kept ; '  zigzag  paths  conduct  to  all  parts  of  the  steep 
sloping  ground  ;  and  on  all  sides  and  everywhere  are  groups 
and  single  specimens  of  all  manner  of  plants,  great  and 
small,  beautiful  and  ugly,  from  all  parts  of  the  world  save 
the  cold  parts.  Nothing  is  labelled ;  and  I  therefore  learned 
but  little.  I  became  more  than  ever  convinced  of  the  tire- 
someness and  the  bad  taste  of  these  museum-like  gardens." 
He  sought  consolation,  the  next  day,  in  a  rough  scramble  for 
two  hours  on  the  wild  promontory  of  Theoule,  among  ravines 
and  valleys,  and  along  the  shore. 

Out  oi'  Cannes  Charles  took  various  excursions,  —  to 
Grasse  with  its  Rose  farms ;  to  le  Bar  and  Courmes,  whence 
he  saw  the  little  town  and  castle  of  Jourdon ;  to  He  Sainte- 
Marguerite ;  and  to  He  Saint-Honorat.  These  low.  Pine- 
clad  islands  interested  him  very  much,  as  all  islands  in  view 
of  higher  shores  had  always  done.  One  of  the  excursions, 
that  to  le  Bar  and  Courmes,  he  thus  describes:  — 

In  half  an  hour  we  reached  a  high  divide  [he  was  with  an 
agreeable  English  acquaintance],  and  looked  away  from  the 
sea  down  into  the  deep  valley  of  the  Riviere  du  Loup,  and 
across  to  high,  wild  calcareous  mountains  whose  whitish 
steeps  are  almost  completely  bare,  and  whose  broken  sum- 
mits were  flecked  with  snow  and  partly  veiled  with  cloud. 
On  a  spur  of  the  craggy  mountain  called  the  "  Saut  du 
Loup,"  and  just  at  the  mouth  of  the  gorge  from  which  the 
river  Loup  comes  down,  stands  le  Bar,  a  small,  compact 
town  of  high  buildings,  which  we  reached  and  passed  after 
long  following  of  mountain  flanks.  The  road  then  turning 
southward  and  toward  the  gorge,  we  came  in  sight  of  the 
narrow  canon  and  the  great  cliffs  of  Courmes,  and  of  a  little 
town  and  castle  called  "  Jourdon  "  on  a  seemingly  inaccessi- 
ble and  almost  pointed  mountain  800  metres  above  the  sea 
level,  —  a  most  astonishing  vision  ;  for  I  did  not  know  we 
were  coming  to  anything  of  the  sort.  At  the  Pont  du  Loup 
we  halted,  and  walked  up  the  gorge  a  little  way ;  but  time 


^T.  26]  CANNES  — ILE  DE  ST.  HONORAT  87 

was  short,  and  though  I  wanted  to  follow  the  foaming  river 
to  its  Alpine  springs,  I  was  compelled  to  turn  about  and 
travel  back  to  Grasse,  and  so  to  Cannes. 

In  a  letter  to  his  mother  he  says  of  himself  at  Cannes :  — 

I  am  loafing  horribly  on  this  Riviera.  The  vegetation  is 
hopelessly  strange,  and,  I  suppose,  unreprodueeable  in  America 
unless  in  Florida  or  California.  The  sea,  on  the  other  hand, 
and  the  blue  Esterelles  look  very  familiar ;  and  1  never  tire  of 
either.  There  is  one  yacht  in  port  here,  a  creature  like  this, 
evidently  masted  and  hulled 
for  Bay  of  Biscay  weather. 
.  .  .  Time  flies  terribly ;  and, 
somehow,  I  don't  learn  any- 
thing ;  but  I  enjoy  myself 
much,  on  the  whole.  It  was 
good  to  be  approved  of  by  Mr.  Olmsted  and  by  Mr.  Brodrick. 
I  wish  I  might  some  day  find  something  in  me  I  could  approve 
of  myself. 

With  some  pleasant  English  acquaintances  he  visited  the 
Cistercian  Monastery  on  He  de  Saint-Honorat,  and  says  of 
the  brothers : — 

They  farm  it  a  little,  and  have  a  walled  garden  close  by 
the  surf  to  dig  in  ;  and  no  man  could  desire  a  lovelier  spot 
than  is  theirs.  Adjoining  the  monastery,  but  set  out  in  the 
sea  on  a  low  ledge,  stands  a  square-built,  tower-like  fortress, 
which  was  the  m(mks'  defence  against  Moorish  pirates  in  the 
old  days  (a.  D.  1000).  This  I  had  seen  from  far  Thdoule  ; 
and  I  was  glad  of  the  chance  to  climb  about  the  place.  An 
interesting  thing  this,  with  vastly  thick  waUs,  and  narrow 
stairs,  and  battlements,  and  an  inner  court  which  has  been 
restored.  Its  position,  not  on  a  crag  or  cliff,  but  on  a  very 
low  ledge  off  a  low  shore,  is  peculiar. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Sunday,  March  21st,  he  left  Cannes 
for  Cap  d'Antibes.  Of  this  place  he  wrote  to  his  mother 
thus :  — 

Cannes,  and  my  excursions  out  of  it,  were  good ;  but  this 
Cap  d'Antibes  is  better.     Here  one  is  set  off  from  the  Con- 


88    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    THE  RIVIERA     [1886 

tinent  a  little  way,  so  that  there  is  a  fine  view  of  said  Conti- 
nent, the  coasts  and  mountains  of  it ;  and  the  place  is  wholly 
quiet  and  free  fi-oni  crowd  and  swelldom.  There  is  no  town, 
only  one  big,  empty  hotel,  half  a  dozen  scattered  villas  (most 
of  them  shut  up),  and  a  few  Orange  groves  and  flower  farms. 
The  rest  is  wild  land,  with  thickets  of  evergreens,  and  shelves 
and  banks  where  bloom  Anemones,  Daisies,  Primroses,  and 
wild  Hyacinths.  Last  night  I  went  to  sleep  to  the  sound  of 
gentle  surf.  This  morning  there  was  a  thick  haze  over  all 
the  sea  and  hiding  all  the  shores,  —  just  such  as  I  have  often 
seen  in  Boston  Bay,  —  and  slowly,  as  the  sun  came  up  the 
sky,  this  haze  was  swept  away,  and  showed  first  the  pale  sky, 
then  the  nearer  shores,  and  the  big  war-ships  in  Golfe-Jouan, 
then  He  Sainte-Marguerite,  a  dark  line  of  pine  woods,  and 
the  Pointe  de  la  Croisette  of  Cannes ;  and  it  was  not  till 
nearly  noon  tliat  the  outline  of  the  Esterelles  became  dimly 
visible. 

The  sort  of  problem  which  was  always  engaging  Charles's 
attention  is  well  illustrated  by  his  remarks  about  some  private 
grounds  at  the  Cap  d'Antibes.  The  house  had  before  it  a 
formally  modelled  lawn,  with  flower  beds  on  the  swells,  and 
at  the  foot  of  this  lawn  was  a  long,  straight,  terrace-wall,  and 
a  balustrade  near  the  brink  of  rough  cliffs. 

I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  about  the  wall  and  balus- 
trade. They  serve  as  dividing  line  between  the  dress  ground 
before  the  house  and  the  wildness  of  the  cliffs ;  and  probably 
they  make  a  good  foreground  for  the  grand  view  when  one 
looks  from  the  house  ;  but  seen  from  other  parts  of  the  shore 
one  wishes  them  away.  They  seem  wholly  out  of  place ;  for 
they  are  not  near  enough  to  the  house  to  seem  a  part  of  the 
building.  A  row  of  small  palms  just  within  the  balustrade 
is  also  of  very  questionable  value.  Just  below  this  wall,  on 
a  jutting  point  of  cliff,  is  an  ordinary  rockery,  with  the  plants 
labelled  in  little  compartments,  —  this  in  the  foi-eground  of  a 
sea-view  which  is  only  bounded  by  the  Esterelles  seen  over 
He  Sainte-Marguerite  !  Too  bad !  At  the  gate  is  a  charm- 
ing lodge,  built  of  stone,  low,  and  of  simplest  form,  with 
an  "  outside  room  "  screened  by  lattice  with  creepers.  The 
flowers  —  chiefly  Cinerarias  of  magnificent  colors  and  huge 


\£ 


I    1^ 


ir' 


JET.  26]  ANTIBES  89 

Cyclamens  —  are  confined  to  the  immediate  neighborhood  of 
this  lodge,  and  to  beds  of  dress  ground  before  the  house. 

In  another  private  place,  which  he  examined,  he  speaks  of 
"  a  region  where  the  original  wild  shrubbery  has  been  made 
to  make  room  for  a  well-chosen  variety  of  plants,  which  have 
been  naturalized  in  its  midst."  The  word  "  naturalized " 
defines  what  was,  for  him,  good  taste  in  the  artificial  treat- 
ment of  rough  and  essentially  wild  regions.  Again,  concern- 
ing the  same  place,  he  says  :  — 

On  a  jutting  point  of  hill  is  a  very  pleasant,  well-contrived, 
and  pretty  sort  of  arbor,  having  stone  piers  and  a  roof  of 
canes,  its  irregular  ground-plan  conformed  to  the  shape  of 
the  ledge,  the  views  from  within  it  very  wide  and  well 
framed.  In  a  hollow,  where  it  is  not  seen  till  the  hollow  is 
entered,  is  a  small,  well-built  rockery,  —  the  stones  large, 
with  no  petty  compartments.  Some  largish  trees  shut  in  the 
whole  liollow ;  but  down  a  gulch  leading  to  the  water  is  a 
controlling  view.  .  .  .  The  shore  cliffs  are  made  the  most 
of,  —  rude  paths  with  rude  stairs  (where  necessary)  lead  to 
the  finest  points ;  and  one  big  gulch  has  a  way  down  into  it, 
the  stairs  so  well  contrived  as  not  to  be  visible  save  to  one 
travelling  them. 

Before  going  on  to  Nice,  he  climbed  the  hill  of  Notre  Dame 
(March  23). 

The  air  was  thick  with  a  smoky  haze,  all  outlines  soft,  and 
everything  mysterious.  Suddenly  high  in  the  sky,  above  a 
dark  headland,  something  gleaming  white,  —  quick,  my  glass, 
—  yes,  a  snow-peak,  fine  cut,  and  radiant,  seamed  with  deli- 
cate lines  of  blue  shadows  ;  but  in  an  instant  wrapt  again  in 
mists.  I  spent  most  of  two  hours  on  this  lighthouse  hill. 
Little  feluccas  crept  in  and  out  from  the  port  of  Antibes ; 
goats  and  kids  frisked  about  on  the  rocky  hillside  ;  birds 
kept  up  continuous  singing  in  the  Pine  woods  and  Olive 
groves  at  the  foot  of  the  hill ;  cloud  shadows  and  flecks  of 
sunlight  travelled  slowly  over  shores,  mountains,  and  sea ; 
and  now  and  then  the  veil  of  haze  behind  the  foot-hills  was 
silently  rent,  and  jagged  summits  and  long  crests  of  snow- 
mountains  stood  revealed.     I  believe  it  was  all  lovelier  than 


90    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    THE  RIVIERA    [1886 

if  the  day  had  been  wholly  bright,  and  the  mountains  com- 
pletely visible.  I  passed  down  into  the  ancient  town  by  the 
path  used  by  mariner-pilgrinis  when  they  go  up  to  the  church. 
The  quays  were  of  stone ;  and  about  a  dozen  vessels  were 
moored  to  them,  —  one  big  sloop  almost  like  a  Cape  Ann 
stone-sloop.  ...  I  rambled  also  in  the  crooked  old  town.  It 
is  the  first  place  I  have  seen  which  has  not  spread  over  and 
out  of  its  walls ;  but  the  walls  here  are  modernized.  Nice  at 
3  o'clock. 

The  next  day  Charles  strolled  about  the  town,  along  the 
sea  fi'ont  to  the  little  harbor,  and  up  the  high  castle  hill.  A 
hot  sun  made  the  roads  very  white  and  glaring.  The  town 
he  found  citified,  —  a  band  playing  in  the  public  garden. 
"  There  is  a  big  cascade  on  the  very  summit  of  castle  hill,  — 
how  fantastic  are  some  men !  There  is  no  view  thence  to  the 
eastward,  a  great  wooded  mountain  being  in  the  way.  West- 
ward, the  view  includes  the  Cap  d'Antibes.  The  hills  about 
Nice  are  dotted  with  villas.  The  mountains  behind,  to-day, 
are  wrapped  in  cloud." 

Charles's  time  at  Nice  was  much  taken  up  with  social 
engagements.     A  few  days  later  he  wrote  to  his  father  :  — 

At  Nice  days  disappeared  very  rapidly.  There  I  saw  but 
one  fine  garden.  I  disliked  the  whole  Paris-like  place ;  and 
there  was  nothing  particular  to  see  in  my  line.  I  have,  I 
fear,  yielded  of  late  rather  much  to  the  softness  of  this  sunny 
climate.  Several  days  have  fled,  I  hardly  know  how.  .  .  . 
Here  I  am  in  one  of  the  fairest  regions  of  the  earth ;  and 
daily  I  am  in  want  of  more  strength  of  limb,  of  eyes,  of 
heart,  —  more  power  of  grasping  and  remembering  the  beauty 
that  I  am  here  fairly  overwhelmed  by.  I  say  with  Keats  : 
"  Now  Beauty  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for ;  the  evi- 
dence of  things  not  seen ;  the  shadow  of  reality  to  come." 
The  forces  of  the  universe  work  and  work,  in  aifairs  human 
and  social,  as  often  towards  ends  our  souls  call  evil,  as 
towards  ends  we  call  good.  I  find  no  correspondence  between 
my  soul  and  the  world,  save  in  this,  —  that  the  natural  world 
is  beautiful,  and  that  my  soul  loves  beauty.  The  fairness  of 
the  earth,  not  the  rainbow  only,  is  the  "  sign  set  In  the  sky." 

In  this  letter  Charles  betrayed  some  of  the  gloomy  specu- 
lations about  himself  in  which  he  had  indulged. 


^T.  26]  LETTERS  FROM   HOME  91 

You  urge  me  to  count  Mr.  Olmsted's  [favorable]  judg- 
ment for  much  ;  and  I  do.  It  is,  however,  not  in  matters  of 
theory  and  taste  that  I  feel  myself  so  utterly  incompetent. 
It  is  in  the  more  practical  affairs  of  the  profession,  and  par- 
ticularly in  dealing  with  men,  that  I  am  nowhere.  In  mat- 
ters of  design  I  arrive  at  definite  opinions  only  with  great 
difficulty.  I  am  far  from  quick  in  getting  new  ideas.  .  .  . 
But  I  am  most  at  a  loss  when  thrown  with  other  men.  I 
cannot  think,  and  at  the  same  time  talk  and  give  attention. 
I  am  never  at  my  ease,  —  indeed,  I  am  as  far  as  possible 
from  being  so.  ...  I  know  myself  to  be  ill-made,  or,  as  it 
were,  an  unbaked  loaf  of  the  human  bread-batch. 

To  this  letter  both  his  brother  and  his  father  sent  hortatory 
replies.  "  Dear  Boss,  —  What  a  plum  you  are  !  You  seem 
to  have  occasional  blue  fits,  —  a  most  unwarrantable  proceed- 
ing. You  are  the  only  person  that  I  know  who  does  not 
take  a  very  rosy  view  of  your  proceedings  and  prospects. 
You  're  about  the  last  fellow  with  reason  to  growl.  Your 
stomach  is  the  only  reasonable  excuse,  and  a  man  who  eats 
curry  at  midnight,  and  seems  to  be  good  for  all-day  tramps 
over  rough  country,  had  better  not  make  too  much  capital  out 
of  stomach  growls.  The  Riviera  in  April !  Why,  man  alive, 
it 's  paradise  !  All  bright  sunshine  and  flowers  ;  while  here, 
—  well  it 's  as  much  as  a  fellow's  life  is  worth  to  get  across 
the  Yard,  which  is  a  great  lake  of  dirty  slush.  ...  It  makes 
me  quite  weary  to  hear  of  a  youth  of  your  capacity,  with  a 
new  trade  to  develop,  well  equipped  and  well  supported, 
sitting  down  to  grumble  at  his  prospects."  .  .  . 

Cambridge,  20  Apr.  '86. 
Dear  Charles,  —  Don't  imagine  yourself  deficient  in 
power  of  dealing  with  men.  Such  dealings  as  you  have  thus 
far  had  with  boys  and  men  you  have  conducted  very  suitably. 
There  is  no  mystery  about  successful  business  intercourse 
with  patrons  and  employes.  Nobody  can  think,  and  at  the 
same  time  pay  attention  to  another  person,  as  you  seem  to 
expect  to  do.  On  the  contrary,  exclusive  attention  to  the 
person  who  is  speaking  to  you  is  a  very  important  point  in 
business  manners.  Nothing  is  so  flattering  as  that.  Some 
audible  or  visible  signs  of  close  attention  are  of  course  de- 
sirable. Then  there  is  very  seldom  any  objection  to  the 
statement,  "  I  should  like  to  think  that  over."  On  the  con- 
trary, such  evidence  of  deliberation  is  ordinarily  acceptable. 


92    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    THE  RIVIERA    [1886 

Good  judgment  is  what  people  are  most  willing  to  pay  for. 
Quickness  and  reputation  for  speed  are  much  less  valuable. 
...  I  wish  you  were  tough  and  strong  like  me.  But  you  have 
nevertheless  an  available  measure  of  strength,  and  within  that 
measure  an  unusual  capacity  of  enjoyment.  In  this  respect 
you  closely  resemble  your  mother.  She  enjoyed  more  in  her 
short  life  than  most  people  in  a  long  one  ;  and  particularly 
she  delighted  in  natural  scenery.  You  get  a  great  deal  more 
pleasure  out  of  your  present  journeyings  than  I  ever  could 
have.  I  should  not  have  your  feelings  of  fatigue  and  weak- 
ness, but  neither  should  I  have  your  perception  of  the  beauti- 
ful and  your  enjoyment  of  it.  When  you  come  to  professional 
work,  you  will  have  to  be  moderate  in  it.  Where  other  men 
work  eight  hours  a  day,  you  must  be  content  with  five.  Take 
all  things  easily.  Never  tire  yourself  out.  If  you  feel  the 
blues  coming  upon  you,  get  a  book  and  a  glass  of  wine,  or  go 
to  bed  and  rest  yourself.  The  morbid  mental  condition  is  of 
physical  origin.  Take  comfort  in  the  thought  that  you  can 
have  a  life  of  moderate  labor,  —  the  best  sort  of  life.  You 
will  have  a  little  money  of  your  own,  and  need  not  be  in  haste 
to  earn  a  lai-ge  income.  I  am  strong  and  can  work  twelve 
hours  a  day.  Consequently  I  do  ;  and  if  it  were  not  for  Mt. 
Desert,  I  should  hardly  have  more  time  for  reflection  and  real 
living  than  an  operative  in  a  cotton  mill.  For  a  reasonable 
mortal,  life  cannot  truly  be  said  to  have  "  terrors,"  any  more 
than  death.      [Charles  had  quoted  the  lines  :  — 

I  am  not  one  whom  death  does  much  dismay. 
Life's  terrors  all  death's  terrors  far  outweigh.]    . 

The  love  of  beauty  is  a  very  good  and  durable  correspondence 
between  your  soul  and  the  world  ;  bvit  the  love  of  purity,  gen- 
tleness, and  honor  is  a  better  one.         [C.  W.  E.  to  C.  E.] 

From  Nice  Charles  returned  to  the  Cap  d'Antibes  to  visit 
the  Garden  Thuret ;  but  Sunday,  March  28th,  was  the  love- 
liest possible  day ;  and  he  devoted  it  altogether  to  strolling 
through  lanes  and  woods  and  alongshore,  and  watching  the 
sky  and  the  sea. 

At  sunset  I  watched  all  the  changing  coloring  of  sky  and 
sea,  —  the  paling  opal  pearl  and  amethyst  of  the  still  water, 
the  glowing  and  the  fading  of  the  sky.  The  sea  was  very 
still ;  the  water  wondrous  clear  in  deep  basins  among  the 
whitish  rocks.  The  only  sound  was  the  splashing  of  gentlest 
surf  in  the  caves  and  crannies  of  the  low  and  jagged  shore. 


^T.  26]  THE  GARDEN  THURET  93 

Peace  here, — Nice  witli  its  swarms  of  knaves,  swells,  and 
cocottes,  its  luxuries,  scandals,  and  all  else,  is  as  though  it 
were  not.  After  dinner  the  stars  were  out,  and  extraordi- 
narily bright.  Verily  this  out-of-door  life  by  the  sea  in  the 
month  of  March  is  marvellously  good  and  pleasant. 

A  letter  of  introduction  from  Professor  Asa  Gray,  of  Cam- 
bridge, caused  Charles  to  be  cordially  received  at  the  Garden 
Thuret  by  Mous.  Naudin, — an  elderly  man  with  a  kindly 
face,  but  stone  deaf.  He  showed  Charles  over  the  place, 
spending  the  whole  morning  in  this  way.  They  communi- 
cated by  signs  and  a  slate. 

It  is  the  most  lovely  garden  I  have  ever  seen.  In  reality, 
a  small  place ;  but  very  much  made  of  it.  Mons.  Thuret 
had  his  choice  of  sites  on  the  cape.  The  house  stands  at  the 
summit  of  the  northward  slope,  commanding  views  of  both 
bays,  with  a  glimpse  of  the  light-tower  close  at  hand,  and 
from  under  parasol  Pines,  a  view  of  the  town  and  towers  of 
Antibes,  and  of  the  Alps  above,  —  a  perfect  picture.  All 
the  views  and  glimpses  are  beautifully  framed  by  varied 
foliage  ;  and  the  rest  of  the  world  is  shut  out  completely.  A 
steep  lawn  descends  from  the  house,  —  a  field  of  fresh  green, 
thickly  strewn  with  small  Daisies,  and  with  brilliant  single 
Anemones  of  many  colors  ;  many  fine  Conifers  stand  about 
the  edges  of  the  lawn  ;  Eucalyptus  trees  of  many  sorts  form 
the  bulk  of  the  plantations ;  countless  foreign  and  native 
evergreens  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  mixed  together  in 
large  masses  and  thickets,  take  up  most  of  the  ground  ;  Palms 
have  a  region  near  the  house  to  themselves ;  a  rockery  is 
hidden  away.  The  general  effect  from  the  house  is  not  in- 
harmonious ;  although  most  of  the  plants  used  are  foreign, 
and  of  marked  individual  character.  Mr.  Naudin  —  who  is 
called  "  director,"  being  appointed  to  the  charge  of  the  place 
by  the  government,  to  which  Thuret's  relatives  gave  the  gar- 
den on  his  death  —  is  particularly  interested  in  the  Eucalyp- 
tus tribe ;  so  he  has  been  cutting  down  old  Olives  and 
Ilexes  which  Thuret  had  spared,  to  make  room  for  his  "dar- 
lings," of  which  he  has  some  130  sorts.  He  is  first  a 
botanist ;  and  I  fear  he  will  sacrifice  the  beauty  of  the  place 
to  his  collecting  instinct.     Across  the  road  he  has  large  col- 


94    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    THE  RIVIERA     [1886 

lections  of  Irises,  bulbs,  climbers,  etc.,  lists  of  which,  and  of 
the  trees  and  shrubs  grown  iu  the  main  garden,  are  printed 
in  pamijhlet  form. 

March  30.  Again  clear  and  most  lovely.  The  doors  of 
the  hotel  stand  open  all  day.  I  sleep  with  a  long  French 
window  at  least  half  open.  The  frogs  make  a  great  noise  at 
dawn  and  at  sunset.  The  country  becomes  lovelier  daily. 
Fig-trees  have  leaves  about  half  out  of  the  bud  ;  Wych-Elms 
ai-e  clad  in  yellow  bloom ;  Almonds,  Peaches,  and  others  of 
the  Prunus  tribe,  are  blooming  pink  or  white,  or  pushing  fi-esh 
green  leaves ;  Willows  are  lovely  in  light  green ;  a  sort  of 
Thyme,  which  carpets  the  ground  between  clumps  of  Myrtle 
and  Pistacia,  is  blooming  pink ;  lovely  wild  Anemones  are 
almost  everywhere  ;  Primroses  on  banks,  and  Narcissi  in  wet 
meadows,  are  much  rarer ;  but  Hyacinth,  Forget-me-not, 
Daisy,  and  Dandelion  are  very  common. 

Another  long  day  was  spent  in  the  Garden  Thuret  and  its 
neighborhood,  making  notes  of  the  most  striking  plants, 
especially  of  the  shrubs.  The  proprietor  of  a  neighboring 
nursery  gave  Charles  some  information  about  the  indigenous 
shrubs,  twigs  of  which  he  had  gathered.  He  went  up  to  the 
lighthouse  to  watch  the  sunset,  —  a  supremely  fine  one  ;  and 
v/alked  back  in  the  dusk,  meeting  many  parties  of  men  and 
women  going  home  from  labor  on  the  flower  farms,  some 
singing  as  they  walked. 

The  next  day,  March  31st,  he  contemplated  philosophically 
the  Bataille  des  Fleurs  at  Nice. 

Two  interesting  young  French  women  were  near  me  in  the 
crowd  by  the  roadside,  —  one,  virtuous,  quietly  dressed, 
accompanied  by  her  brother.  She  threw  what  flowers  she 
caught  always  at  men,  young  or  old,  but  got  very  little  in 
return  ;  the  other,  very  jauntily  dressed,  alone,  and  of  doubt- 
ful reputation,  soon  got  her  parasol  full  of  flowers,  and  got 
more  and  more  as  time  went  on.  ...  I  was  three  times 
favored  by  a  certain  painted  fair  one  ;  but  the  pretty  Amer- 
ican at  whom  I  flung  what  I  got,  only  replied  once.  I 
amused  myself  with  imagining  what  sort  of  a  time  I  should 
probably  have  had  that  day  had  Mrs,  Beadle  not  gone.  [Mrs. 
Beadle  was  the  head  of  the  pleasant  American  family  whose 
acquaintance    Charles   had  made  on  the   Germanic   and  ii 


^T.  26]  THE  GARDEN  VIGIER  — EZE  96 

London.]  Looking  on  alone  at  a  thing  of  this  kind  is  not 
very  interesting. 

April  1st  was  his  last  day  in  Nice.  He  was  shown  over 
the  garden  Vigier  by  the  gardener,  to  whom  Mons,  Naudin 
had  given  him  a  card.  There  was  a  small  green  lawn,  and 
a  terrace  balustrade  to  hide  the  road,  the  sea  view  being 
obtained  over  the  balustrade.  Charles  noted  a  grove  of 
Palms,  —  two  very  large  ones  in  the  form  of  an  arbor,  —  the 
grove  of  Yucca  Indivisa,  the  thickets  of  huge  Bamboos 
(nigra,  gracilis,  mitis),  the  Cedars  and  Acacias,  and  the 
masses  of  blooming  Camellias  with  tree  Ferns  in  a  shady 
corner ;  and  many  rarities  in  the  way  of  Palms,  Bananas, 
and  Cocoas.  Returning  to  town,  he  watched  a  big  lateen's 
arrival  in  the  port  under  full  sail,  "  with  some  astonishment 
until  I  saw  how  quickly  headway  could  be  stopped  by  clew- 
ing up  the  big  sail  to  the  yard."  In  the  evening  he  saw  "  a 
big  show  of  fireworks,  with  lighted  boats,  etc.,  —  the  Fete 
Venitienne  being  the  termination  of  the  Mid-Lent  carnival. 
This  and  all  Nice  fetes  are  got  up  by  a  committee  of  sub- 
scribers to  draw  visitors,  —  quite  as  at  Montreal." 

On  his  way  to  Mentone  Charles  stopped  at  the  romantic 
hill-village  of  Eze,  placed  on  top  of  a  seemingly  inaccessible 
rock  a  thousand  feet  and  more  in  the  air,  —  once  a  Saracen 
stronghold.  Catching  a  glimpse  of  this  village  from  the  rail- 
way station  at  the  shore,  he  — 

was  tempted  and  yielded,  —  vowed  I  would  get  into  said 
stronghold,  and  took  the  first  mountain  path.  It  climbed 
and  climbed  and  twisted  ;  not  a  house  on  the  way,  and  a  very 
few  scattered  Olive  terraces,  —  only  gray  sunburnt  rock  and 
bare  baked  earth,  and  clumps  of  light  green  Euphorbia, 
dwarf  Pines,  yellow-blooming  Genista,  and  Cistus,  and  Hare- 
bells. There  was  a  deep  ravine,  —  where  was  welcome  shade, 
—  and  down  at  the  mouth  of  it,  blue  sea,  and  a  little  jutting 
isoletta  or  "  thumbeap."  Up  at  the  head  were  utterly  bare 
ridges  of  gray  rock,  and  on  the  left  cliffs,  on  top  of  which 
must  be  the  invisible  Eze.  There  was  continuous  beauty  of 
rock  and  natural  rock-planting  all  along  the  steep  zigzags  of 
the  path,  —  a  very  rude  path,  its  turns  very  sharp,  no  rail- 
ings even  on  great  precipices,  a  veritable  mountain  mule- 
track,  —  for  centuries  and  now  the  only  road  from  Eze  to  the 
shore.     There  was  one  ruined,   overgrown,   stone   and   tile 


96      LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     THE  RIVIERA  [1886 

building  at  tlie  head  of  a  gulch.  From  that  point  up  the 
path  was  rudely  paved,  often  becoming  a  stair.  At  last  I 
came  in  sight  of  the  town,  with  its  high,  continuous  outer- 
walls  of  cliff-perched  houses.  Prickly  Pear  and  Fern  grow- 
ing from  the  walls  and  rocks.  There  was  a  crooked,  narrow 
gate  and  entrance  passage,  passable  only  by  human  beings, 
donkeys,  and  goats.  Within  was  a  complication  of  jagged 
ledges,  walls  of  dwellings,  and  steep  paved  alleys,  over  which 
the  roofs  nearly  met.  Then  a  high  rock  with  ruins,  a  church 
with  a  campanile,  and  a  most  glorious,  wide  prospect,  —  in- 
describable !  The  silence  of  death  was  all  about ;  not  a 
human  creature  ;  not  a  voice.  Sheep  in  a  flock  were  visible 
over  across  a  monstrously  deep  valley  on  the  slope  of  another 
mountain.  Some  rude  carts  were  clustered  at  the  end  of  a 
road,  that  seems  to  have  attempted  to  get  up  to  the  town 
from  the  landward  side.  At  several  points  on  the  mountains 
round  about  I  could  make  out  the  line  of  the  old  Corniche 
road.  Trying  to  find  something  of  the  nineteenth  century,  — 
so  weird  was  the  whole  place,  —  a  few  telegraph  poles  follow- 
ing the  Corniche  was  veritably  all  I  could  see.  ...  A  most 
memorable  day :  Eze  and  its  mountains,  —  the  most  pictur- 
esque of  places. 

Of  Mentone  and  its  neighborhood  Charles  wrote :  "  I 
thought  little  Mt.  Chevalier  (Cannes)  picturesque ;  but  this 
is  incomparably  more  so.  The  view  from  the  breakwater  is 
enchanting,  high  buildings  rising  from  the  very  rocks  of  the 
shore,  —  rocks  to  which  mooring  lines  are  fastened  ;  a  curious 
church  steeple  rises  above  all."  The  walk  eastward  into  Italy 
especially  delighted  him,  over  the  winding  and  climbing  Cor- 
niche, from  several  points  of  which  superb  views  are  obtained 
westward  even  as  far  as  the  Esterelles,  and  eastward  to  Bor- 
dighera  on  its  point.  The  road  curves  inland  into  a  shady 
valley ;  and  then  comes  the  village  of  La  Mortola,  set  on  an 
Olive-clad  point  of  mountain.  Close  by  are  the  gates  of  Mr. 
Hanbury's  villa.  The  garden  around  this  villa  is  the  most 
famous  of  all  the  Riviera.  "  A  wonderland  of  vegetation  ;  a 
garden  of  Eden.  '  Cest  lepays  du  bon  Dieu  !  '  said  a  man  to 
me ;  and  he  was  right.  That  view  from  the  high  cape  near 
Mr.  Hanbury's  scuola  is  the  most  utterly  romantic  thing  mine 
eyes  have  seen."  Charles  made  two  visits  to  this  garden, 
having  a  letter  of  introduction  from  an  English  friend.     He 


iET.  26]        MENTONE  — LA  MORTOLA  97 

took  Dotes  of  many  lovely  things  ;  but  also  "  noted  mttch  as 
what  not  to  do."  As  usual,  he  was  more  delighted  with  the 
general  aspect  of  the  country  and  the  sea  than  with  the 
details  of  garden-work,  beautiful  and  rare  as  they  were. 

In  the  afternoon  of  April  4th,  I  walked  inland ;  and  again 
was  wrought  into  a  sort  of  ecstasy,  —  an  exaggerated  form  of 
the  "  spi-ing  fever  "  I  have  had  at  home.  I  went  up  a  valley 
with  a  torrent  bed  in  it,  bounded  by  steeper  and  steeper  hills, 
bearing  Olives  interspersed  with  groves  of  Oranges  and 
Lemons,  occasional  blooming  Peach-trees,  and  bud-bursting 
figs,  with  now  and  then  tali  spires  of  Cypi-ess.  The  dwell- 
ings of  the  peasantry,  stuccoed,  and  colored  yellowish  or 
pinkish,  were  buried  in  foliage.  On  the  right,  above  rich 
woods,  was  a  high-perched  town,  —  Castellar.  On  the  left,  a 
huge  mill  with  three  great  wheels,  set  on  the  steep  hillside, 
the  water  brought  to  it  from  a  great  distance.  Up  the  val- 
ley, a  distant  church  nestled  in  woods ;  and  behind  it  great 
ranges  of  i-ock  mountains  with  sharp  crests,  fantastic  pinna- 
cles, and  deep  gorges.  Everywhere  fresh  plant  life  was 
pushing  out,  —  Hornbeams,  various  Pruni,  and  the  deciduous 
trees  generally  were  all  in  loveliest  half-burst  state,  beside 
many  flowers.  Ferns,  and  pretty  wall  plants.  On  the  5th  of 
April,  beside  the  time  spent  in  Mr.  Hanbury's  garden,  I  took 
half  an  hour  to  look  at  little  La  Mortola,  —  a  cluster  of 
houses  on  a  sort  of  headland  above  the  Corniche  road,  ap- 
proached only  by  footpaths  ;  but  possessed  of  two  churches, 
and  of  a  prospect  lovely  beyond  words.  I  met  many  groups 
of  peasants,  with  faces  and  costumes  thoroughly  Italian ; 
lovely  children  and  pretty  girls.  One  of  the  latter,  in  an 
Olive  wood,  was  watching  bread-baking  in  an  outdoor  oven. 
Women,  bearing  great  sacks  or  bundles,  were  travelling  the 
one  road,  or  climbing  the  paths  leading  mountainwards ; 
mules,  decked  out  with  all  manner  of  tassels  and  finery, 
passed  in  procession,  each  with  his  laden  paniers ;  little  mule 
carts  were  freighted  with  jars,  such  as  the  Forty  Thieves  got 
into  ;  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats  were  attended  by  the  conven- 
tional herder;  wall  frescoes  of  "Virgo  Potens "  and  other 
subjects  were  painted  on  the  walls  of  the  humble  dwellings  ; 
there  were  wayside  inns  with  little  pergolas ;  .  .  .  men  with 


98     LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUEOPE.    THE  RIVIERA    [1886 

what  I  have  always  supposed  to  be  the  fisherman's  hat,  — 
red  woollen  and  tall  so  that  the  top  hangs  over  ;  men  with 
bright  scarfs  around  their  hips ;  and  half-naked  children  run- 
ning after  the  few  travellers'  carriages.  I  have  been  coming 
to  Italy  very  slowly,  and  the  changes  have  been  very  gradual ; 
but,  verily,  I  have  now  arrived.  On  the  Italian  end  of  Pont 
de  Saint-Louis  (near  Mentone)  sits  a  haggard  beggar ;  and 
on  a  rock  near  by  is  written  "  E  viva  Garibaldi  !  " 

From  Mentone  Charles  made  an  excursion  to  Monte  Carlo, 
where  he  spent  a  whole  morning  in  the  famous  gardens  de- 
signed by  Andre  of  Paris.  His  journal  describes  its  broad 
terraces,  with  balustrades  and  vases  of  stucco ;  its  steep, 
pebble-paved  walks  ;  the  rich  verdure  of  its  formal  thickets  ; 
its  smooth  green  lawns,  set  with  specimens  in  great  variety ; 
and  its  concrete  brook,  planted  with  even  more  fantastic 
plants  than  are  used,  or  can  be  used,  in  Paris. 

On  the  land  side  of  the  Casino  there  is  handsome  formal 
work ;  ample  gravel  spaces  ;  a  circle  with  a  fountain  ;  a  long, 
narrow  sunk  parterre  with  Palms  at  the  corners,  borders  of 
Ivy,  massed  Roses  in  the  borders,  and  brilliant  flowers  in 
raised  beds  in  the  centre,  —  all  exquisitely  kept  and  very 
costly.  It  is  a  strange  contrast  to  the  barren  mountain  sides 
which  tower  immediately  behind,  culminating  in  the  mountain 
headland  of  the  Tete  du  Chien,  and  the  high  ridge,  where, 
seen  against  the  sky,  stands  a  great  ruined  tower  —  the  Tro- 
paea  of  Augustus  Caesar. 

He  looked  into  the  gambling  hells  in  the  afternoon,  noticing 
"the  continuous  shoving  about  of  money  in  big  sums  and 
little ;  the  extreme  silence ;  the  odd  faces  ;  the  many  queer 
folk ;  and  some  wild  behavior,  —  a  monstrous  curious  spectacle 
altogether." 

Thence  he  walked  round  the  "  Port  of  Hercules,"  and  up 
into  Monaco,  "  a  place  I  have  always  much  desired  to  see, 
having  had  some  photographs  of  it  at  home."  He  enjoyed  the 
magnificent  views  east  and  west  along  the  coasts  from  the 
open  place  before  the  palace,  and  the  cliff  walk  all  around 
the  old  town,  and  the  Pine-grove  garden  at  the  extremity 
of  the  point ;  but  when  he  reached  this  grove,  what  he  did 
was  to  watch  two  brigs  in  the  offing,  and  two  feluccas,  close 
at  hand,  beating  round  the  point. 


^T.  26]  THE  LOVELY  RIVIERA  99 

...  In  the  palace  square,  near  the  wall  at  the  edge  of  the 
west  cliff,  I  came  upon  a  row  of  old  cannon,  among  them  two  of 
the  same  pattern  as  those  on  Cambridge  Common,  and  with 
the  same  monogram,  —  "  G.  R."  .  .  .  By  train  back  to  Men- 
tone  for  table  d'hote.  Weary,  and  to  bed  early.  This  climate, 
though  divinely  fair,  is  weakening.  I  am  too  easily  tired ; 
and,  when  tired,  I  see  and  learn  little  or  nothing.  What  a 
curious  life  I  am  leading !  Day  after  day  do  I  come  upon 
some  new  beauty ;  and  daily  I  say,  "  Here  is  something  more 
picturesque  than  ever."  To-day  I  swear  I  never  saw  a  pic- 
turesque town  until  I  saw  Mentone ;  and  never  a  paintable 
mill  until  I  saw  that  of  the  Grimaldis  in  the  Val  di  Castellar. 
By  the  time  I  am  back  in  Paris  I  shall  be  utterly  spoilt. 
How  miserable  will  seem  the  vegetation  of  the  north,  how 
hard  and  unlovely  my  New  England ! 

He  wrote  to  his  mother,  on  the  12th  of  April,  — 

I  live  nowadays  in  a  sort  of  dream  —  a  very  lovely  dream 
the  Riviera  has  been  —  wholly  indescribable  in  any  wretched 
journal  tliat  I  have  time  or  wits  to  write.  I  have  slept  many 
nights  close  to  the  surf ;  and  several  times,  on  first  waking  I 
have  thought  myself  at  Manchester  [Mass.].  That  this  sea 
is  veritably  the  Mediterranean  I  find  it  hard  to  believe ;  and 
how  incapable  I  find  myself  of  taking  in  and  really  in  any 
way  assimilating  the  much  that  I  see.  I  have  felt  a  little 
rushed  since  those  quiet  days  at  Antibes,  so  many  and  so 
quick-succeeding  have  been  the  new  scenes,  new  experiences, 
and  new  ideas.  Mentone  I  really  came  to  know  something 
of ;  but  of  Bordighera,  San  Remo,  and  Alassio,  I  got  only 
glimpses  —  all  lovely  and  different  places,  and  any  one  of 
them  containing  food  for  a  week  for  a  hungry  and  raw  Yan- 
kee like  me.  I  set  out  from  Paris  with  the  notion  that  these 
weeks  of  March  and  April  were  to  be  given  to  a  pleasure  trip 
almost  pure  and  simple ;  that  eight  weeks  would  be  as  much 
time  as  I  ought  to  give  to  this  purpose;  and  that  it  was  my 
boundcn  duty  to  be  back  in  Paris  in  very  early  May.  Now 
I  have  learned,  I  think,  that  I  should  have  started  earlier, 
and  planned  to  stay  longer ;  for  I  find  and  now  believe  that 
it  would  be  well  worth  while  to  study  Italian  gardening  with 


100  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     THE  RIVIERA   [1886 

some  thoroughness  —  particularly  as  Mr.  Olmsted  seems  to 
think  so  too.  .  .  .  Perhaps  it  will  be  well  to  come  back  here 
in  the  autumn ;  though  by  that  time,  Heaven  knows,  1  shall 
be  wanting  to  get  home  pretty  badly. 

His  glimpse  of  Bordighera  included  an  exploration  of  the 
old  walled  town,  and  a  walk  uj)  the  hillside,  through  narrow 
lanes  between  large  Palm  gardens  —  Palms  leaning  out  of 
and  over  the  walls,  and  forming  large  groves,  very  beautiful 
when  seen  against  sky  or  sea.  At  San  Remo  he  was  delighted 
with  a  picturesque  Olive  mill  in  the  first  valley  east  of  the 
town  hill,  with  the  sluices  carried  on  slender  arches,  and  a 
high  "  flying  bridge  "  for  the  footpath,  its  parapets  crumbled 
away,  and  other  slender  bridges  of  great  span  to  carry  the 
waste  water  to  stone  settling-tanks  built  in  the  side  of  the 
gulch.  "  Thence  I  climbed  through  Olives  to  the  church  at 
the  top  of  the  town,  then  down  through  old  narrow  staircases, 
alleys,  and  tunnels,  to  luncheon  in  the  restaurant  of  the  new 
town.  The  alleys  were  the  narrowest,  darkest,  and  dirtiest  of 
any  yet  seen  —  a  veritable  ant-hill."  He  took  an  omnibus 
thence  to  the  east  end  of  the  route  ;  and  then  followed  a  wind- 
ing mountain  road  up  a  long  ascent. 

A  turn  in  my  road ;  and  suddenly,  close  at  hand,  a  little 
town  on  the  slope  of  my  mountain,  close  packed  as  possible  — 
not  one  straggling  building ;  a  church  with  a  high,  false 
front,  and  a  campanile  in  the  midst.  Suddenly  the  sound  of 
a  deep,  distant  bell  from  beyond  the  great  valley.  I  looked 
hard,  and  discovered  another  small  ant-hill  town,  perched  on 
a  steep  bluff  over  across  the  valley.  It  was  approached  only 
by  zigzags  through  low  Pine  woods  and  Olives,  or  across  bare, 
torrent-washed  slopes.  At  a  ruined  church  on  the  top  of  the 
ridge  —  a  smithy  in  it  —  I  took  a  road  leading  seaward  .  .  . 
on  high  land  and  presently  arrived  at  the  Cape  Madonna 
della  Guardia  —  which  I  had  seen  in  the  morning  from  the 
port  of  San  Remo  —  in  time  to  see  the  final  closing-down  of 
the  clouds  upon  the  mountains  towards  Bordighera  and  the 
heights  back  of  San  Remo.  I  was  on  a  high  point,  barren  to 
a  degree,  a  bleak,  white  chapel  on  the  summit,  in  which  I 
took  refuge  from  the  first  shower  of  rain.  A  storm  was  evi- 
dently brewing.  I  hurried  down,  and  followed  a  dull  shore 
road  back  to  San  Remo,  which  town  seemed  astonishingly  far 


^T.  26]  SAN   REMO  — ALASSIO  101 

away.  A  second  shower  fell  with  vigor ;  but  I  hid  in  the 
house  of  a  railway  gate-keeper ;  and  finally  arrived  at  the 
hotel,  dry,  just  before  the  continuous  downpour  began.  This 
was  of  importance,  because  my  clothes  had  gone  to  Genoa. 
I  made  a  short  evening  over  plant-notes,  weary  but  happy, 
being  fairly  drenched  with  picturesqueness  if  not  with  rain, 
I  met  much  semi-costume  to-day  and  yesterday.  Why  need 
these  women  carry  such  burdens  ?  In  the  towns  everybody 
is  lugging  something ;  and  what  loads  they  pile  on  mules  and 
donkeys  ;  and  what  a  good  time  they  seem  to  have  gathering 
olives  ;  and  how  unblushingly  the  pretty  and  healthy  children 
run  after  one  and  beg. 

Riviera  journeying  is  almost  at  an  end  for  me.  The  best 
of  it  has  been  the  seeing  of  real  picturesqueness  —  a  sight  for 
which  mine  ej'es  have  been  hungering  many  years.  I  have 
also  got  a  good  idea  of  what  can  be  accomplished  in  the  way 
of  jilant-growing  in  a  climate  of  this  character ;  have  made 
long  lists  of  the  trees  and  shrubs  best  worth  remembering ; 
have  learned  to  recognize  very  many  sorts  (but  shall  forget 
them)  ;  have  copies  of  the  printed  lists  of  plants  at  Monte 
Carlo  and  Cap  d'Antibes ;  and  have  got  together  some  ideas 
as  to  what  general  design  in  landscape  gardening  should  be 
in  similar  countries. 

At  Alassio  Charles  visited  the  garden  of  General  Sir  M, 
McMurdo,  to  whom  Mr,  Bryce  had  given  him  a  letter,  —  a 
small  but  very  delightful  place,  made  on  a  vexy  steep  hillside 
as  at  La  Mortola.  It  was  formerly  in  Olive  terraces  ;  but 
these  are  now  partly  done  away  with,  and  parti}'  disguised. 
There  was  a  pleasantly  intricate  series  of  along-hill  paths, 
close  thickets,  rude  flights  of  steps,  a  less  rude  but  handsome 
flight,  with  a  turn,  made  of  red  tufa  rock  with  a  terra -cotta 
balustrade.  In  many  directions,  glimpses  of  sea  and  moun- 
tains were  obtained ;  but  there  was  only  one  point  of  general 
widespread  view.  General  McMurdo  had  been  the  engineer 
of  the  place  ;  and  Mrs.  McMurdo  the  gardener.  The  engineer- 
ing was  conspicuously  good,  the  walks  having  an  adequate 
appearance  of  support  on  the  downhill  side  —  an  unusual 
merit. 

At  six  o'clock,  in  loveliest  evening  light,  I  set  out  alone 
from  the  hotel ;  and  walked  westward  over  the  sand  beach, 


102    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    THE  RIVIERA    [1886 

along  which  is  built  the  old  town.  .  .  .  The  old  town  is 
crowded  at  the  water's  edge,  the  railway  passing  behind  it  — 
an  altogether  unusual  arrangement  on  this  coast.  There  was 
one  short  stone  pier;  but  all  the  boats  were  drawn  up  on 
the  sands.     The  calm  was  delicious,  with  lovely  reflections ; 


°n^et4  -J r- — -T 5— — Coft/^ 


:z:55| 


Two  Riviera  arrangements  for  a  drive  and  sea-wall  along  a  beach. 

and  a  gentle  white  surf  played  all  around  the  great  sweep  of 
the  beach.  The  boats  were  loading  with  empty  fish-barrels, 
for  a  small  steamer  at  anchor  outside  to  carry  to  the  fishing- 
grounds.  There  was  a  pretty  scene  at  the  launching  of  the 
last  boat-load,  —  crowds  of  bare-legged  boys  helping  shove  off, 
their  backs  against  the  stem  of  the  big  seine-boat-like  craft. 
Many  children  and  their  mothers  were  out  for  air  on  the 
beach,  —  building  sand  castles  and  so  forth. 

Sunday,  April  12th.  The  railroad  ride  to  Genoa  offered  a 
succession  of  small  bays,  valleys,  and  grand  mountain  capes, 
with  many  charmingly  placed  towns,  and  many  castles  more 
or  less  ruined  set  on  romantic  heights.  There  were  also 
glimpses  of  snow  mountains,  continuous  blue  sea,  and  fine 
masses  of  cumuli  over  both  the  Rivieras.  This  ride,  however, 
impaired  somewhat  Charles's  enjoyment  of  the  next  day,  for 
it  was  a  succession  of  black  tunnels  and  bright  openings,  very 
trying  to  the  eyes.  The  countless  Renaissance  palaces  with 
their  courts,  loggias,  and  staircases  in  many  architectural 
styles,  were  the  chief  objects  of  interest  in  the  city ;  but  the 
well-devised  promenade  Acquasola  and  the  public  garden  of 
Villetta  di  Negro,  which  offered  fine  views  over  the  city,  port, 
and  environs,  were  also  instructive.  The  Villa  Pallavicini 
lies  a  little  outside  of  Genoa ;  and  was  carefully  examined  by 
Charles ;  but  he  did  not  find  it  very  instructive,  although  it 
is  a  famous  garden.  There  were  some  pleasant  shaded  walks, 
some  very  successful  rock-work  made  of  stones  from  the  sea- 


JET.  26}  THOTOGRAPHS  OF  SCENERY  103 

shore,  some  well-tlevised  streamlets,  a  large  stalactite  grotto, 
and  a  lakelet  from  which,  by  taking  a  boat,  fine  views  are  to 
be  had  of  the  Genoa  light-tower  and  the  sea.  Many  fanciful 
pavilions  and  summer-houses,  Turkish,  Chinese,  and  other, 
diversified  the  garden  ;  also  temples  of  Flora  and  Vesta  ;  and 
a  building  which,  on  one  side,  is  a  triumphal  arch,  and  on  the 
other,  a  rustic  cottage  !  Many  odd  water  squirts  entertained 
the  visitors.  Among  the  unusual  decorations  are  the  imita- 
tion ruins  of  two  fortresses,  with  a  tomb  of  a  general  supposed 
to  have  died  in  defence  of  one  of  them ;  and  even  a  sort  of 
imitation  shrine  of  the  Virgin  in  one  corner,  with  an  inscrip- 
tion granting  certain  indulgences  to  whoever  may  salute  her 
image. 

The  Villa  Rostan,  which  Charles  also  visited,  is  a  less  pue- 
rile place,  although  there  are  several  squirts,  and  a  liermit's 
cabin  with  a  stuffed  hermit,  also  a  grotto  with  Diana  bathing, 
and  other  illustrations  of  classical  legend.  Most  of  this  place 
is  a  wood  with  underbrush,  through  which  there  are  occa- 
sional very  long  vistas —  one  of  the  distant  light-tower  very 
effective.  In  the  depth  of  the  wood  is  a  paved,  moss-carpeted 
dancing-floor,  with  stone  seats  in  the  shrubbery  round  about, 
and  an  overlooking  stone  gallery  ;  also  a  little  open-air  theatre, 
all  mossy,  and  (like  all  else  in  the  place)  with  an  air  of  neg- 
lect, or  I'omantic  dilapidation,  about  it  which  is  not  unpleas- 
ing. 

The  next  day  Charles  spent  much  time  over  photographs 
in  an  attractive  shop  :  but,  as  had  often  happened  to  him 
before,  he  found  but  few  wortli  buying.  "  They  are  verily  a 
snare  and  a  delusion  except  for  buildings  and  architectural 
details."  Throughout  all  Europe  he  found  it  ver}'  difficult 
to  get  pleasing  and  instructive  photographs  of  scenery.  Either 
the  objects  which  interested  him  had  never  been  photo- 
graphed, or  the  photographs  which  had  been  taken  gave  no 
just  idea  of  the  real  scenes.  He  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
one  who  desired  to  bring  away  from  Europe  photographic 
memoranda  of  landscape  which  had  interested  him  must  be 
his  own  photographer.  His  last  remark  before  leaving  Genoa 
was,  "  I  looked  into  two  fine  palaces.  What  nabol)S  these 
merchant  princes  of  Genoa  were ;  and  what  ingenious  archi- 
tects built  them  their  palaces  I  " 

In  the  afternoon  of  April  14th  he  went  on  to  Santa  Mar- 
gherita,  enjoying  intensely,  as  usual,  the  railroad  ride  by  the 
small  crowded  towns,  the  many  villas,  the  lemon  groves,  and 
the  bits  of  castles  in  all  sorts  of  positions,  —  in  torrent  beds, 
on  top  of  heights,  on  the  sea  beach,  or  on  slopes  of  mountains. 


104   LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    THE  RIVIERA    [1886 

The  hotel  at  Santa  Margherita  stood  on  the  edge  of  the  water 
of  the  port,  almost  as  close  as  at  Alassio,  where  the  surf  on 
the  sand  beach  seemed  about  to  roll  into  the  hall  and  dining- 
room.  The  outlook  eastward  from  the  hotel  presented  a  grand 
succession  of  mountains,  very  many  of  the  height  of  Mt. 
Desert's  highest  (1527  feet),  rising  directly  from  the  sea; 
and  behind  these  others  rising  to  3000  feet  and  more  —  none 
quite  so  fine,  however,  as  those  which  hang  over  Monaco  and 
Meutone. 

April  15.  A  divine  morning,  still,  bright,  and  fresh.  I 
took  the  skore  road  toward  the  end  of  the  cape,  bound  to  see 
Portofino.  The  road  was  very  winding,  always  close  to  the 
water,  and  having  now  heights  and  cliffs,  and  now  mountain- 
descended  valleys  on  the  right  hand.  There  were  many  deep 
coves,  many  short  bits  of  beach,  and  many  wild  cliffs  and 
fantastic  forms  of  coarse,  conglomerate  rocks.  Everywhere 
were  Pines,  Arbutus,  blooming  Coronilla,  Heath,  and  Myrtle, 
and  now  and  then  steep  slopes  of  Olive  woods.  For  three 
miles  there  were  no  houses,  save  a  group  at  Paraggi ;  but  a 
monastery  on  the  flank  of  the  mountain  (with  one  Palm  reared 
above  the  enclosing  walls),  and  a  quaint  rectangular  castle, 
set  on  a  jutting  rock  of  the  shore  at  the  mouth  of  a  cove,  its 
battered  base  partly  hidden  by  Pines  which  also  reached  down 
over  the  shore  rocks,  its  upper  parts  curiously  broken  into 
bays  and  groups  of  windows.  At  the  head  of  one  rock-bound 
cove,  in  a  cleft  of  the  cliffs,  were  a  spring  and  cistern,  where 
groups  of  women  were  washing.  Around  the  next  headland 
the  wagon  road  suddenly  ended  against  the  close-built  build- 
ings of  the  town  of  Portofino.  Hence  was  one  of  the  quaint- 
est pictures  ever  seen,  —  a  deep  hill-piercing  cove,  the  shores 
opposite  wooded  and  reflected  in  water;  small  vessels  were 
moored  in  the  inmost  corners,  their  yards  almost  touching  the 
trees,  and  the  steep  wooded  heights  of  the  long  promontory 
opposite  were  crowned  by  castles  of  vai-ying  form,  partly 
hidden  in  verdure.  The  little  port  was  headed  by  a  wide, 
short  beach,  with  high  buildings  close  about  it,  and  strung 
in  a  block  along  the  hither  shore.  Olive-clad  heights  close 
behind  rise  further  off  into  Pine-clad  summits  of  some  two 
thousand  feet.     The  road  having  ended,  I  got  down  into  the 


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MT.  26] 


PORTOFINO 


105 


piazza  at  the  beach  by  poking  clown  a  steep  staircase  under 
buildings.  From  the  beach,  looking  outward,  the  view  was 
more  striking.  At  the  right,  the  wooded  castle-crowned 
heights ;  at  the  left,  a  little  quay  and  the  blocked  buildings 
under  the  mountain,  the  opening  between  crossed  in  the  far 
distance  by  the  coast  line  of  the  mainland. 

Next  I  climbed  round  the  cape  to  the  church  visible  at 
point  No.  1  in  the  map,  using  a  little  path  and  staircase  which 
winds  among  cliffs  and  under  mossy  boulders,  and  to  my  great 
surprise  found  myself  on  the  brink  of  great  cliffs  of  open  sea, 
with  white  surf  dashing  far  below  at  their  base.  I  pushed  on 
by  a  footjiath  along  the  harbor  side  of  the  promontory,  past 
the  first  strange  castle,  —  or,  rather,  stronghold  house,  — 
between  lovely  thickets,  under  Olives,  past  one  or  two  little 
hidden  cottages,  and  up  an  exceedingly  steep  but  little  trodden 


p^E.rD  I  T  €.  r^  \^  6=^  N.  £  c-\  rsk  .^^-fnv      T( 


zigzag  to  the  ruined  tower  and  walls  on  the  highest  peak  of 
this  much-peaked  headland.  Here  were  vastly  fine  seaward 
cliffs,  where,  under  a  big  Pine,  I  lunched  off  stuff  from  my 
pockets,  while  far  below,  and  often  hidden  by  Pines,  two  boats 
slowly  dragged  nets  close  to  the  rocks,  and  in  the  far  distance 
two  feluccas  and  one  steamship  sailed  east  towards  Genoa.  I 
loafed  long  on  this  height,  and  found  many  lovely  wild  flowers, 
and  rescued  an  earthworm  from  a  centipede.  Then  I  returned 
to  the  little  piazza  (No.  2  on  the  map),  and  took  a  mountain- 
ward  path,  which  led  me  up  a  succession  of  valleys  different 


106   LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    THE  RIVIERA    [1886 

from  anything  yet  seen,  —  a  sort  of  fairyland  of  fresh  green 
grass  and  Ferns,  moss.  Ivy,  and  countless  flowers,  with  new- 
budding  trees  and  singing  birds,  and  cottages  hidden  away  in 
corners,  and  steep  side-hills  of  Olives.  Much  stairs  and  much 
winding  among  verdurous  walls  and  boulders,  the  path  often 
but  two  feet  wide  between  crags,  with  sudden  turns  between 
rude  vine-clad  trellises.  At  last  a  ridge,  wholly  open,  a  tre- 
mendous wild  valley  going  down  into  the  sea  just  beyond ;  a 
jutting  rock  close  by ;  a  little  shrine  ;  a  view  of  sea  and  near 
mountains,  and  little  Portofino.  .  .  .  Hence  I  discovered  a 
tempting  rock  over  across  a  deep  gulch-like  valley,  and  an 
Olive  wood  with  a  cottage  not  far  from  it ;  so  I  went  round 
the  head  of  the  valley  by  a  little  footpath,  meeting  a  little 
girl  driving  cows,  and  passing  the  dooryard  of  the  cottage, 
gained  the  high  rock  easily,  and  was  well  repaid ;  for  in  addi- 
tion to  all  else  I  got  here  a  view  of  the  fine  snow  mountains 
not  far  back  of  Rapallo,  and  also  a  far  better  look  at  the 
really  stupendous  cliffs  of  the  coast  close  at  hand  at  the  west, 
whence  a  sound  of  surf  in  caves  came  faintly  to  the  ear.  This 
cottage  was  the  highest  on  all  the  mountain.  Above  all  is  Pine 
and  wildness  up  to  the  summit  at  about  two  thousand  feet. 
I  went  down  by  a  new  way,  through  other  fairylands,  offer- 
ing surprising  views  of  the  sea  through  trees  from  a  great 
distance,  the  hills  being  exceeding  steep.  I  met  a  few  beau- 
tifully dressed  peasant  women,  toiling  up  the  hill,  two  little 
boys  carrying  big  sacks,  and  three  sweet-looking  nuns,  also 
climbing.  At  the  piazza  of  Portofino  at  3  o'clock  (I  had  set 
out  at  8.15),  finding  myself  weary,  for  4  lire  I  got  a  boatman 
to  carry  me  back  to  Santa  Margherita.  We  rowed  and  we 
sailed  and  I  steered,  and  it  was  sport !  Then,  at  4.30,  after  a 
hurried  cup  of  tea  and  a  roll,  I  took  train  again  and  travelled 
the  superb  coast  to  Spezia,  where  the  sun  set  in  great  glory ; 
and  on  in  moonlight  through  Tuscany  to  Pisa,  dining  off 
roast  chicken,  bread,  and  wine  on  the  way.  My  heart  on  fire  ! 
What  a  glorious  day ! 

April  16.  Yesterday's  five-hours'  journey  to  Pisa  was 
largely  underground  while  daylight  lasted.  ...  A  flash  of 
daylight,  and  you  cross  a  narrow  gulch  or  valh^y,  surf  on  the 
one  hand,  falls  in  the  torrent  stream  on  the  other,  then  black- 


^T.  26]  PISA  107 

ness  again  and  another  mountain  overhead.  The  close-built 
towns  are  packed  in  the  mouths  of  valleys,  the  railway  some- 
times behind,  but  unfortunately  of  tener  in  front.  This  is  sad, 
because  the  railway's  high  embankment  often  cuts  off  the 
town's  view  of  the  sea  and  the  view  of  the  town  from  the  sea. 
The  coast  is  more  precipitous,  ruder,  and  wikler  than  any  part 
of  the  western  shore.  After  la  Spezia,  darkness  came  soon, 
but  moonlight,  the  ghostly  white  mountains  of  Carrara  gleam- 
ing in  the  distance,  and  the  marble  ballasting  of  the  railway 
gleaming  too.  The  night  was  so  bright  that  the  Pisan  Duomo 
was  visible  from  afar. 

Pisa.  This  morning  I  looked  out  on  the  Arno  and  its 
grand,  sweeping  curve  through  the  town.  I  rambled  out 
without  guide,  and  discovered  a  beautiful  brick  palace  on 
Lung  Arno ;  admired  the  wide  eaves  of  the  houses  ;  took  side 
streets,  and  presently,  at  the  end  of  one  of  these,  the  Leaning 
Tower.  .  .  .  Like  the  rest  of  the  world,  I  stood  amazed  at  the 
Tower,  the  Baptistery,  and  the  Church,  —  three  marble  won- 
ders. .  .  .  Next  I  got  into  the  Campo  Santo,  and  there  stayed 
long.  These  wei-e  my  first  old  frescoes, — hells,  heavens,  and 
so  on ;  also  many  fine  monuments,  Roman,  early  Christian, 
and  Renaissance  ;  some  excellent  heraldic  work  in  the  stones 
of  the  floor,  and  graves  of  college  teachers,  —  the  whole  enclos- 
ure with  its  neglected  court,  its  faded  wall  paintings,  its  light 
arched  tracery,  its  long  roofed  aisles,  its  quiet  and  seclusion, 
most  utterly  expressive  of  peace  and  the  dead  past.  From 
within,  through  an  iron  grating,  I  watched  the  folk  pour  out 
of  the  Duomo ;  and  when  the  preacher  appeared,  the  crowd 
clapped  and  cheered  —  a  strange  scene.  Then  I  wandered 
through  the  emptied  church,  looking  at  the  rich  marbles,  the 
splendid  pillars  (brought  home  by  Pisan  conquerors),  and 
the  many  peasant  women  kneeling  at  shrines  —  how  beautiful 
are  their  faded  gowns  and  kerchiefs  and  their  dark  faces !  I 
could  not  get  into  the  Baptistery,  but  climbed  the  Leaning 
Tower,  and  said  farewell  to  the  Mediterranean  —  my  one  true 
friend  since  Marseilles.  After  lunch  I  went  out  again  to  see 
the  famous  botanical  garden,  where  I  spent  two  profitable 
hours.  It  was  an  interesting  opportunity  of  comparing  the 
vegetation  growable  here  with  that  of  the  western  Riviera.     I 


108         LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    FLORENCE      [1886 

noticed,  among  many  other  things,  a  huge  Magnolia  and  a 
Yankee  Shadbush  in  bloom.  ...  At  5.30  I  was  off  for  Flor- 
ence, a  two-hours'  ride  through  fertile,  highly  cultivated 
country,  and  one  nan-ow  defile.  Heavy  showers  were  falling 
on  the  surrounding  mountains.  The  effects  of  bursting  sun- 
light on  the  new  leafage  in  distant  parts  of  the  plains,  on 
the  hill-set  towns,  and  on  the  winding  Arno,  were  startling. 
Near  sunset  the  light-effects  were  most  marvellous.  Clouds 
everywhere,  yet  much  sunlight  too ;  bright  gleams  of  rain- 
bows ;  dark  rain-clouds  behind  gleaming  snow-mouutains ; 
white,  billowy  cumuli  over  shadowed  hills  —  altogether  won- 
drous and  Turneresque.  .  .  .  Actually  in  Florence,  city  of 
my  dreams  ! 

Charles  stayed  six  days  in  Florence.  His  visit  was  con- 
siderably impaired  by  heavy  rains,  which  interfered  with  out- 
of-door  excursions.  The  following  summing  up  made  April 
22d  will  serve  as  introduction  :  — 

End  of  my  present  looking  on  Florence  and  her  treasures : 
six  daylights  have  fled,  and  I  have  seen  much ;  but  sixty 
would  not  suffice.  Here  is  not  only  beauty  of  situation,  and 
of  city  as  a  whole,  and  of  plain  and  mountain  round  about  it, 
and  of  vegetation,  and  of  winding  river,  —  but  also  beauty 
in  abundance  within  the  town,  in  the  very  streets,  in  broad 
day.  Palaces,  churches,  fortress-houses,  bell-towers,  loggias, 
and  bridges  are  full  of  character  and  meaning.  The  iron- 
work, bronze-work,  mosaic,  and  sculpture  are  spirited,  quaint, 
or  exquisite.  There  are  precious  frescoes  on  the  walls  of 
courts  in  the  open  air,  and  bits  of  della  Robbia's  terra-cotta 
in  street-corner  shrines.  The  fine  arts  are  not  hidden  away 
in  museums,  but  set  into  every-day  life. 

In  Florence  he  was  looking  more  than  usual  at  the  main 
objects  of  tourists'  interest,  because  these  main  objects  are  in 
high  degree  artistic ;  but  he  also  visited  the  sui-rounding  heights 
to  enjoy  the  setting  of  the  city. 

The  afternoon  (April  17)  was  given  to  rambling  on  the 
heights  of  San  Miniato,  whence  an  entrancing  view  was  made 
doubly  lovely  by  effects  of  cloud-broken  light.  The  winding 
Arno ;  the  soft  colors   of  new  leafage  in  fertile  plains,  all 


^T.  26]  FLORENCE  GALLERIES  109 

flooded  with  golden  light ;  the  purple  and  azure  mountains 
stretching  to  far  distance,  and  backed  by  snow  crests  at  many- 
points  ;  and  clouds,  clouds,  clouds,  of  such  variety  of  form, 
mass;  and  color  as  is  seldom  seen.  The  city  in  the  midst  of 
the  valley  is  a  perfect  thing  too  —  a  comprehend  able  place 
—  a  composition  in  the  painter's  sense.  Rich  brown  roofs, 
from  which  rise  the  white  walls  of  the  Duomo  and  the  Cam- 
panile, and  the  high  stem  tower  of  the  town  house,  —  towers 
and  church  all  rising  against  exquisite  coloring  of  plain  and 
mountains  beyond. 

He  liked  the  handsome  carriage  "  concourse  "  with  Angelo's 
"David"  in  the  centre;  and  noted  the  Wistaria,  Lilacs,  Roses, 
and  Spiraeas  in  bloom  on  the  17th  of  April.     He  noted  also 


the  absurd  stucco  caves  within  the  arches  of  terrace  walls. 
Another  day  he  visited  the  Boboli  Garden,  where  he  had 
played  every  day  for  a  fortnight  when  he  was  a  boy  of  five. 
He  explored  it  thoroughh%  and  got  from  it  "an  idea  or  two," 
but  found  it  a  dreary  jjlace.  The  Pitti  Gallery,  however,  was 
close  at  hand.  The  Florence  galleries  invited  him  strongly, 
and  as  the  weather  was  showery,  he  made  frequent  visits  to 
them.  At  these  galleries  he  "  was  vastly  disappointed  in 
some  pictures  familiar  in  engravings  and  photographs,  and 
was  delightedly  surprised  at  others.  The  Venetian  work, 
particularly,  cannot  be  reproduced  in  photographs.  The 
print  of  Titian's  '  Flora,'  compared  with  the  original,  is  but 
a  blot  of  ink;  and  the  lovely  Madonna,  like  that  yet  lovelier 
iu  tha  Louvre,  is  in  photograph  almost  nought."     He  cared 


110  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     FLORENCE     [1886 

little  for  any  of  the  famous  pictures  in  the  Tribuna  at  the 
Uffizi ;  but  greatly  enjoyed  the  Angelicos  and  Botticellis,  and 
every  one  of  the  Venetians ;  "  and  liked  the  small  picture  of 
'  Tobias  and  the  Angel '  by  Granacci,  and  others  unheard  of." 
Of  his  visit  to  the  San  Marco  monastery,  now  museum,  he 
writes  :  "  Here,  as  at  Bargello,  and  as  in  Piazza  della  Signo- 
ria,  and  many  side  streets  of  the  city,  a  mighty  flavor  of 
mediaeval  days.  Walls  of  faded  frescoes,  angel  hosts,  Madon- 
nas, saints,  martyrs,  pagan  Aphrodites,  Christs,  —  what  crea- 
tures of  imagination  are  these  !  "     On  the  21st,  — 

in  despair  of  better  weather,  I  took  an  omnibus  to  the  park, 
where  I  was  rained  on  vigorously  for  half  an  hour,  and  was 
then  rewarded  by  a  lovely  clear-up.  Sunlight  through  trees 
and  thickets,  all  in  young  leaf.  Very  joyous  and  refreshing, 
particularly  as  I  have  hardly  seen  anything  of  the  kind  in  all 
the  Riviera  region.  .  .  .  This  park  is  wholly  flat,  and  lies 
along  the  Arno.  It  is  mostly  woodland  with  underbrush,  the 
trees  large,  and  close-grown  ;  but  in  one  part  lately  thinned 
and  cut  back.  There  are  some  shrubless  groves  of  Ilex 
among  prevailing  deciduous  wood  ;  and  Ilex,  also,  now  and 
then  stands  singly,  —  with  big  Pojjlars,  for  instance,  near  the 
river-side.  On  the  few  straight-edged  grass  lawns,  or  rather 
plots,  the  grass  is  uncut  and  poor.  The  roads  and  paths  run 
in  straight  lines  through  woods  and  grasslands,  and  are  every- 
where bordered  by  at  least  one  row  of  avenue  trees  ;  a  ditch 
lies  outside  these  trees,  and  then  comes  the  wild  wood,  or 
sometimes  a  hedge  beside  the  ditch.  The  edges  of  the  woods 
towards  the  river  and  about  the  grass  spaces  are  always  a 
straight,  unbroken  wall,  usually  with  a  dense  ten-foot  Ilex 
hedge  hiding  the  trunks  of  the  trees,  —  a  hedge  over  the  top 
of  which  trees  stretch  bigger  branches.  There  are  many  fine 
vista  effects,  excellent  hedges  with  bays  and  stone  seats  ;  and 
good  stone  terminals  ;  and  corner  posts  ;  and  posts  with  hang- 
ing chains  to  define  footpaths  ;  and  curbs  around  the  plant- 
ing-spaces along  the  chief  avenue  where  a  footpath  is  carried 
alongside  the  drive.  The  woods  with  shrubbery  are  very 
pretty  (when  not  stupidly  hidden  by  hedges)  ;  but  there  is 
no  landscape  design  in  Mr.  Olmsted's  sense.  I  actually  had 
to  go  outside  of  the  park  about  fifty  yards  to  get  a  lovely 
distant  view  of  the  city  towers  and  Du'omo,  which  might 
easily  have  been  had  within  the  park. 


JET.  26] 


VIALE   DEI   COLLI 


111 


Charles  thought  no  day  well  spent  unless  he  was  roving 
about  on  foot  at  least  ten  hours  of  it.  Thus,  on  the  22d  of 
April  he  visited  in  the  morning  the  famous  Viale  dei  Colli 


!L^  lo'Lf. 


^^^^       U^trVwA.-^ 


O.Uo^.       n.QLit?        r;.1?-tr.>o 


J3?S 


^^^,• 


\ClB».<^- 


V^C^V    C;r;>v*^'V 


and  the  grounds  along  it.  The  morning  was  fresh  and  fair, 
and  the  views  lovely  as  possible ;  the  gardens  pleasant,  but 
not  instructive.  There  he  watched  the  country  carts  and 
the  country  people.  Then  he  drifted  about  the  streets  of 
Florence,  in  which  there  were  crowds  abroad,  apparently 
going  from  church  to  church.  He  went  into  the  Duomo, 
where  some  great  function  was  going  on,  which  culminated  in 
the  archbishop  washing  the  feet  of  a  dozen  white-clothed 
ruffians.  Great  crowds  were  constantly  moving  in  and  out, 
—  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.     In  the  — 

Baptistery  I  saw  a  baptism.  The  old  priest  and  his  assist- 
ant straight  out  of  a  Giotto  picture.  There  was  a  long  rig- 
marole, through  which  the  mother  of  the  child  had  to  stand, 
the  baby  in  her  arms.  Then  came  the  sousing  of  the  little 
head  with  water,  —  what  a  heathen  institution  1     The  little 


112      LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     TO  VENICE     [1886 

crowd  from  the  street  that  looked  on  was  interesting,  —  chil- 
dren who,  after  the  ceremony,  crowded  to  see  the  baby,  and 
three  costumed  peasant  women,  amid  rich  marbles  and  gild- 
ing, and  under  high,  shadowy  vaulting.  In  the  church  of 
SS.  Annunziata  was  a  great  array  of  candles,  and  a  crowd 
apparently  awaiting  some  ceremony.  In  the  cloister  adjacent 
I  happened  on  del  Sarto's  "  Madonna  of  the  Sack  "  in  the 
lunette  over  the  door.  Then  outside,  to  my  great  surprise,  I 
discovered  della  Eobbia's  charming  bambinos  set  into  the 
street  wall  of  the  Spedale  degli  Innocenti.  I  took  an  oppor- 
tunity to  say  farewell  to  Bargello  and  the  Ponte  Vecchio,  and 
the  Campanile ;  and,  a  shower  coming  on,  and  my  feet  being 
almost  sore,  I  put  back  to  the  hotel  at  the  ignominious  hour 
of  4.30. 

On  the  23d  of  April  Charles  crossed  the  Apennines  on  the 
railroad  route  to  Venice.  The  ascent  offered  "  many  won- 
drous views  of  the  plain  of  Arno  and  Pistoja's  domes  and 
towers  seen  from  a  great  height ;  but  the  mountains  seemed 
brown,  steep,  and  often  bare,  wooded  only  with  scarcely 
started  low  scrub."  The  crooked  descent  to  Bologna  was 
more  interesting,  the  mountains  being  more  clifty,  with  many 
deep  ravines  and  some  valleys  gay  with  fresh  green. 

I  got  a  good  look  at  the  leaning  towei's  and  strange  domes 
of  Bologna  at  the  beginning  of  the  great  plain  of  the  Po ; 
and  then  came  long  rushing  over  fertile  plains,  —  small  fields 
ditched  about,  rows  of  strangely  trained  fruit  trees,  and  white 
oxen  ploughing.  A  strange  land  altogether,  where  rivers 
flow  on  ridges,  and  railways  and  wagon  roads  have  to  climb 
long  grades  to  get  over  them.  The  towers  and  domes  of 
Ferrara,  Rovigo,  and  Padua  were  visible  from  great  distances 
across  a  plain  of  freshest  green.  The  train  passed  close 
under  one  group  of  blue  hills,  —  Colli  Euganei,  —  whence 
Shelley  once  looked  over  the  great  plain,  "  islanded  with 
cities  fair;"  and  eastward  — 

"  Where  beneath  Day's  azure  eyes, 
Ocean's  nursling,  Venice  lies." 

After  Padua,  the  plain  grows  wetter  and  wetter, — becomes, 
indeed,  a  marsh  with  creeks  ;  a  bridge  is  entered  on,  and  the 
marsh  becomes  flats ;  and  Venice  appears  ahead.     At  four 


£T.26]  VENICE— THE  PIAZZA  113 

o'clock  the  sun  was  behind  a  cloud  for  us,  but  was  beaming 
bright  on  the  walls  and  towers  of  the  floating  town.  In  the 
distance  great  stretches  of  sands  shone  golden,  while  the 
nearer  flats  and  channels  and  grass  patches  were  dullest  gray. 
Sti-ange  boats  and  barges  were  about ;  and  westward  rose  the 
Euganeans.  Soon  a  hubbub  of  gondolas  at  the  station ;  and 
then  silent,  lonely  floating  through  water  alleys,  twice  across 
the  Grand  Canal,  and  into  a  narrow  crack  beside  the  Giar- 
dino  Reale  to  the  steps  of  the  Hotel  la  Lune.  I  got  a  room 
high  up,  with  a  view,  over  the  rich  foliage  of  the  garden,  to 
the  east  end  of  the  Canal,  and  the  churched  and  towered 
Isola  di  S.  Giorgio  Maggiore.  Blue  sky,  blue  water,  colored 
sails,  shooting  gondolas,  a  big  ship  between  buoys,  off  the 
Piazzetta,  —  Venice !  and  this  morning  I  was  on  the  bridge 
over  Arno ! 

After  washing,  I  went  out  into  the  Piazza.  The  low  sun 
was  shining  full  on  the  front  of  St.  Mark's,  and  in  at  the 
open  doors.  I  went  in,  and  out  again  ;  and  in,  and  out. 
What  a  wonder  of  earth  is  this  !  I  strolled  about  the  Piaz- 
zetta and  the  quays  adjoining  ;  and  concluded  that  for  a 
man  of  my  tastes,  and  my  sea  education,  this  must  ever  be 
the  perfectest  spot." 

Charles  spent  four  days  in  Venice,  —  days  fully  occupied 
with  a  delighted  study  of  the  city,  —  its  churches,  pictures, 
and  prospects,  —  in  the  pleasant  company  of  Cambridge 
friends. 

Again  into  the  Piazza  on  Good  Friday  evening,  —  the 
Church  front  and  the  Palace  very  lovely  by  the  light  of 
gas-lamps.  Within  the  Church,  shadows  and  darkness,  a 
few  taper  lights,  quiet  moving  crowds,  —  the  singing  most 
touching.  I  sat  in  a  corner  till  all  was  done.  Life  more  a 
dream  than  ever. 

Easter  Simday,  April  25.  Bright  as  possible !  From  the 
great  Campanile,  I  was  surprised  to  see  so  many  little  Ven- 
ices  round  about.  The  Piazza  was  very  gay  with  huge  flags 
on  the  masts  and  St.  Mark's  banners  at  the  corners  of  the 

Church.  ...  In  the  evening  with  A.  G drifted  an  hour 

in  the  Grand  Canal.     About  jjerfect  this  ! 


114    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    LAKE  COMO    [1886 

From  Venice  he  went  to  Lake  Como  and  Bellagio,  stop- 
ping on  the  way  for  a  hasty  look  at  Verona,  and  the  eatlie- 
dral  and  public  garden  of  Milan. 

Once  embarked  [on  Lake  Como],  the  rain  ceased,  and  the 
clouds  lifted  and  broke  just  enough  to  let  the  sun  through  in 
spots.  What  heights,  what  verdurous  gulches,  and  high-set 
houses  and  hamlets ;  what  fresh,  soft  greens,  shaded  off  up- 
wards into  strange  browns  and  golds  ;  white  snow  on  the  top 
ridges,  and  in  the  deep  gullies  of  the  mountain  flanks.  On 
the  lake  shore  itself  was  an  infinite  variety  of  wall  and  arch- 
ing and  bridging.  There  were  little  ports,  bits  of  beach  and 
of  wild  rock,  and  cliffs,  and  strings  of  towns,  scattered  villas, 
boathouses,  and  roofed  ports ;  strange  boats  with  high  sails  ; 
steps  leading  down  into  the  water;  and  landings  in  under 
houses.  The  sky  was  very  glorious.  Scraps  of  cloud  lay 
about  the  sunlit  snow  peaks.  There  were  showers  in  many 
directions,  and  wreaths  of  mist  about  the  flanks  of  green 
mountains.  There  was  sunlight  on  soft,  green  summits ;  and 
great  shadows  under  the  western  shores. 

The  next  day  was  misty  and  rainy  ;  but  in  the  afternoon 
the  showers  ceased,  and  lie  "  watched  the  breaking  up  of  the 
heavy  clouds,  snow  peaks  shining  with  sunlight  appearing 
now  and  then  through  gaps  in  the  clouds ;  the  wind  rising 
out  of  the  north,  and  tall  sails  coming  down  the  lake  before 
it;  the  clouds,  too,  sailing  fast."  The  afternoon  voyage  to 
Como  was  delightful. 

I  spied  diligently  at  the  strange,  beautiful  lakeside,  different 
from  anything  I  ever  imagined.  There  were  walls  of  every 
conceivable  form  and  device,  with  piers,  with  high  or  low  sup- 
porting arches,  with  crannies,  crooks,  and  caves  for  boats,  and 
complications  with  beaches  and  brook-mouths.  There  were 
bridges,  jutting  rocks,  waterfalls,  mills  at  mouths  of  gulleys, 
and  little  walled  ports.  Houses  rose  from  the  water,  as  at 
Venice,  with  water  doors.  Garden  things  hung  down  to  the 
water  from  over  garden  walls.  There  were  lovely  church 
towers,  sometimes  on  low  points  of  beach,  or  on  top  of  cliffs, 
or  high-set  on  spur  or  shelf  of  mountain.  Villages  and  ham- 
lets were  charmingly  scattered  along  the  shores,  and  along 
the  mountain  flanks.     Of  the  villas,  some  few  were  staringly 


vET.  26]  DESCRIBING  SCENERY  115 

ugly  and  pretentious  ;  but  many,  to  American  eyes,  very 
original  and  fine.  One,  on  the  tip  of  a  long  point,  had  three 
arched  loggie  entirely  open,  separating  its  two  wings.  An- 
other stood  at  the  head  of  a  wide  cove,  with  wooded  mountain 
shores.  A  great  house  stood  at  the  water's  very  edge,  with 
woods  close  about  it,  and  no  visible  means  of  arriving  thither 
save  by  water. 

In  the  hotel  at  Bellagio  was  nobody  but  two  young  Ger- 
mans, and  a  French  party  of  three.  These  latter  could  see 
no  beauty  in  rain-swept  lakes ;  although  one  of  them  was  an 
amateur  photographer. 

For  lovers  of  landscape  or  of  word-painting  it  is  interesting 
to  compare  this  description  of  Lake  Como  —  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  pieces  of  scenery  in  Europe  —  with  a  description  of 
Goat  Island,  Niagara  Falls,  which  Charles  wrote  three  years 
earlier  when  an  apprentice  at  Mr.  Olmsted's  office.  It  occurs 
in  an  irregular  journal  or  note-book  which  he  kept  during  that 
period. 

July  8,  1883.  I  am  writing  to  the  sound  of  the  rapids 
of  Niagara  after  a  really  worshipful  Sunday.  A  beautiful 
gray  morning.  To  Goat  Island  alone  as  a  "  passionate  pil- 
grim." 

The  shore  is  generally  regular  in  its  curves,  but  in  detail 
delightfully  intricate  with  numberless  little  water-filled  chasms, 
crooks,  and  caves.  There  are  hanging  trees,  old  gnarled  Ce- 
dars clutching  the  rocks,  overhanging  verdure  of  much  variety, 
rich  masses  of  Bitter-sweet  and  Virginia  Creeper,  the  young 
sprays  often  trailing  in  the  rushing  water,  and  quiet  pools 
behind  old  stranded  logs  with  Iris  in  bloom  therein.  Within 
is  much  ancient  forest  —  old  and  tall  Beeches.  In  the  open 
spaces  are  luxuriant  masses  of  Sumac,  Wild  Rose,  and  Goose- 
berr}'^,  Rubus  odoratus,  Poison  Ivy,  Virginia  Creeper,  and  Bit- 
ter-sweet, the  latter  often  in  masses  on  the  ground  and  twisted 
about  itself. 

Delightfid  narrow  wood-roads,  and  "  unimproved  "  trails 
and  footpaths.  Everywhere  is  the  sound  of  the  surrounding 
rapids,  like  surf  on  a  shore  of  broken  rocks. 

To  the  Sisters,  the  great  Rapids,  the  brink  of  the  Horse- 
shoe, and  Luna  Island.     The  sun  broke  through  the  clouds ; 


116  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    ST.  GOTTHARD   [1886 

a  mist-bow  spanned  the  spray-fillecl  gulf ;  and  the  Gorge  and 
its  delicate  suspension  bridge  were  marvellousl}'  illumined. 

In  the  evening  of  May  2d  Charles  reached  Paris,  having 
enjoyed  very  much  his  quick  ride  by  the  Pass  of  St.  Gotthard 
and  across  France.  "  Saturday's  journey  (May  1)  over  the 
St.  Gotthard  was  of  course  the  most  interesting  of  all  my 
life,"  he  wrote  to  his  mother  May  3.  He  invariably  enjoyed 
a  long  ride  by  railway,  whether  through  a  wild  or  a  cultivated 
country,  whether  through  mountains  or  over  great  plains  ; 
but  this  day's  ride  was  unique,  —  he  was  seeing  at  once  stu- 
pendous scenery  and  a  marvellous  feat  of  engineering.  It 
was  a  cloudy  day, — 

but  the  sun  came  out  now  and  then  in  beauteous  fashion. 
The  train  passed  through  the  fresli  green  valleys  of  Breggia, 
past  the  torrents  of  Laveggio  and  the  great  crags  of  Monte 
Generoso ;  crossed  the  crooked  Lago  di  Lugano  on  bridges, 
causeways,  and  islands,  twisting  along  the  western  shore; 
climbed  slowly  the  narrowing  Val  d'Agno ;  passed  through  a 
tunnel  under  Monte  Cenere ;  and  burst  suddenly  into  the 
sunshine  of  the  wide  valley  of  Ticino.  Here,  from  a  high 
position  on  the  mountain  side,  there  was  a  great  view  north- 
ward into  Alpland,  and  southward  to  green  meadows  and 
blue  waters  at  the  head  of  Lago  Maggiore. 
.  .  .  Soon  the  train  followed  constantly  the 
river  Ticino  up  a  valley  shut  in  by  higher 
and  higher  mountains,  which  were  very  steep 
and  rocky,  yet  inhabited  almost  to  the  sum- 
mits. Countless  waterfalls  were  in  sight,  — 
some  exceeding  high,  —  and  many  chains  of 
falls  coming  from  great  heights.  Beyond 
Bodio,  the  valley,  which  hitherto  had  some 
flat  land  in  it,  contracted ;  and  soon  the  train 
passed  a  bridge  over  the  river,  then  suddenly 
jumped  back  again,  and  plunged  straight 
into  the  mountain  side,  to  come  out  again 
at  a  point  downstream  from  the  point  of 
entrance,  but  at  a  higher  level.  The  same 
tactics  were  repeated  again  immediately,  the 
result  being  the  attainment  of  a  sort  of  higher  valley  above  a 
steep,  narrow  river  gorge.     Here  Firs  first  appeared  high  on 


CROSSING  THE  ALPS 


117 


f 


.ET.  26] 

the  mountain  sides  ;  and  here  also  were  the  first  signs  of  Swiss 
builders'  work.  After  more  slow  climbing,  there  appeared 
below  Faido  a  hillside  of  pastures  dotted 
with  dark  brown  log-  barns,  —  altogether 
Swiss.  Superb  waterfalls  were  in  sight. 
The  railway  plunged  into  a  huge  preci- 
pice mountain  to  take  another  upward 
spiral ;  then  crossed  a  river  gulch,  and 
another,  and  so  pulled  up  through  the 
now  slender  valley  to  Airolo,  —  a  lit- 
tle hamlet  where  all  river  meadow-land 
ceases,  and  the  snow  mass  of  Mt.  St. 
Gotthard  blocks  the  way.  The  snow- 
piled  zigzags  of  the  carriage  road  were 
plainly  visible  high  on  the  mountain. 
I  slept  profoundly  all  through  the  nine- 
mile  tunnel ;  but  was  told  that  the 
passage  took  twenty-two  minutes.  The 
train  came  out  into  wet  cloudland,  and 
looked  down  the  steep  torrent  of  Reuse, 
—  quite  undescendable  in  appearance. 
The  down  grade  was  tremendous,  through 
a  very  wild  ravine  differing  from  every- 
thing in  the  Italian  side.  Firs  were 
everywhere.  The  principal  descent  was 
accomplished  thus,  —  the  round  dot 
stands  for  a  village.  The  first  view  of 
it  is  from  a  great  height  above  it ;  but, 
after  long  travelling,  the  train  passes  at 
last  far  below  it.  The  side  torrent  near 
the  village  is  crossed  three  times  at 
different  levels  ;  and  the  extraordinary 
changes  in  the  apparent  position  of  the 
village  are  exceedingly  confusing,  Down 
we  went  into  Switzerland,  out  of  cloud- 
land  and  rockland  into  fresh  greenland 
about  Altdorf  and  the  head  of  the  lake 
of  VierwaldstJitter,  .  .  .  the  lake  very  dark,  and  the  air  full 
of  wet. 


V' 


'*\. 


[•% 


118  LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1886 

Of  Lucerne  and  its  lake  lie  says :  — 

It  was  good  to  see  hillsides  of  mixed  woods,  fresh  pastures, 
great  apple  orchards,  big  barns,  and  other  almost  Yankee- 
like things.  I  hunted  up  the  great  Lion,  and  admired  the 
strange  bridges  and  the  Northcountrymen's  towers,  so  utterly 
different  from  those  of  the  morning.  Here  are  steep  roofs  of 
many  stories.  It  is  a  marvellous  transformation  in  architec- 
ture. And  this  dark,  gloomy,  cold  lake,  —  how  different  from 
fair  Como,  lovely  in  spite  of  rain. 

His  brief  comment  on  the  ride  from  Lucerne  to  Paris 
(May  2)  is  as  follows :  — 

The  country  is  very  beautiful.  A  charming  mixing  of  hills 
and  valleys,  lakes  and  streams,  ravines  and  intervales.  The 
buildings  become  thoroughly  German,  then  beyond  Bale,  slowly 
French.  The  long  ride  across  France  is  really  interesting. 
Farms  everywhere,  and  not  a  fence  or  a  wall ;  not  a  dozen 
pastured  cattle  were  in  sight  all  day.  There  were  occasional 
preserved  woodlands,  the  coppice-cutting  lately'  completed, 
and  some  woods  for  growing  large  timber ;  all  large  forests 
were  intersected  by  straight  alleys.     Paris  at  seven  o'clock. 

His  sixty  days'  absence  from  Paris  had  cost  him  on  the 
average  $4.60  a  day,  including  the  purchase  of  a  trunk,  pho- 
tographs, and  some  books,  —  not  much  more  than  it  would 
cost  a  young  man  just  to  live  in  a  good  hotel  in  an  American 
city  without  travel.  Nevertheless,  he  wrote  to  his  mother  on 
May  3d  :  "  I  am,  in  fact,  becoming  a  confirmed  spendthrift." 
To  his  father  he  wrote  May  11th  :  — 

I  have  to  confess  to  five  days  of  comparative  do-nothing- 
ness, —  the  five  following  my  arrival  in  Paris.  Verily  I  was 
a  good  deal  fagged  out  in  body  ;  and  in  mind  I  was  in  a 
state  of  chaos  and  confusion :  such  a  whirl  of  new  sights, 
impressions,  and  experiences  had  I  been  through.  Sometimes 
I  wish  I  were  mentally  and  emotionally  duller  than  I  am ! 
There  must  be  a  great  peace  in  unawakedness.  But,  rather, 
I  wish  my  mental  as  well  as  my  bodily  digestive  powers  were 
stronger  than  they  are,  —  so  that  I  might  make  some  use  of 
the  rich  food  that  has  come  to  me  in  the  last  two  months. 


CHAPTER  VI 

LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    PARIS  AGAIN 

I  think  there  are  as  many  kinds  of  gardening  as  of  poetry :  your 
makers  of  parterres  and  flower  gardens  are  the  epigrammatists  and 
sonneteei-s  in  this  art ;  contrivers  of  bowers  and  grottoes,  treiUages  and 
cascades,  are  romance  writers  ;  Wise  and  Loudon  are  our  heroic  poets ; 
...  as  for  myself,  you  will  find  that  my  compositions  in  gardening 
are  altogether  after  the  Pindaric  manner,  and  run  into  the  beautiful 
wildness  of  nature,  without  affecting  the  nicer  elegancies  of  art. — 
Addison. 

Having  spent  two  months  on  the  Riviera,  and  in  Italy, 
amid  great  natural  beauty  and  much  picturesqueness  of 
man's  creation,  Charles  was  now  to  study  artificial  park  and 
garden  work  in  a  comparatively  flat  country,  mostly  culti- 
vated, and  repeatedly  injured,  within  the  lifetime  of  many 
species  of  trees,  by  invading  and  defending  armies.  The 
writing  of  letters  and  notes  of  his  journey,  of  course,  occu- 
pied a  considerable  portion  of  his  time ;  and  the  art  collec- 
tions of  Paris  could  not  be  neglected.  Thus,  he  spent  the 
whole  day,  on  the  7th  of  May,  in  the  Salon. 

A  monstrous  big  show,  with  some  interesting  architectural 
drawings  ;  some  queer,  original  sculpture ;  and  endless  walls 
of  paintings.  There  was  an  infinite  variety  of  subject  and 
treatment,  —  horrors,  dramatics,  mythologies,  nudities,  por- 
traits, landscapes,  peasautics  (after  Millet),  butcheries,  pots 
and  pans,  cheeses  and  old  books,  all  jumbled  together  in 
distressing  and  wearying  confusion.  A  portrait  of  a  great 
hog,  life-size,  adjoined  "  Love  Disarmed  ;  "  a  scene  of  battle 
slaughter  was  placed  beside  a  group  of  '■  Sirens  "  or  choir  of 
angels.  There  were  six  different  "  Judiths,"  as  many  mur- 
ders of  differing  kinds,  endless,  realistic  imitation  of  old 
books,  glassware,  preserves  in  jars,  roast  beef,  and  raw 
meats ;  endless  painting  of  death,  —  dead  soldiery,  dead  old 
men,  dead  girls  ;  much  realistic  copying  of  every -day  life,  — 
a  yachting  party  in  a  steam  launch,  for  example,  the  figures 


120    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    PARIS  AGAIN    [1886 

life-size,  —  ball-rooms,  weddings,  funerals,  street  scenes,  fam- 
ily dinner  parties,  scenes  at  the  theatre  or  in  restaurants,; 
every  sort  and  kind  of  nakedness,  from  most  unreal,  conven- 
tional creatures  to  completest  imitation  of  even  ugly  women  ; 
many  fairly  loathsome  creatures,  and  hardly  a  respectable 
creature  among  them  all,  —  men  or  women  ;  though  many  of 
a  pretty  or  sentimental  kind.  Many  pictures  entitled  "  La 
Misere  "  represented  all  the  ugliness  of  poverty  most  faith- 
fully, and  sometimes  touchingly.  There  were  numerous 
archaeological  pictures,  cold  artificial  renderings  of  supposed 
life  and  costuming  of  the  Greeks  and  Komans ;  many  de- 
tailed portrayals  of  crime  with  all  manner  of  blood  and 
thunder ;  in  fact,  a  wholly  riotous  and  chaotic  collection,  — 
individualism  run  mad.  Amid  all  these,  the  few  good  land- 
scapes and  seascapes  were  exceedingly  refreshing  ;  and,  in 
fact,  played  the  same  part  that  landscape  plays  in  real  life. 
Some  coast  of  Norway  scenes  were  especially  good  in  spirit ; 
though  I  detested  the  manner  of  their  painting,  —  the  manner 
of  their  execution. 

He  found  at  Paris  the  Philadelphia  family  with  whom  he 
had  enjoyed  intercourse  in  London  several  months  before. 
Twice  he  had  sought  them  on  the  Riviera,  and  had  been  much 
disappointed  to  find  each  time  that  they  had  gone  on  before 
him.     "Mrs.    Beadle  was  kindly  as    ever;    Miss  Pitkin  as 

fresh  and  fair  and  pretty  (I  believe  it  is  Louisa  L that 

she  is  like)  ;  Miss  Yale  as  wise  and  quiet.     They  made  me 

talk ;  then  I  quarrelled  a  bit  with ,  a  Harvard  man,  over 

the  inevitable  Irish  question ;  and  at  9.15  departed.  Miss 
Pitkin  desiring  me  to  come  in  again  very  soon." 

He  reexamined  the  Paris  squares,  which  he  had  before 
seen  in  mid-winter,  finding  them  to  look  far  better,  when  the 
grass  was  green  and  the  plantings  showed  the  designed  colors 
of  their  foliage,  than  in  their  bare  winter  state.  He  was 
much  interested  also  in  the  use  made  of  these  squares  by  the 
children  and  women  of  their  neighborhood.  One  Sunday 
afternoon  spent  in  the  Pare  Monceaux  was  especially  delight- 
ful to  him,  because  of  the  countless  "children  and  gayly 
dressed  bonnes,  with  a  band  of  music  between  4  and  5  o'clock, 
the  whole  driveway  occupied  by  a  crowd  seated  in  chairs. 
The  crowd  was  very  quiet  and  well  dressed,  —  not  a  sign  of 
a  '  mucker,'  —  as  different  as  j^ossible  from  the  scene  at  the 


^T.  26]        PARIS   SQUARES  — ANDRJ&'S  METHODS  121 

Boston  Coimnou  Sunday  band  concerts."  He  noted,  also, 
the  "  very  green  grass,  good  even  in  the  shade  ;  gracefully 
modelled  surfaces ;  open  groves ;  Ivied  tree-trunks  ;  and 
thicket  plantings,  edged  with  Euonymus,  Veronica,  and 
Euonymus  radicans,  or  even  with  formal  rows  of  Geraniums. 
All  the  paths  were  edged  by  .^riDcaClXZX^ ." 

^L-ejt^  VCOww^i  .Svw/<iJL£  -     ^jc^Y^  vJVuT 
^TtAj^-    /   yi.   u/ii:^.        Of      Ouc^trw.   rtaudUc  .    of 


cM 


m 


Mons.  Andre,  the  eminent  landscape  architect,  gave  him 
much  valuable  information,  directing  him  to  old  and  inter- 
esting places  in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris  which  it  would  be 
worth  while  for  him  to  see,  and  explaining  to  him  his  own 
business  arrangements,  which  seemed  to  Charles  admirable. 

Of  late  years,  Mons.  Andre  has  undertaken  the  designing 
of  country-houses,  as  well  as  of  grounds ;  and  he  has  always 
kept  to  himself,  as  far  as  possible,  the  designing  of  all  acces- 
sory buildings,  walls,  bridges,  terraces,  etc.,  —  things  which 
Mr.  Olmsted  gives  up  to  the  architect.  .  .  .  His  landscape- 
gardening  work  is  sometimes  executed  by  contract  for  a  lump 
sum,  there  being  men  in  Paris  who  will  undertake  work  in  all 
departments  in  this  way  ;  oftener  by  contract  at  fixed  prices 
for  the  different  kinds  of  work ;  and  oftener  still  by  day 
labor.  In  the  latter  case,  the  men  at  work  are  overseen  by  a 
foreman  employed  by  Andr(i,  whose  services  are  afterwards 
charged  as  an  item  in  his  bill.     These  foremen  make  reports 


122    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     PARIS  AGAIN     [1886 

every  week  in  writing.  I  saw  many  of  the  reports  ;  and  in- 
ferred that  these  must  be  men  of  a  very  superior  sort.  When 
Andre  visits  a  work  in  progress,  and  directs  such  and  such 
things  to  be  done,  the  foreman,  who  has  taken  notes  in  his 
book,  on  the  next  day  sends  up  to  Paris  a  memorandum  of 
the  things  commanded.  These  memoranda  are  preserved, 
and  the  items  checked  off  as  the  weekly  reports  warrant. 

Charles  was  also  allowed  to  look  over  many  colored  plans 
of  work  already  executed ;  so  that  he  obtained  a  clear  idea  of 
Mons.  Andre's  methods  and  results. 

The  fine  annual  Exhibition  d'Horticulture  was  in  pi'ogress 

at  the  Champs  Elysees  ; 
and  there  Charles  spent 
many  hours  studying  not 
only  the  annuals,  hardy 
flowers,  and  greenhouse 
plants,  but  the  exhibits 
of  garden  tools,  iron  and 
terra-cotta  vases,  rail- 
ings, fences  of  wire  and 
wood,  plant  tubs  and 
boxes,  rustic  bridges,  ce- 
ment-work in  imitation 
of  wood,  —  even  a  rustic- 
work  summerhouse  with 
a  thatched  roof  all  of 
cement.  The  plant  col- 
lections were  especially 
useful  to  him,  because 
the  specimens  were  all 
labelled  ;  and  he  could 
thus  get  the  names  of 
many  plants  which  he 
had  seen  on  the  Riviera 
and  in  the  French  gar- 
dens. 

He  found  the  Bois  de 
Boulogne  much  more 
beautiful  than  in  winter ; 
although  he  still  ob- 
jected   to  nuich    of   the 

y    '     ■  '  '  '     "" "*~'    artificial  water  and  rock 

work.      lie  could  never 
enjoy  a  fall  or  cascade  unnaturally  placed,  so  that  the  water 


..w^ 


""TT^ile..  GoiJ^i^oS. 


iET.  26]  BOIS  DE  BOULOGNE  — VERSAILLES  123 

"  issues  from  the  top  of  the  highest  mound  in  the  neighbor- 
hood," unless,  indeed,  it  was  a  completely  architectural  series 
of  falls  and  cisterns,  like  that  at  St.  Cloud.  The  thing  which 
most  pleased  him  at  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  was  the  view  over 
the  great  open  Longcharap,  — 

as  there  is  no  large  or  even  largish  stretch  of  grassland  in  all 
the  Bois,  this  is  very  valuable.  I  examined  the  Moulins,  the 
arrangements  about  the  grand-stand,  the  pretty  little  lakes 
near  the  Suresnes  gate,  and  the  partly  open  country  of  thi& 
part  of  the  Bois,  —  the  prettiest  part  of  all.  The  scrub  wood 
of  the  major  part,  and  the  wide  roads  lined  with  rows  of  ugly- 
colored  planes  are  too  monotonous,  particularly  as  many  of 
the  roads  are  straight. 

In  all  his  excursions  about  Paris,  at  this  season,  he  noticed 
the  careful  way  in  which  the  railroad  embankments  were 
treated.  "No  raw  banks.  Grass,  and  Ivy,  and  thickets  of 
small  trees,  chiefly  Maples  and  Locusts,  evidently  often  cut 
down,  but  as  evidently  encouraged  to  grow,  at  least  on  the 
upper  ])arts  of  the  banks  in  the  cuts." 

At  Versailles  he  gave  hardly  any  attention  to  the  palace 
and  its  contents, — 

but  passed  straight  through  to  Le  Notre's  great  gardens, 
where  I  soon  discovered  there  was  very  much  to  be  seen.  I 
looked  at  numbers  of  varied  parterres,  and  walked  round  and 
about  for  two  hours  ;  but  then  found  my  way  into  the  gardens 
of  the  Petit  Trianon.  What  pleasantness,  what  delight,  what 
romantic  charm  is  here,  particularly  to  one  coming  directly 
from  the  formalities  and  eccentricities  of  the  great  gardens. 
Plainly,  this  Petit  Trianon  is  the  better  sort;  but  what  a 
simple  sort,  —  nothing  but  grass  and  trees,  and  a  little  water, 
and  a  very  little  undulation  of  surface ;  but  grassland  and 
woodland  run  in  and  out  of  each  other;  and  water  appears 
unexpectedly ;  and  there  is  the  charm  of  not  knowing  what 
the  next  turn  may  bring  you  to  ;  and  the  great  trees  are  of 
many  sorts.  The  mixing  of  them  is  ever  varied ;  and  some- 
times the  wood  is  open  and  grassy,  and  sometimes  dense  with 
low  branches  and  shrub  thickets.  The  roads  and  paths  ai'e 
no  longer  parts  of  the  scene ;  but  only  the  means  of  arriving 
on  the  scene.     They  go  about  unobtrusively.     In  this  little 


124    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     PARIS  AGAIN     [1886 

space,  —  jierhaps  a  tenth  or  twentieth  of  the  area  of  the  large 
garden,  —  there  is  a  great  variety  of  quiet,  peaceful,  soul-re- 
freshing scenery.  I  think  it  the  best  thing  of  its  sort  I  have 
seen  on  the  Continent.  Whoever  designed  the  few  buildings 
in  it  did  well.  The  hamlet  where  the  Court  and  Marie  Antoi- 
nette used  to  play  at  being  jDcasants  is  very  pretty ;  so  is  a 
group  of  buildings  called  the  Swiss  cow-house ;  and  the  farm 
gate  behind  these.  The  picturesqueness  of  these  things  is 
a  little  too  much  that  of  the  stage,  but  only  a  little ;  most  of 
it  is  a  real,  that  is  a  reasonable,  picturesqueness.  Here  I  lin- 
gered long,  admiring.  Three  dark  clouds  came  up  and  deliv- 
ered as  many  heavy  showers.  The  effects  of  light  were  very 
lovely.  I  passed  out  to  the  head  of  the  long  water  in  the 
main  gardens.  This  is  a  very  grand  perspective,  the  country 
being  flat  as  far  as  eye  can  reach,  and  nothing  hindering 
looking  to  the  very  uttermost  horizon.  I  walked  up  to  the 
palace  fi'ont  again,  and  got  the 
effect  of  change  of  level  on  this 
immensely  long,  narrow  view. 
It  is  very  fine  —  finer  far  than 
the  similar  thing  at  HamjDton 
Court.  I  took  note,  during  the 
afternoon,  of  various  handsome 

forms  of  "  avenues  "  and  alleys,  some  where  trees  are  clipped 
part  way  up  and  then  grow  freely,  some  in  which  the  whole 
tree  is  clipped  and  trained,  and  some  where  the  trees  are  as 
free  as  on  Boston  Common  ;  of  various  designs  for  parterres 
and  Boxedging  work,  and  of  pattern  gardening  in  three  ele- 
ments —  gravel,  grass,  and  Box.  The  account  of  the  interior 
of  the  palace  does  not  sound  interesting.  The  inscription 
says,  —  "  To  all  the  Glories  of  France"  —  war  glory  chiefly, 
I  fear. 

Charles  visited  with  pleasure  the  Baron  Rothschild's  great 
park  Ferrieres,  originally  designed  by  Paxton,  and  later  by 
Andre.  The  place  contains  every  element  of  an  expensive 
country-seat :  splendid  glass-houses  admirably  stocked,  formal 
gardening  about  the  huge  chateau,  flower  gardens,  and  a  jDark 

wholly  English  in  style,  but  too  recent  to  have  any  fine  trees 
as  yet.     From  the  windows  and  terraces  of  the  chateau  there 


A   -(f-^^iA 


lUWF^'^    fKM.<Jl 


9    V^ 


FUEXCII  TllEliS  AND  AVENUES 


^T.  26]  FERRIERES  125 

are  many  long  vistas  —  apparently  a  limitless  property ;  yet  the 
boundary  is  really. very  near  at  some  points.  There  are  great 
stretches  of  greensward  running  far  into  woodlands  at  many 
points,  two  or  three  keepers'  houses  seen  at  the  ends  of  long 
vistas,  a  long,  crooked  lake,  and  at  its  head  a  brand-new 
concrete  stream  (Paris  contractors  make  these  at  so  much  a 
metre).  The  plantations  are  exceedingly  varied  in  outline, 
and  many  species  are  used.  Everywhere  is  dense-planted 
underbrush,  chiefly  Berberis,  Ruscus,  and  Box.  There  are 
too  many  sensational  bits  of  planting,  —  such  as  silver  Poplars 
against  dark  Conifers,  white  Negundos  beside  purple  Beeches, 
and  huge  banks  of  purple  Pansies  far  off  in  corners  of  the 
dress-ground.  This  sort  of  thing  becomes  tiresome  when 
often  repeated.  The  great  lawns  are  cut  by  hand  machines, 
and  become  brown  in  summer  in  spite  of  constant  watering. 
The  more  distant  parts  of  the  park  are  pastured  by  sheep, 
and  by  a  fenced-in  herd  of  deer  kept  to  supply  beasts  for 
hunting.  In  one  corner  is  a  "  faisanderie,"  where  birds  are 
hatched  and  raised  to  stock  the  woods  for  fall  shooting. 
There  were  many  good  points  about  the  formal  gardening 
near  the  chateau,  especially  some  exceedingly  pretty  "  spring 
bedding"  made  with  yellow  and  purple  Pansies,  red  and 
white  Daisies,  and  pink  Silene.  The  glass-houses  were  extra 
fine,  of  course,  all  extra  well  stocked  too  :  although  the  boy 
complained  that  "  the  decorator  from  Paris  took  away  all  the 
)est  plants."  Pleavy  showers  fell  while  we  were  in  the 
louses.  About  one  o'clock  I  completed  the  long  round,  and 
^ot  lunch  at  a  small  country  inn  in  the  village,  in  company 
with  the  driver  of  a  fancy  biscuit  wagon  which  was  hitched 
at  the  door,  —  a  man  in  a  white  cotton  gown,  with  a  pencil 
behind  his  ear.  He  had  asparagus,  some  sort  of  cheese,  nuts, 
and  wine  ;  I  two  eggs,  an  entrecote  of  something,  cheese,  and 
wine.  The  horse  munched  his  oats  just  outside  the  window. 
Across  the  narrow  road  the  children  of  the  village  school 
were  playing  very  noisily.  In  one  corner  an  old  woman  sat 
knitting. 

An  omnibus  was  to  start  back  for  the  railway  station  Lagny 
at  3.15 ;  but  I  strolled  out  into  the  fields  and  lanes,  and  by 
and  by  came  to  a  highway  skirting  the  great  park.     There  I 


126    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     PARIS  AGAIN     [1886 

saw  a  gentleman  in  gray,  with  a  coat  on  his  arm,  walking  fast 
away  from  the  village ;  and,  remembering  that  a  map  I  had 
seen  showed  a  railway  rather  nearer  Ferrieres  than  that  at 
Lagny,  I  chased  said  gentleman  and  inquired  if  he  were 
bound  for  a  railway  and  Paris.  Yes,  he  was ;  so  I  fell  in. 
We  walked  fast  round  the  walled  park,  and  then  down  a 
long,  straight  road  through  the  "  foret "  belonging  on  the  one 
hand  to  Rothschild  and  on  the  other  to  the  Commune.  There 
were  no  houses  at  all  in  sight,  and  the  station  itself  stood 
alone  in  the  depths  of  the  woods;  but  villages  were  reported 
all  about.  We  walkers  started  up  two  pheasants  and  a  rab- 
bit. The  wood  was  carpeted  with  Lily-of-the-Valley  and  with 
Strawberry  Blossoms.  My  companion  was  very  silent ;  but 
we  took  the  train  at  half  past  three,  and  reached  Paris  before 
five." 

The  ancient  park  of  Ermenonville,  the  first  French  place 
made  in  the  landscape  style,  the  home  of  Girardin,  and  the 
abode  of  Rousseau,  was  restored  a  few  years  ago  by  Andre. 
Charles  rode  to  it,  an  hour  by  train,  through  the  tamest  pos- 
sible country,  —  some  gentlemen's  parks  the  only  oases,  — 
and  an  hour  by  omnibus  over  a  straight,  treeless,  paved  road 
across  a  gently  rolling  plain,  with  few  trees,  and  no  visible 
houses,  but  one  or  two  church  spires  far  off.  "  A  rattling, 
tiresome  ride,  with  many  packages  but  only  one  fellow-traveller 
—  the  woman  mail-carrier.  At  length,  there  rose  above  an 
intervening  swell  of  ground  a  cream  stone  tower.  Then  came 
a  twisting  descent  into  a  suddenly  disclosed  valley  sunk  in 
the  plateau,  —  a  pleasant  valley  with  much  wood  and  also  a 
gleam  of  water,  —  and  immediately  arrival  in  the  inn  yard  of 
a  close-built  village  —  Ermenonville."  The  park  gates  are 
close  beside  the  inn ;  and  the  old  woman  at  the  Lodge  gave 
Charles  cordial  permission  to  walk  anywhere  about  the  place, 
the  family  not  being  at  home. 

I  first  inspected  the  curious  arrangements  by  which  the 
public  road  is  carried  close  past  the  chateau  without  inter- 
fering with  the  view  up  the  valley  beyond  the  said  road.  The 
road  is  here  "fenced"  by  ditches  of  water  derived  from  a 
stream  which  comes  down  the  valley  with  two  falls,  and  then 
fills  the  wide  moats  about  the  chateau,  and  flows  on  for  a  long 
distance  in  sight  of  the  chateau  between  low  banks,  through 


^T.  26]  EKMENONVILLE  127 

flat,  green  meadows,  and  around  some  wooded  islands,  its 
■waters  made  to  go  slowly,  and  to  spread,  by  means  of  several 
low  dams.  The  long  water  perspective  is  very  striking. 
Woods  (of  disappointing  stature)  are  on  every  hand  ;  far  in 
the  distance  a  glimpse  of  the  famous  mill  figured  in  Laborde. 
Some  white  fences  were  very  intrusive  ;  and  some  high  earth 
beds  far  off  on  the  points  of  otherwise  good  islands  caught 
the  eye  —  beds  for  scarlet  Geraniums,  I  fear.  The  chateau 
walls  rise  directly  from  the  water,  one  arched  bridge  leading 
into  th«  court.  The  terrace  on  the  park  front  has  a  boat- 
landing.  The  banks  of  the  irregular  moat  are  very  finely 
wooded,  the  trees  hanging  over  the  water,  and  reaching 
towards  the  cream  stone  building.  Pleasant  walks  lead  along 
these  banks  off  through  the  wet  meadows  over  many  bridges, 
and,  on  the  other  side,  to  the  new  orangery.  The  stables  and 
gardens  are  hidden  behind  a  thick  screen.  I  walked  all 
about  the  place  ;  and  discovered  a  view  of  a  charming  wild- 
shored  pond  beyond  the  highway,  —  a  view  obtained  by  the 
substitution  of  ditches  for  high  walls  along  the  road.  I 
found,  also,  two  or  three  traces  of  the  romantic  buildings 
wii-li  which  Laborde  describes  the  place  to  have  been  adorned. 

At  noon  I  lunched  in  the  inn,  the  entrance  being  through 
the  kitchen.  A  group  of  three  men  out  of  a  story-book,  or 
painting,  sat  at  the  adjoining  table  —  one  blue  blouse,  one 
green  corduroy  with  leggings,  one  very  aged  nondescript 
sleeveless  garment  and  a  crumpled  white  collar  about  five 
inches  high. 

In  the  afternoon  I  explored  the  upper  park  which  possesses 
an  unsuspectable  pond  dam,  an  island  with  Rousseau's  tomb 
("  lei  repose  I'homme  de  la  nature  et  de  la  vcrite  "),  small- 
wooded  slopes  and  coppice  Beech  wood,  and  an  old  archery 
ground  with  buildings.  Then  I  walked  down  the  highway 
for  another  look  at  the  really  wild  pond,  which  was  like  Had- 
lock's  Lower  Pond  [Mt.  Desert]  without  the  mountains.  In 
a  tame  land  like  this  part  of  France,  no  wonder  this  feature 
was  exceedingly  admired. 

Charles  spent  a  long  half  day  (May  19)  at  the  Buttes- 
Chaumont,  a  remarkable  Paris  public  ground  which  he  had 
visited   in   the  winter.     He   admired  "  the   much   excellent 


128    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     PARIS  AGAIN     [1886 

detailed  work  in  the  plantings  along  tlie  artificial  brooks,  on 
the  rocks  generally,  and  in  wildish  thickets;"  but  he  conld 
not  like  the  tree-planting,  for  he  found  numerous  ugly  species 
mixed  in  an  ugly  way,  the  masses  being  too  regularly  outlined, 
or  too  formally  shaped.  To  save  the  many  striking  views 
from  the  higher  ground,  the  trees  had  been  planted  too  spar- 
ingly, so  that  there  was  hardly  a  shady  path  in  all  the  park. 
"•  Fundamentally,  the  whole  thing  is  too  fantastic,  too  theatri- 
cal, too  mimic  romantic." 

May  20th  he  spent  a  very  good  day  in  the  gallery  and  gar- 
dens of  the  Luxembourg.  "I  enjoyed  many  of  the  pictures 
and  detested  many.  The  old  Renaissance  garden  and  the  side 
gardens  in  '  English  style '  are  interesting,  and  the  avenue  of 
the  Observatory  very  fine ;  and  the  whole  thing  is  much  more 
appropriate  for  a  town  garden  than  the  Buttes-Chaumont ;  but 
the  latter  was  a  rough  region  of  quarries  and  rubbish  heaps, 
and  I  know  not  what  else  could  have  been  done  with  it,  save 
that  its  new  character  need  not  have  been  so  much  exagger- 
ated—  so  caricatured,"  What  pleased  him  most  in  the  Pari- 
sian open  grounds  was  the  "  countless  children  of  all  styles." 

May  21st,  by  train  and  omnibus,  he  went  in  two  hours 
to  Mortefontaine,  a  very  small  hamlet  at  the  gates  of  the 
great  chateau  bearing  this  name.  Across  the  road  lay  the 
nursery  gardens  of  Chantrier  Freres,  to  whom  Charles  brought 
a  note  of  introduction  from  M.  Andr^.  This  famous  nursery 
he  wished  to  examine  with  a  business  object,  as  well  as  for 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  its  products.  The  firm  had  just  won 
a  medal  of  honor  at  the  Paris  Horticultural  Exposition  for 
Crotons  and  Dracaenas,  sjiecialties  of  theirs.  Charles  was 
cordially  received,  and  shown  all  over  the  nursery  and  through 
the  glass-houses  ;  he  was  then  invited  to  dejeuner  with  another 
stranger,  —  a  gardener  come  to  make  some  purchases. 

Madame  was  in  black  cap  and  gown  ;  Monsieur  in  a  black 
coat,  but  his  blue  apron  was  tucked  up  round  his  waist.  A 
young  boy  completed  the  party.  The  menu  was  —  eggs,  fish, 
greens  with  eggs,  steak  (provided  especially  for  me),  plum 
preserve  with  little  cakes,  an  ample  supply  of  good  claret, 
and  an  especially  fine  sort  to  top  off  with,  and  then  the 
inevitable  cafe  avec  cognac,  which  I  wanted  to  refuse  but 
'Could  not.  Next  we  had  some  discussion  on  the  catalogue 
and  prices  ;  and  then,  with  the  above-mentioned  strange  gar- 
dener, and  under  the  guidance  of  Chantrier,  I  made  the 
grand  tour  through  the  park  of  Mortefontaine,  —  a  long  and 


^T.  26]  MORTEFONTAINE  129 

very  enjoyable  walk.  The  property  is  extensive,  cut  by 
several  highways,  one  of  which  passes  close  by  the  chateau 
and  between  the  chateau  and  the  grand  park ;  but  this  road 
is  concealed  by  woods,  and  —  where  it  crosses  the  open  —  by 
being  slightly  sunk  and  fenced  by  ditches  only.  The  access 
to  the  park  from  the  chateau  is  by  a  tunnel  under  the  public 
road,  the  approach-gullies  and  steep  rocks  about  the  openings 
being  shaded  by  largish  hanging  trees  —  the  whole  exceed- 
ingly well  done.  Then  came  a  view  of  large  lakes,  high-shored 
on  one  side,  intricate  in  outline,  containing  several  islands, 
and  held  by  long,  but  hardly  suspectable  dams.  We  passed 
down  along  the  low  banks  under  pendant  trees,  getting  many 
charming  glimpses  across  water,  and  one  long  view  down  a 
second  lake  to  a  high,  wild  hill,  showing  much  bare  rock 
(where  thousands  of  Pinus  maritima  had  been  winter-killed). 
Finally  there  came  into  view  a  third  lake,  yet  larger  and  longer, 
in  reality  held  by  a  low  dam  along  almost  the  whole  of  one 
side ;  but  this  dam  is  concealed  by  thick  plantings  which  hide 
the  fact  that  the  land  is  a  little  lower  just  beyond.  (This 
successful  hiding  of  a  dam  is  not  accomplished  at  the  Bois  de 
Boulogne,  where,  at  the  dammed  end  of  the  lake,  the  woods 
are  open,  and  strange  sights  maybe  seen,  —  such  as  the  upper 
halves  of  carriages  and  the  heads  of  men  moving  apparently 
along  the  ground  among  tree-trunks.)  In  this  largest  lake 
are  some  rocky  islets,  and  many  bits  of  rock  shore,  as  at  Spot 
Pond  [Middlesex  Fells].  Issuing  from  the  farther  end,  two 
narrow  channels  are  seen  which  surround  a  hilly,  rocky  island 
of  a  hundred  acres.     The  whole  park  is  on  this  grand  scale. 

We  walked  back  by  the  high,  wild  woods  of  the  hill  coun- 
try above  the  chain  of  lakes,  with  much  Pine  and  many  boul- 
ders in  some  parts,  and  evergreen  Fern,  ajjd  other  homelike 
things.  Rabbit  holes  were  abundant ;  and  many  trees  were 
gnawed  by  stags  and  rabbits,  and  there  were  great  ploughings 
under  Oak-trees,  said  to  be  the  work  of  the  wild  boar.  On 
one  high  point  was  the  ruin  of  a  guard-house,  which  I  think 
is  figured  in  Laborde.  The  whole  place  possesses  no  interest 
but  of  the  landscape  sort ;  and  in  this  it  is  very  rich,  particu- 
larly when  compared  with  the  tame  uniformity  of  ordinary 
French  country.     There  is  not  a  rare  tree  in  the  place,  as 


130    LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     PARIS  AGAIN    [1886 

Monsieur  Chantrier  dolefully  remarked ;  and  not  a  flower  bed 
save  in  the  garden  by  the  chateau.  Long  years  of  neglect 
have  increased  the  landscape  charm.  Planted  and  roughly 
made  before  the  Revolution,  the  place  was  afterwards  taken 
by  Napoleon,  and  inhabited  by  "  King  Joseph,"  who,  when  he 
went  to  America,  carried  the  predecessor  of  the  Chantriers 
with  him.  It  has  since  been  owned  by  a  Prince  de  Conde, 
who  gave  it  to  a  person  who  has  no  money  to  spend  on  it.  I 
had  much  good  talk  with  Adolphe  Chantrier,  and,  after  a 
drink  of  wine  and  water  all  round  and  farewell  to  Madame, 
I  took  the  omnibus  at  4.30,  and  reached  dinner  in  Paris  at 
seven. 

The  next  day  he  visited  St.  Denis,  which  he  found  very 
stupid.  "  An  ugly  town,  and  a  Viollet-le-Duc  church,  and 
countless  restored  tombs."  He  made  this  excursion,  however, 
by  appointment,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Beadle's  interesting 
nieces  ;  and  the  following  was  the  part  of  the  excursion  which 
he  enjoyed :  "  Lunched  in  best  discoverable  restaurant,  and 
talked  long."  With  the  same  young  ladies  he  visited  Ver- 
sailles again  ;  looked  through  the  palace  ;  walked  through  the 
great  gardens  and  the  Petit  Trianon ;  hid  from  a  couple  of 
showers ;  and  returned  with  them  to  Paris.  In  the  same 
pleasant  company,  on  Sunday,  May  30th,  he  heard  a  fine  per- 
formance of  Gounod's  "  Mors  et  Vita,"  conducted  by  Gounod 
in  the  superb  hall  at  the  Trocadero.  "  After  it  we  walked 
to  Boulevard  Haussmann.  Farewell !  The  family  goes  to 
London  to-morrow  to  meet  Mr.  Pitkin.  Monday,  May  31. 
Midnight  bed  last  night,  late  up  this  morning.  I  looked  into 
Boulevard  Haussmann  and  discovered  a  railway  omnibus 
before  No.  52  bis.  Mrs.  Beadle  and  the  Misses  depart  for 
London  —  all  with  flowers  in  hand.  Bon  voyage.  C.  E. 
again  solus."  It  was  a  great  evening  fete  which  had  kept  him 
up  late  on  the  30th.  The  garden  of  the  Tuileries,  the  Place  de 
la  Concorde,  the  Champs  Elysees,  and  the  great  avenue  up  to 
the  Arc  de  Triomphe  were  illuminated  with  lanterns  in  the 
trees,  colored  fires,  and  colored  glass  lamps  strung  on  wire 
ropes,  or  forming  designs  on  light  wooden  frames.  The 
parterres  also  were  prettily  illuminated.  Charles  observed 
especially  the  "huge,  well-ordered  crowds"  enjoying  not  only 
the  fireworks  and  illuminations,  but  the  free  pantomimes, 
ballet,  merry-go-rounds,  gymnastic  exhibitions,  and  music. 

His  attention  was  now  distracted  from  professional  study 
for  a  few  days  by  the  people  in  the  hotel,  who  were  curiosities 


^T.  26]  ROUEN  — HAVRE  131 

in  away,  by  the  necessity  of  making  some  calls,  and,  besides, 
by  a  troublesome  tooth,  which  cost  him  two  or  three  days  of 
precious  time.  Raiu  and  rather  cold  weather  also  impaired 
his  enjoyment  of  the  late  days  in  May  and  the  early  ones  in 
June.  Thus,  when  he  visited  St.  Germain,  the  drive  along  the 
terrace,  through  the  forest,  and  over  the  fine  avenues  of  the 
Chateau  Lafitte  was  impaired  by  low  clouds  which  limited 
the  prospects.  On  the  4th  of  June  he  says,  "  As  yet  I  have 
not  seen  Fontainebleau  or  half  what  I  wanted  to  see ;"  but  it 
rained  steadily  on  the  5th,  6th,  and  7th  of  June,  and  Fon- 
tainebleau was  impossible.  On  the  8th  it  was  rainy  as  ever, 
and  he  took  train  for  Rouen,  on  his  way  to  England.  On 
the  ride  to  Rouen  he  noted  wide  intervale  lands  along  the 
Seine,  wooded  hills.  Poppies  and  Corn  flowers,  very  few  towns 
or  scattered  houses  —  yet  cultivation  everywhere  and  every- 
thing intensely  green.  Cattle  were  feeding  in  ranks  across 
fodder  fields.  At  Rouen  he  saw,  in  intervals  of  rain,  the 
cathedral,  and  St.  Maclou  and  St.  Ouen,  and  the  garden 
about  the  latter ;  but  after  a  six  o'clock  dinner,  he  sought 
the  quays,  which  always  attracted  him.  "  Stern-wheel  steam 
canal-boats  were  loading  even  for  Lyons ;  and  English  coal 
steamers  lay  at  the  quays."  The  next  morning,  "  under  an 
umbrella,  I  went  to  see  the  beautiful  Palais  de  Justice  and 
Jeanne's  monument ;  a  big  flag  was  in  her  hand,  and  many 
wreaths  were  hung  on  her  spear,  her  arms,  and  all  about  — 
some  from  '  les  Positivistes  du  Havre.'  " 

Arrived  at  Havre,  he  first  placed  his  effects  on  the  steamer 
for  Southampton,  then  took  a  chop  in  a  little  English  place 
on  the  quay,  inspected  the  fine  jetty  and  docks,  and  watched 
the  passing  in  and  out  of  the  narrow  entrance  to  the  port. 
The  rain  had  stopped,  but  fog  lay  over  the  sea,  and  the  fog 
trumpet  blew  now  and  then.  Next  he  took  a  tram-car  from 
tiie  city  to  the  foot  of  the  great  wooded  height  visible  from 
the  jetty.  "  I  climbed  up  by  stairs  between  gardens,  through 
a  sort  of  Milton  Hill  or  Longwood  region  [neighborhood  of 
Boston]  commanding  grand  views  over  the  great  misty  sea, 
and  over  the  city  from  a  ridge  running  along  the  crest. 
Taking  the  bearings  of  two  public  gardens  visible  in  the  city, 
I  descended  by  other  stairs,  and  inspected  the  said  gardens, 
finding  a  botanic  collection  in  one  where  I  got  the  names  of 
several  striking  common  plants  —  to  my  considerable  plea- 
sure. At  six  o'clock,  finding  myself  at  the  door  of  a  certain 
Hotel  d'Angleterre,  I  entered,  and  partook  of  the  table  d'hote 
dinner,  —  3.75  f r.  vin  compris.  The  bill  of  fare  was  very 
Frenchy,  including  vegetable  soup,  eels,  some  sort  of  brains, 


132 


LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE 


[1886 


beef  a  la  mode,  peas,  the  inevitable  veal,  salad,  etc."  This 
last  day  in  France  well  illustrated  the  energy,  ease,  and 
economy  of  time  with  which  he  travelled,  and  the  variety  of 
observations  and  impressions  he  would  accumulate  within  the 
hours  of  a  single  day.  He  reached  Southampton  in  rain  on 
June  10th. 

Just  before  landing  in  England,  when  his  proposed  year 
abroad  was  more  than  half  over,  Charles  wrote  to  his  father 
about  the  extreme  difficulty  of  getting  advice  as  to  the  prose- 
cution of  his  studies.  He  had  felt  that  difficulty  at  home, 
even  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Olmsted ;  but  he  felt  it  more  abroad, 
where  the  men  whose  advice  would  have  been  valuable  were 
"  too  busy  to  give  much  real  help  to  a  wandering  chap  like 
me ;  and  the  people  who  had  time  to  talk  —  well,  had  nothing 
valuable  to  say."  Influential  letters  of  introduction  from 
home  procured  him,  at  a  few  points,  some  useful  hints  ;  but 
his  conclusion  was  "  that  the  only  way  is  to  keep  moving,  and 
to  keep  my  eyes  open,  and  to  trust  to  chance  to  show  me 
something  interesting  and  professionally  instructive."  On 
the  whole,  he  found  the  books  he  had  read,  and  the  cata- 
logues, guides,  and  directories  he  had  procured,  the  most 
trustworthy  sources  of  preliminary  information  —  in  short,  he 
experienced  to  the  full  the  difficulty  of  studying  a  profession 
in  preparation  for  which  there  is  no  recognized  school  or 
course  of  study. 


CHAPTER  VII 

LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    THE  SOUTH  OF 
ENGLAND 

Gardening',  in  the  perfection  to  which  it  has  been  lately  brought  in 
England,  is  entitled  to  a  place  of  considerable  rank  among  the  liberal 
arts  —  it  is  an  exertion  of  fancy,  a  subject  for  taste  ;  and  being  re- 
leased now  from  the  restraints  of  regularity  and  enlarged  beyond  the 
limits  of  domestic  convenience,  the  most  beautiful,  the  most  simple, 
the  most  noble  scenes  of  nature  are  all  within  its  province.  —  Whately. 

His  first  act,  when  the  weather  cleared  in  Southampton, 
was  to  visit  the  parks,  —  which  are  many  and  large  in  com- 
parison with  the  size  of  the  town,  —  and  a  great  contrast  to 
French  public  gardens.  As  for  the  townspeople,  the  con- 
trast is  greater  still.  "  Again  I  see  rags  and  dirt,  and  hob- 
ble-de-hoy girls  and  men,  and  drunkenness,  and  servile  man- 
ners. Vive  la  Kepublique  !  "  He  was  invited  to  stay  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Darwin,  Mrs.  Darwin 
being  the  sister  of  the  wife  of  Professor  Charles  Eliot  Norton. 
There  he  enjoyed  an  easy  hospitality,  and  friendly  guidance 
to  much  which  he  desired  to  see  in  Southampton  a,nd  its 
vicinity.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  gardens  he  visited 
he  thus  describes  :  "  A  lovely  wilderness  for  the  most  part,  — 
Rhododendrons  as  in  North  Carolina,  Azaleas,  Kalmias, 
Amelanchiers  [Shadbush],  and  so  forth."  With  Mr.  Dar- 
win he  walked  through  an  adjoining  wild  park  which  was  in 
chancery.  Here  were  many  fine  Oaks  and  Spanish  Chest- 
nuts, and  an  ugly  mansion  ;  but  very  good  dammed  waters, 
and  much  variety  of  scene  all  round  about.  He  walked,  too, 
with  Mr.  Darwin  across  country,  through  a  large  Fir  wood  with 
a  Roman  camp  in  it,  to  another  private  place  in  a  charming 
situation  at  the  head  of  a  valley,  —  its  approach  road,  along 
the  side  of  the  valley,  very  fine,  but  its  near  slopes  spotted 
all  over  with  round  flower  beds,  single  specimen  Azaleas,  etc. 
There  was  afternoon  tea  at  a  hospitable  house,  and  a  walk 
back  across  fields.  "  A  very  pleasant  day  (June  13)  :  no 
rain  for  a  wonder."  A  drizzling  foggy  day,  closed  by  a 
heavy  rain,  was  spent  at  Winchester,  examining  the  charm 
ing  old  Hospital,  the  big  trees  in  the  fields  beside  the  river 


134        LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    ENGLAND     [1886 

Itchen,  the  courts  and  cloisters  of  the  Winchester  school, 
and  the  Cathedral  with  its  Saxon  kings'  boxes,  Templars' 
monuments,  and  grand  Norman  work  in  the  transepts. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  after  a  day  spent  in  London  on  an 
errand  for  Harvard  College,  at  6  p.  m.  he  reached  the  Crown 
Inn  at  Lyndhurst,  a  small  village,  the  capital  of  New  Forest. 
After  dinner  he  strolled  about  the  village,  it  being  broad 
daylight  till  9  o'clock.  Between  9  and  10  he  was  reading 
inscriptions  in  the  churchyard.  At  10  it  was  full  moon,  — 
a  very  fine  sight  from  the  wide,  open  moor  near  the  village. 

The  next  day,  which  was  bright,  cold,  and  windy,  he  first 
looked  into  Verderers'  Hall,  in  the  quaint  house  called 
Queen's  House  (the  Queen  is  the  lady  of  Lyndhurst  Manor), 
and  then  walked  off  by  a  charming  road  into  the  Forest ;  and 
did  not  return  till  6  o'clock.  "  I  walked  a  great  square,  and 
saw  every  type  of  scenery  the  Forest  affords,  —  glades,  green- 
sward with  scattered  Oaks  and  Beeches,  groves  of  monster 
trees,  wild  and  wide  heaths  and  moors  on  the  high  ridge  of 
Stoney  Cross,  and  a  pretty  oasis  of  farming  lands  in  the 
Manor  of  Minstead.  I  lunched  in  a  far-viewing  old  inn  at 
Stoney  Cross,  where  I  saw  Rufus's  Stone."  He  reached 
Basset  (Mr.  Darwin's)  again  in  the  evening. 

Another  day,  his  host,  Mr.  Darwin,  took  him  on  an  excur- 
sion contrived  for  members  of  the  Hampshire  Field  Club. 
The  party  consisted  of  about  fifty  persons,  some  of  whom 
were  ladies.  There  was  first  a  railroad  ride  through  much 
very  English  country ;  then  the  party  walked  up  lanes, 
finall}'"  reaching  open  heaths  rising  up  to  a  high,  rounded 
summit  called  Hindhead. 

This  highland  country  looked  Scotch.  The  air  was  cloudy 
and  misty  ;  and  so  we  could  not  see  very  far.  It  was  a  pity ; 
for  we  were  900  feet  above  the  sea,  and  should  have  seen 
much.  We  could  see  Leith  Hill  and  the  North  Downs  near 
Dorking,  where  I  was  in  the  winter.  The  geologist  of  the 
party  explained  how  the  chalk  had  been  washed  off  from  the 
country  between  the  North  and  South  Downs  ;  and  a  parson- 
antiquary  also  addressed  the  party.  Then  we  marched  down 
in  long  procession,  first  over  moors,  then  through  Fir  woods, 
next  through  a  charming  valley  holding  ponds,  and  then 
across  a  private  park  to  Liphook,  whence  the  party  returned 
to  Southampton  by  train.  This  was  a  great  day.  I  saw  a 
variety  of  country,  and  true  English  scenery ;  and  met  some 


^T.  26]  SALISBURY  —  WILTON  —  EXETER  135 

pleasant  folk  (and  some  unpleasant).  Mr.  Darwin  is  A  No. 
1.  It  will  appear  that  my  Southampton  stay  was  altogether 
very  agreeable,  —  thanks  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darwin. 

From  Southampton  Charles  went  to  Salisbury,  and  thence 
to  Wilton,  where,  the  jKirk  of  Wilton  House  being  closed, 
he  got  but  glimpses  of  the  old  Cedars  which  Sir  Philip  Sid- 
ney planted  when  he  was  writing  "  Arcadia."  lie  saw  much 
prettiuess,  however.  "  The  gentle  river,  the  village  with  its 
many  tree-shaded  triangles,  and  a  surprising  view  of  Salis- 
bury's spire  far  in  the  distance,  across  rich  water  meadows 
between  masses  of  heavy  Elms."  The  railway  ride  on  this 
day  (eTune  19th)  showed  him  some  soft  green  valleys,  hedges 
with  many  large  trees  set  along  them,  and  wild  Roses,  Honey- 
suckle, Elder,  Barberry,  and  wild  Geranium  ci'owded  in  the 
hedge-rows.  "  Occasionally  great  rounded  uplifts  of  tree- 
less chalk  down  appeared  ;  but  no  heath  or  moor  of  the  sort 
seen  at  Hindhead.  Thatched  cottages  were  frequent,  as  all 
about  Southampton  and  in  the  New  Forest.  Luxuriant 
climbers  of  many  sorts  abounded,  —  such  as  Roses,  red  and 
white  and  yellow,  Virginia  Creeper,  Ivy,  Cotoneasters,  and 
blue-flowered  Ceanothus."  At  Salisbury  he  found  the  Cathe- 
dral "  a  great  treat,  particularly  the  cloisters,  and  tiie  tower 
seen  from  them,  and  the  gardens  of  the  Bishop's  Palace 
adjoining."  He  notes  a  cuckoo,  a  "  lover  and  his  lass,"  and 
two  girls  planting  box  on  a  little  grave  under  one  of  two 
Cedars  in  the  cloister  court.  "The  rambling  old  place  is 
charming,  with  a  balustrade  dividing  the  little  house  garden 
from  the  general  garden  beyond,  a  bit  of  water  in  which  the 
spire  is  reflected,  trees  both  scattered  and  grouped,  and  a 
nearly  level  greensward  pastured  by  one  cow  !  On  the  town 
side  of  the  long  house  was  gravel,  then  some  level  grass,  and 
a  dwarf  wall  dividing  it  from  the  irregular  shrubberies  and 
lawns  beyond." 

In  the  late  afternoon  he  went  on  by  express  to  Exeter 
through  a  smooth  cultivated  country;  but  in  some  parts  (on. 
the  Devon  border)  very  high  and  smoothly  hilly.  "There 
were  grand  views  u])  and  down  river  valleys,  pretty  water 
meadows  with  lazy,  twisting  streams,  a  few  largish  bodies  of 
woodland,  one  or  two  striking  '  seats,'  and  an  exceedingly 
picturesque  old  priory  with  many  outbuildings  all  grouped 
with  fine  trees.  After  seven  o'clock  dinner  I  strolled  to  the 
wondi'ously  rich  front  of  the  little  Cathedral  and  through  the 
thronged  High  Street.  As  to  forming  a  plan  of  a  tour,  I 
have  given  it  up.  I  shall  proceed  as  on  the  Riviera,  trusting 
to  luck  and  previously  acquired  information." 


136        LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    ENGLAND     [1886 

Sunday,  June  20tli,  was  hot  and  sultry,  like  the  several 
preceding  days ;  and  Charles  began  to  feel  the  relaxing 
effects  of  the  climate.  He  did  not  get  out  of  doors  till  two 
in  the  afternoon  ;  but  once  started  got  a  good  walk 

up  on  the  high  ground  north  of  the  town, — a  villa  region 
on  a  slope  called  Pennsylvania,  offering  wide  views  seawards 
and  inland  towards  Tiverton.  There  was  much  hill  country 
and  but  little  wood.  Everywhere  were  green  fields,  hedges, 
and  countless  Elms.  I  turned  west,  and  descended  rapidly 
into  the  deep  valley  of  the  River  Exe,  passing  several  small 
"  seats  ; "  and  finally  came  through  a  villa  region  to  town. 
I  saw  two  very  good,  quiet,  not  over-ornamented  small  villa 
grounds ;  but  the  general  run  was  very  bad  indeed.  A  bit 
of  greensward  would  be  dotted  all  over  with  about  equally 
spaced  specimen  shrubs,  cut  by  a  too  much  twisted  path,  and 
fenced  with  ugly  iron.  In  the  evening  I  viewed  the  throng 
in  High  Street  —  a  sight  to  behold  —  all  in  Sunday  rig  ;  and 
a  more  utterly  provincial-looking  lot  could  not  be  imagined. 
Down  by  the  river  were  some  red-coat  soldiery,  very  tipsy. 
In  the  bay  of  a  side  street  was  a  little  crowd  singing  minor- 
key  hymns  of  infinite  length,  accompanied  by  an  organ  on 
wheels,  a  fiddle,  and  a  cornet.  A  very  mild  preacher  was 
saying  he  had  "  only  one  thing  to  talk  about ;  and  that  was 
Jesus,"  etc.  The  evening  was  hot,  and  the  hotel  dreary,  — 
hardly  anybody  in  it.  Usually  there  is  somebody  conversing 
with  the  bar- maid.  Nobody  else  to  talk  to  in  the  whole  great 
house  ;  and  I  am  not  yet  educated  up  to  bar-maids. 

He  spent  a  morning  at  the  well-known  nursery  of  1  ucomb, 
Pince  &  Co.,  over  across  the  Exe,  a  large  establishment,  but 
not  on  the  American  scale.  "  It  is  an  old  and  famous  place ; 
yet  I  was  disappointed.  The  large  Conifers  mentioned  by 
Sargent  had  been  cut  down,  because  the  hired  land  must  be 
put  to  more  profitable  use.  There  were  millions  of  fruit 
trees,  many  glass-houses,  and  a  fine  walk  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
long,  planted  with  specimen  Conifers  and  evergreens  of  small 
size.  Thei'e  were  gorgeous  golden  Yews,  Junipers,  Retino- 
sporas,  fine  matched  Wellingtonias,  many  fine  Abies,  big 
Pinus  Insignis,  big  purple  Beech,  grand  Hornbeam  shelter 
hedges,  and  so  on.  A  bit  of  formal  Yew  planting-  was  very 
perfect.     I  was  surprised  to  hear  that  seedlings  are  imported 


MT.26-]  RURAL  ENGLAND  — BASSET  137 

from  France  as  by  American  nurserymen."  In  the  after- 
noon Charles  visited  Robert  Veitch's  nursery,  finding  a  less 
fine  Conifer  walk  ;  but  many  things  not  noticed  at  Lucomb's. 
From  these  nurseries,  with  his  pockets  full  of  catalogues,  he 
went  to  the  Cathedral,  where  he  was  much  interested  in  the 
interior,  with  its  fine  windows,  chantries,  tombs  and  effigies 
of  knights,  and  battle-flags.  From  Exeter  he  wrote  to  his 
mother :  — 

I  am  off  again,  as  you  see,  fled  from  the  too  pleasant, 
quiet  house  at  Basset,  and  again  "looking  for  ideas"  in 
earnest  and  in  solitude.  Salisbury  cathedral  and  its  imme- 
diate surroundings  wei*e  all  my  fancy  dreamed  it,  as  you 
know  was  Canterbury.  This  Exeter  I  know  less  of ;  and 
as  yet  have  seen  nought  of  save  its  marvellous  west  front. 
My  excursions  from  Basset  and  my  rail  ride  hither  have 
given  me  a  good  notion  of  rural  England.  What  a  soft, 
green,  gentle,  human  land  it  is  ;  and  how  strangely  different 
from  the  France  I  saw  on  my  excursions  out  of  Paris.  South- 
ampton —  what  a  contrast  to  Havre :  a  far  greater  contrast 
than  that  between  Marseilles  and  Genoa.  I  was  on  the 
broad  grin  on  my  first  walk  in  the  English-Indian  port. 
What  strangely  awkward  and  ingenuous-looking  creatures  are 
the  lower  class  of  English  girls,  —  and  boys  too.  There  was 
a  band  playing  on  the  green,  the  evening  of  my  arrival ;  and 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  assembled  natives  were  very 
amusing.  Mr.  Darwin  I  took  to  mightily,  —  no  coldness  or 
holding-aloofness  about  him,  —  and  the  result  was  that  I 
talked  more  than  was  becoming.  Mrs.  Darwin  seemed  frail 
in  body,  but  very  active  and  Nortonesque  in  mind.  .  .  .  The 
house  —  ugly  outside  —  inside  is  very  good  indeed  ;  the  pic- 
tures and  books  are  only  the  very  best  of  their  sorts  ;  and 
there  is  absolutely  no  useless  bric-a-brac.    [Letter  to  G.  H.  E.] 

Tuesday,  the  22d  of  June,  out  of  Exeter  by  the  8  A.  M. 
train,  down  river  to  Exmouth,  passing  close  to  the  seat  of  the 
family  of  Sir  Francis  Drake.  ...  A  stage  mounted  the  hills 
behind  Exmouth  ;  and  descended  after  one  hour  to  the  coast 
village  Budleigh  Salterton,  where  there  was  a  brook  running 
down  the  main  street,  an  exposed  pebble  beach,  and  a  red 
rock  point  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Otter  at  the  east.     I 


138        LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     ENGLAND     [1886 

walked  inland  by  a  road  up  tlie  Otter  valley,  in  sight  of 
much  high  swelling  hill  country  and  by  two  little  villages, 
thatched  and  whitewashed,  on  to  Bicton  Park.  .  .  .  There  I 
met  nobody ;  but  explored  alone  the  lower  garden,  a  bit  old- 
fashioned  but  good,  with  formal  water.  At  last  I  met  a 
frowning  head-gardener  ;  and  was  attached  to  a  party  that 
was  being  shown  round  by  an  ignoramus  who  could  answer 
none  of  my  questions.  We  saw  the  curious  walled  gardens, 
the  famous  Pinetum,  the  largest  specimens  of  Conifers  ever 
seen  —  very  fine  —  and  the  old  plantation  admired  by  Lou- 
don ;  and  came  out  by  the  water  garden  again  in  two  hours. 
At  an  old  cross  at  the  cross  roads  I  turned  westward  again  to 
see  the  farmhouse  called  Hayes  Barton,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's 


5HmS    '^«<\T 


birthplace.  I  found  it,  at  last,  thatched,  white  walled,  many 
gabled,  and  with  oddly  muUioned  windows.  Thence  with 
some  difficulties  I  found  my  way  back  to  Salterton  across 
country  through  very  beautiful  wood,  and  over  a  high  Furze- 
eovered  hill  whence  a  wide  view,  —  the  finest  part  that 
towards  the  big  hills  and  sea-cut  cliffs,  somewhere  between 
which  is  Sidmouth. 


^T.  26]       SALTERTON  — DAWLISH  — POWDERHAM  139 

The  next  clay  he  wrote  in  his  journal :  — 

The  beauty  of  the  evening  and  the  band  playing  on  the 
sea-wall  tempted  me  out  last  night ;  though  I  was  weary. 
The  bulk  of  the  town  lies  on  a  flat  spit ;  but  the  cliff  of  the 
mainland  is  wooded  and  is  a  public  ground.  On  top  are  a 
beacon,  and  a  hotel  with  a  fine  view.  The  entrance  from  the 
sea  is  tortuous  and  narrow,  with  vast  sandbanks  and  a  two- 
mile-long  Sandy  Hook  reaching  from  the  west  shore.  At  the 
end  of  the  town  spit  is  a  little  dock  full  of  craft.  This  morn- 
ing there  is  a  big  breeze  down  the  river.  The  view  from  the 
breakfast-room  is  of  the  estuary  with  wooded  parks  and  the 
high  (800  feet)  ridge  of  Haldon  Hills  behind,  and  the  red 
clifty  coast,  topped  now  with  smooth  fields  now  with  woods, 
stretching  off  to  Berry  Head.  I  took  a  small  two-sailed  boat, 
and  sailed  rapidly  to  Dawlish,  coasting  along  a  Hook  called 
the  Warren.  A  cutter  yacht  was  running  out  under  a  jib. 
A  shot  from  the  big  guns  in  a  practice  battery  was  skipping 
aci'oss  the  water  just  outside  of  our  course.  There  was  no 
swell  at  all ;  and  I  landed  easily  on  the  sloping  stone  pier  at 
Dawlish.  It  is  a  queer  village,  wholly  composed  of  villas. 
A  stream  with  parked  banks  runs  down  the  middle,  and  a 
railway  accompanies  the  esplanade.  At  the  west  is  a  high 
cliff,  with  a  little  breakwater  at  the  foot  thereof.  I  climbed 
said  cliff  ;  and  found  a  public  ground.  Then  I  went  inland 
by  a  footpath ;  and  returned  by  the  stream  valley.  It  is  a 
public  garden  all  along  the  latter  on  both  sides  ;  but  it  is  not 
good  save  in  a  general  way.  Taking  a  train  one  station 
towards  Exeter  by  the  root  of  the  Warren  sand-spit,  I  went 
one  mile  beyond  to  the  gate  of  the  park  of  Powdei-ham  Cas- 
tle, belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Devonshire.  I  prowled  about 
alone  ;  and  found  my  way  up  a  big  hill,  and  up  a  tower  at 
the  top  of  it.  Exeter  and  Exmouth  and  the  almost  waterless 
Exe  were  in  view.  Then  I  prowled  some  more,  finding  lovely 
slopes  and  swells,  very  large  Oaks,  Beeches,  Ashes,  and 
Cedars,  occasional  thickets  of  Bracken,  and  many  deer.  I 
swung  round  past  a  cottage  or  two,  seeing  Roses  in  profusion 
and  Pansies  used  as  edging  along  the  path  through  a  potato 
patch,  —  standard  Roses  rising  from  potatoes  I     The  gi'oup- 


140        LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN   EUROPE.     ENGLAND     [1886 

ing  of  cottages  with  large  trees  was  cliarming.     A  red  sand- 
stone church  sat  on  the  bank  of  the  Exe.     Thence  I  drifted 


into  the  park  again ;  and  before  long  found  myself  close  to 
the  castle  with  its  dry  moats,  high-walled  courts,  corner 
towers,  and  iron  gates,  and  a  large  towered  mass  of  main 
building.  I  retreated  to  a  respectful  distance ;  and  then  took 
a  bee-line  back  to  Starcross,  through  the  park  most  of  the 
way.  The  effect  of  the  great  castle  with  its  surrounding 
walls  seen  through  groves  of  great  trunks,  or  terminating 
dpen  glades,  was  fine.  It  was  low  water  in  the  Exe ;  and 
some  fishery  or  other  was  going  on,  —  men  wading  and  drag- 
ging nets.  Big  ships  below  were  aground  and  keeled  over, 
their  spars  looking  strange  seen  between  big  trees. 

That  evening,  by  train 

past  Dawlish  to  Teignmouth ;  and  a  look  around  the  town 
after  supper.  This  is  another  town  on  a  spit,  with  a  sand 
dune  on  the  sea  front,  lately  "  parked,"  but  not  badly,  being 
chiefly  in  grass.  The  rock-raised  corners  of  paths  were 
planted  prettily  with  Tamarix  kept  low,  and  stout  perennials. 
There  was  a  sea  pier,  a  squat  light-tower,  a  life-boat  house, 
and  a  yacht-club  house  out  on  the  spit.  Opposite,  forming 
the  west  point  of  the  river-mouth,  was  a  high,  red  headland 
wooded  —  the  Ness.  Shipping  was  moored  in  a  crowd  in  the 
stream  behind  the  spit.  From  a  long  wooden  bridge,  just 
above,  were  charming  views  up  and  down  the  stream  (at  8.30 


iET.  26]  TORQUAY  — KINGSWEAR  Ul 

p.  M.).  The  light  effects  on  the  moving  river  tide,  on  the 
green  hillsides  (whence  came  the  sound  of  mowing  of  grass), 
on  the  black  clustered  shipping,  and  the  high  tree-topped 
Ness,  were  exquisite.  Very  weary  to  bed.  Second  rather 
tremendous  day. 

The  next  day  he  went  to  Torquay.  "  Here  were  high 
villa-crowned  and  verdurous  hills  ;  and,  at  the  foot  of  three 
of  them,  a  little  port  and  shops  on  its  quays.  Here  were  also 
yachts  of  all  sorts ;  and  the  fine,  wide,  moon-shaped,  high- 
shored  Tor  Bay."     After  lunch  on  the  quay  he  had 

a  grand  climb  through  walled  lanes,  between  steep  terraced 
gardens,  up  to  Daddy  Hole  Plain  —  a  public  ground  on  the 
cliff  with  views  over  sea  and  bay.  Here  I  fell  asleep  for  half 
an  hour.  The  verdure  of  the  cliffs  was  wonderful :  pink 
with  Cheiranthus,  yellow  with  Sedum  and  some  soi-t  of  Mus- 
tard —  Ivy  everywhere.  I  went  back  by  other  lanes  through 
another  public  ground  to  the  foot  of  the  cliffs  beside  the 
port.  Fuchsias  and  Mesembryanthemums  reminded  one  of 
the  Riviera.  Fine  effects  were  produced  with  large  perennials, 
such  as  Canterbury  Bells  and  white  and  pink  Cistus :  the 
cliff  itself  was  very  beautiful ;  the  fine  sea-wall  rough  and 
strong,  its  joints  much  weathered,  its 
parapet  4  feet  high  by  4  feet  thick.  By 
train  at  five  o'clock  along  the  shore ; 
then  across  the  valley  of  the  Dart  to 
hotel  and  dinner  at  Kingswear,  oppo-  ^  ""^ ' 
site  Dartmouth,  at  seven  o'clock.  This 
is  the  loveliest  place  yet  — a  narrow,  Sea-wall  at  Torquay. 
deep,  high-shored  estuary ;  a  town  op- 
posite, set  on  a  steep  slope ;  downstream  on  the  high  rocky 
shores,  woods,  an  old  church  and  a  castle  on  one  point,  and  a 
narrow  entrance  from  the  sea;  upstream,  high,  green,  and 
partly  wooded  hills.  Yachts  and  brigs  were  at  anchor,  and  two 
big  hulks  —  a  schoolship.  Many  rowboats  were  flitting  about. 
The  beauty  of  the  long  evening,  after  the  late  and  glorious 
sunset,  was  very  great.  I  walked  along  a  shaded  lane  sea- 
wards. The  hillside  is  as  steep  as  that  at  Northeast  Harbor, 
the  green  water  being  seen  far  below  through  Ivy-clad  trees. 


142        LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN  EUROPE,     ENGLAND     [1886 

June  25tli.  The  next  morning  Charles  watched  people 
going  on  board  a  big  steamship  bound  for  South  Africa ;  and 
at  noon  the  firing  of  heavy  guns  announced  that  the  ship  was 
off.  He  climbed  a  hill  behind  the  hotel,  and  saw  the  great 
ship  put  out  from  the  narrow,  high-shored  river.  In  the  early 
afternoon  he  crossed  by  ferry  to  Dartmouth,  and  walked 
down  to  the  western  entrance  point  where  is  Dartmouth 
Castle,  Kingswear  fort  being  opposite. 

Here  were  more  harbor-shore  woods,  and  near  the  town 
some  irregularly  walled  shore  with  steps,  arches,  and  even 
buildings  at  the  water's  edge  in  Lake-of-Como  fashion.  The 
walls  were  draped  very  prettily  —  Centranthus  everywhere, 
even  on  the  top  of  high  walls.  Under  the  tree-covered  hill- 
side of  Warfleet  Cove  were  picturesque  old  lime-kilns.  There 
were  high  rocks  about  the  Castle  point,  an  old  church  and 
graveyard,  and  a  sea-cliff  path  leading  westward.  Small 
craft  were  running  in  and  out  of  the  hidden  river-mouth. 
Children  were  swarming  about ;  and  boys  were  bathing  far 
below  in  a  tiny  cove.  I  spent  an  hour  on  a  bench  scribbling 
in  my  note-book ;  and  then  walked  back  by  way  of  the  high- 
land country  behind,  passing  down  into  crooked  Dartmouth 
by  an  unusually  pretty,  small  "  place,"  the  banks  being  richly 
clothed  in  Ivy  mixed  with  various  Ferns,  such  as  I  have  seen 
on  the  back  walls  of  greenhouses  at  home.  The  town  and  its 
outskirts  are  set  on  very  steep  slopes  with  long  stairs  and 
high  terrace  walls,  as  on  the  Riviera.  At  7.45  I  took  a  small 
steamer  for  "  up  river,"  a  ten-miles'  run  up  the  high-shored, 
lovely  river  Dart,  in  the  soft  and  fading  evening  light.  The 
river  is  now  very  narrow,  now  a  mile  wide.  At  the  narrowest 
place,  between  high  wooded  banks,  is  a  rock  in  mid-channel 
where  Raleigh  once  landed  to  smoke.  Just  beyond  is  the  birth- 
place of  John  Davis,  the  navigator ;  then  comes  the  lovely 
seat  of  the  Gilbert  family  where  Sir  Humphrey  was  born. 
"We  passed  the  village  of  Dittisham,  the  Ivy-covered  church 
of  Stoke  Gabriel,  many  inlets,  branches,  and  twistings,  and 
the  grand  wooded  bank  of  Sharpham.  The  trees  send  down 
their  branches  so  as  to  touch  the  water  when  the  tide  is  up. 
Under  them  was  a  curious  straight-edged  shadow,  the  tide 
being  three  feet  out  when  we  passed.     Next  came  a  rapid 


^T.  26]       TOTNES  — ST.   GERMANS  — PORT  ELIOT  M3 

narrowing-,  much  salt  marsh,  a  little  quay  just  below  a  stone 
bridge,  and  the  inn  of  Totnes.  A  delicious  evening !  The 
gas  was  just  being  lighted  as  we  arrived  at  Totnes  at  some- 
thing past  nine  o'clock. 

From  Totnes  he  explored  the  exceedingly  pretty  ravine  of 
the  river  Erme,  which  divides  a  manufacturing  village,  and 
has  been  preserved  in  a  wild  state.  Above  the  railway  the 
stream  is  full  of  falls,  pools,  and  big-  ledges,  and  a  path  fol- 
lows it  northward  seven  miles,  —  indeed,  to  its  head  in  Dart- 
moor. 

He  next  went  on  by  train,  through  Plymouth,  to  St.  Ger- 
mans, where  he  found  close  to  the  station  the  old  church  of 
St.  Germans,  strangely  placed  just  at  the  foot  of  a  steep 
bank. 

It  has  two  towers  and  no  chancel.  The  third  aisle  is 
almost  gone.  It  contains  monuments  of  many  Eliots,  a  grand 
family  pew,  an  old  font,  and  an  ancient  monastery  choir. 
The  great  house  of  the  Eliot  tribe  is  close  beside  the  church, 
the  seat  being  called  Port  Eliot.  At  the  lodge  I  got  permis- 
sion to  walk  about  the  park,  which  is  very  large,  but  not 
fine  compared  with  Powderham,  for  instance.  I  took  note 
of  the  even,  swelling  hills  where  hajMuaking  was  going  on, 
and  the  fringing  woods.     At  the  east  was  a  salt-marsh  creek, 

—  huge  evergreen  Oaks  on  its  banks,  and  a  little  steam  yacht 
moored  under  the  shade  of  one  of  them.  I  walked  back  close 
past  the  house,  which  is  partly  old  and  partly  new,  one  side 
having  a  big  Ivy-clad  bay,  the  other  sides  very  plain.  The 
entrance  front,  which  shows  much  gravel,  is  ugly ;  and  the 
whole  is  set  very  low,  —  but  little  above  the  marsh  land.  It 
is  backed  by  a  wood  of  large  trees  on  rising  ground.  It  has 
views  across  grasslands,  up  grassy  hills  to  woods  rambling 
along  near  the  crests,  and  of  water  through  a  fringe  of  trees 
on  the  creek-side  at  the  east.     In  the  village  I  found  an  inn 

—  the  Eliot  Arms  —  and  from  the  bar-maid  got  a  vague  tale 
of  how  the  Eliots  once  lived  in  Devon  and  came  to  St.  Ger- 
mans by  exchanging  lands  with  the  Champernownes  (it  was 
a  Champernowne  who  once  owned  Cutts  Island  (near  Ports- 
mouth, N.  H.)  and  a  large  territory  in  that  vicinity).  I 
should  like  to  be  instructed  in  these  antiquities. 


144        LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN   EUROPE.     ENGLAND     [1886 

In  the  evening  at  Plymouth  he  found  his  way,  after  dinner, 
to  the  famous  Hoe,  whence  is  a  fine  view  over  wide  open  sea, 
with  high  capes  at  the  east  and  west,  and  a  long  breakwater 
half-way  between.  Many  large  vessels  were  at  anchor ;  many 
war-ships ;  and  just  at  the  foot  of  the  Hoe  a  fleet  of  yachts. 

The  great  wooded  heights  of  Mt.  Edgcumbe  Park  were 
across  the  estuary  at  the  right,  and  more  woods  beyond  the 
estuary  at  the  left.  The  citadel  was  on  the  left,  and  the 
great  dockyards  below  on  the  right.  On  the  steep  green 
slopes  of  the  Hoe  itself  were  several  stone  terraces,  and  bas- 
tions, and  staircase  paths.  Many  peoj)le  were  lying  on  the 
grass  watching  the  life  on  the  water.  I  went  back  past  a 
great  shabby  drill-shed  where  Mr.  Parnell  was  addressing  a 
vast  crowd.  As  I  was  reading  the  papers  an  hour  later  at 
the  hotel,  a  huge  approaching  cheering  announced  Mr.  Par- 
nell's  coming  in  a  cab.  I  saw  his  arrival,  and  the  rush  of 
the  mob  up  the  steps  after  him. 

When  Charles  first  passed  through  Plymouth,  he  received 
a  letter  from  Mr.  Olmsted  proposing  that  he  go  to  California 
about  the  middle  of  August,  with  Mr.  Olmsted  and  General 
Francis  A.  Walker,  who  were  to  advise  Governor  Leland 
Stanford  about  the  grounds  and  buildings  of  his  proposed 
university.  Mr.  Olmsted  jjointed  out  that  during  the  excur- 
sion a  great  variety  of  climatic  and  landscape  conditions  could 
be  observed,  and  spoke  of  the  great  interest  of  the  California 
problem,  —  which  was  really  nothing  less  than  the  designing 
of  characteristic  and  appropriate  landscape  work  for  a  rich 
soil  in  a  hot  and  arid  climate.  He  thought  that  Charles's 
recent  observations  in  Italy  might  be  in  some  measure  appli- 
cable. The  proposition,  which  was  a  liberal  one,  involved 
Charles's  working  at  least  three  months  in  Mr.  Olmsted's 
ofEce  after  the  return  from  California.  Charles  reflected  on 
this  proposition  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  then  declined  it, 
writing  to  his  father  on  Sunday,  June  27th,  — 

Here  yesterday  I  got  your  two  business  letters  with  Mr. 
Olmsted's  enclosed ;  and  I  was  somewhat  disturbed  thereby 
at  first.  I  went  out  to  see  Port  Eliot  yesterday  afternoon, 
and  the  California  problem  kept  presenting  itself  in  all  man- 
ner of  lights ;  and  I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  decline 
It  might  lead  to  work  in  California  for 


iET.26]  INVITATION   TO   CALIFORNIA  145 

me  on  my  own  account ;  it  might  ensure  my  falling  co-heir  to 
some  of  Mr.  Olmsted's  many  big  works,  as  H.  H.  Richardson's 
head  men  have  fallen  heirs  to  his  —  and  more  "  mights  "  innu- 
merable. .  .  .  On  the  whole,  I  prefer  to  stay  out  my  stay 
hereabouts  in  Europe,  and  then,  in  a  quiet  sort  of  way  if  you 
please,  to  "  set  up."  ,  .  .  To-morrow  morning  I  shall  cable 
"  Decline,"  as  you  suggest.  I  told  Mr.  Olmsted  I  was  think- 
ing of  hanging  out  a  shingle  for  myself.  ...  I  think  he 
really  likes  me ;  and  I  hope  thinks  me  better  fitted  than 
most.     If  he  should  disapprove  I  should  feel  badly .^ 

I  am  going  no  further  into  Cornwall ;  though  there  are 
reputed  to  be  wondrous  gardens  down  by  Penzance.  I  found 
at  Torquay  the  sort  of  thing  it  must  be  —  a  faint  reflection  of 
the  Riviera :  places  that  I  should  have  gone  wild  over  had  I 
not  seen  the  perfection  of  their  type  on  the  Mediterranean 
shore. 

That  same  Sunday,  which  was  a  very  hot  day,  he  strolled 
into  the  Plymouth  streets  late  in  the  afternoon. 

The  Salvation  Army  was  parading  with  flags  and  bands. 
Among  their  tunes  were  "  Marching  through  Georgia,"  "  The 
Union  Forever,"  and  the  "  Marseillaise."     Strange  ! 

Monday,  June  28.  To  and  all  through  grand  Mt.  Edg- 
cumbe.  A  great  house  half-way  up  the  hill ;  sea  views  from 
the  swelling  park  hilltop ;  a  very  lovely  steep  shore ;  ever- 
green Oaks ;  Rhododendrons  in  thickets  like  North  Carolina ; 

^  "  His  observations  are  keen  and  sound,  and  show  (without  looking 
further)  tliat  he  can  easily  be  a  better  critic  and  commentator  on  land- 
scape-gardening works  than  any  whom  we  have  had  for  a  long  time." 
(F.  L.  O.  to  C.  W.  E.,  2  March,  1886.) 

"  I  did  not  much  suppose  that  you  would  take  a  vacation  from  your 
European  school  for  a  visit  to  the  Pacific,  but  .  .  .  thought  it  best  to 
propose  it.  I  don't  doubt  tliat  you  are  right.  What  you  said  in  your 
note  of  oth  June  about  the  charm  of  some  of  the  old  gardening  work  and 
the  folly  of  some  of  the  new  English  work  in  Italy  pleased  me  very 
much.  I  suppose  that  in  at  least  half  of  our  country  the  conditions  are 
much  less  favorable  to  English  gardening  than  in  northern  Italy,  yet 
nobody  cares  for  any  other.  1  find  Governor  Stanford  bent  on  giving  his 
university  New  England  scenery.  New  England  trees  and  turf,  to  be 
obtained  only  by  the  lavish  use  of  water."  (F.  L.  0.  to  C  E.,  20  July, 
1886.) 


L4r 


146        LANDSCAPE   STUDY   IN   EUROPE.     ENGLAND     [1886 

frequent  glimpses  of  the  sea,  the  breakwater,  and  the  road- 
stead ;  at  the  water-side,  gardens  in  the  Italian  and  French 
styles.  The  shipping  was  gay  with  bunting  ;  and  there  were 
big  guns  at  noon  in  honor  of  the  Queen's  coronation  day. 

Fi'om  Plymouth  he  went  to  Bideford ;  and  thence  to  Clo- 
velly,  going  by  coach  to  Bude  by  hot  and  dusty  roads  over 

high  ground,  all  in  hedged 
fields,  by  woods  and  much 
twisting  of  narrow  lanes,  to 
the  end  of  the  road  on  the 
brink  of  a  great  steep. 
The  descent  thence  was  by 
a  footpath,  the  luggage  be- 

Section  of  a  Devon  lane  —  earth  fence  —       ing  placed  OU  a  SOrt  of  sled 
Hawthorn     hedge.       Banks     densely       which  twO  men  held  back. 
clothed  with  young  Maples,  Oaks,  and 
Elms,  and  with  Woodbine,  Privet,  wild 
Koses,  Ferns,  Geraniums,  Poppies,  Bay-  At  a  sharp  turn  We  came 

the  sea  straight  down  far 
below  —  400  feet.  A  chain  of  cottages,  no  two  on  one  level, 
was  strung  along  the  steep  path  which  now  and  then  became 
a  staircase.  Half-way  down  was  an  inn,  then  more  jumbled 
cottages,  bits  of  gardens,  stairs  and  walls,  climbing  Roses  and 
Fuchsias,  and  a  little  platform  with  a  seat  where  old  salts 
were  surveying  the  tiny  port  and  the  sea.  The  path  was  car- 
ried through  a  house,  and  then,  steeper  than  ever,  down  to 
the  sea  level  and  a  high  stone  pier,  behind  which  a  few  smacks 
were  aground.  The  Red  Lion  Inn  is  at  the  root  of  the  pier, 
and  from  the  pierhead  a  good  view  of  the  strange  village  is 
obtained.  I  never  saw  anything  more  quaint  and  amusing,  — 
in  its  homelier  fashion  it  is  as  picturesque  as  anything  on  the 
Riviera.  I  explored  the  few  short  branches  out  of  the  main 
street,  admired  the  charming  cottage  gardening,  and  loafed 
on  the  pier  till  half -past  nine. 

June  30.  This  inn  is  half  on  one  side  of  the  "  street,"  and 
half  on  the  other,  neighbors'  houses  adjoining  it  above  and 
below.  Folks  clattering  down  the  street,  or  toiling  up,  pass 
within  four  feet  of  the  window  of  my  six-feet-six-inches-high 
bedroom,  and  even  closer  to  the  window  of  the  coffee-room. 
All  the  windows  are  open,  so  that  conversation  in  the  neigh- 


aET.  26] 


CLOVELLY  —  LYNMOUTH 


147 


borliood  is  very  audible.     I  walked  westward  a  mile  or  two 

along  the  ridge  of  the  high  steep  of  the  coast.     Inland  were 

the  open  and  be-groved  grasslands 

of   the    deer  park  of   the   manor 

house  ;  and  alongshore  much  Oak 

wood.    Wild  ferny  combes  opened 

down  to  the   stony  beach  at  the 

foot  of  the  verdurous  cliffs.     At 

length  I  mounted  a  heath  and  a 

Gorse-grown  hill  to  the  brink  of 

the   great   cliff    called    Gallantry 

Bower  (300  feet  and  more).     A 

few  Thorn-trees  supplied  the  only 

shade,  and    these   were    strangely 

wind-pruned     by    the     southwest 

wind,  so   that  they  bent  towards 

instead  of  away  from  the  sea. 

The  same  day  Charles  returned 
to  Bideford,  took  a  train  to  Barn- 
stable, and  at  3.30  a  coach  for 
Lyntou. 

I  was  the  only  passenger.  It 
was  a  grand  drive  of  three  hours 

up  the  valley  of  Yeo,  over  the  thousand-feet-high  spurs  of 
Exmooi",  and  down  the  valley  of  West  Lyn,  wild  with 
coppice  wood  and  a  brawling  stream.  The  hotel  overhangs 
the  sea  at  the  height  of  300  to  400  feet,  the  shore  being  very 
high  in  both  directions.  After  supper  I  went  down  the  said 
400  feet  by  a  twisting  path  through  the  woods  of  the  cliff  side 
to  Lynmouth  —  an  ecstatic  spot.  There  are  three  high,  steep, 
wild  hills ;  the  two  Lyns  pour  swiftly  down  leafy  combes 
between  these  hills,  and  meet  just  above  a  boulder  beach  on 
the  seashore.  A  tiny  village  is  crowded  about  this  meeting ; 
and  below  are  a  bit  of  stone  pier  and  a  smack  or  two. 

Thursday,  July  1st.  I  walked  along  the  shore  path  west- 
ward, the  path  being  about  450  feet  above  the-  sea,  on  the 
steep  slope  of  a  mountain  which  rises  as  much  again  above  it. 
The  slope  is  now  and  then  broken  into  rock ;  but  generally  it 
is  covered  with  Bracken,  Heather,  yellow-blooming  Lotus,  and 


148        LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    ENGLAND     [1886 

grass.  After  a  mile  of  this  I  arrived  at  a  region  of  high  pin- 
nacle rocks,  commanding  charming  views  westward  along  the 
high  and  varied  coast,  and  inland  up  a  treeless  valley  of  rocks. 
Among  the  rocks  I  found  a  sort  of  low  Blueberry,  Thyme,  a 
blue  Scabious,  a  thriving  and  blooming  Cotyledon  ;  and  of 
shrubs  only  Privet,  Thorn,  and  Furze.  After  lunch  I  strolled 
down  shady  paths  —  the  vegetation  most  luxuriant,  the  walls 
wondrously  clothed  —  into  little  Lynmouth,  and  out  on  the 
pier  to  see  how  it  looks  at  low  water.  Then  I  went  inland  by 
a  footpath,  up  the  bank  of  the  stream  of  East  Lyn.  There 
was  the  solitude  of  a  narrow,  deep,  mountain  valley,  a  rushing 
stream,  Oak  woods,  rocks,  and  bits  of  cliffs,  Ferns,  and  much 
fine  detail  of  stream-side  planting.  I  came  to  "  Watersmeet " 
—  the  union  of  two  large  brooks  to  form  the  main  stream. 
.  .  .  There  were  some  folk  to  talk  to  at  dinner,  for  a  change. 
I  afterwards  walked  to  big  Castle  Rock  with  one  of  them,  to 
see  the  sunset.  The  colors  of  the  water  under  the  great  red, 
gray,  and  green  cliffs  were  very  wonderful.  Two  steamers 
were  moving  up  the  channel  far  offshore.  Gulls  were  flying 
and  screaming  far  below  —  otherwise  complete  quiet. 

Walking  on  the  shore  path  this  morning,  I  sang  loud  and 
long.  Since  Southampton  I  had  met  nobody  to  speak  with  — 
and  so  had  to  do  something  to  let  off  pent-up  enthusiasm  at 
finding  myself  in  so  superb  a  region. 

2d  of  July.  Box  seat  on  a  coach  at  8  o'clock.  Down  a 
tremendous  hill,  across  little  Lyn  bridge,  and  with  five  horses 
up  a  long,  steep  road  on  the  ridge  between  "  Watersmeet " 
and  the  sea,  with  views  now  of  one,  now  of  the  other.  The 
coast  was  very  fine ;  the  hill  curves  very  simple  and  grand. 
On  the  high  open  country  for  many  miles  were  Heather  and 
Gorse,  sheep,  rabbits,  and  partridges.  Far  inland,  in  the 
midst  of  the  Exmoor  hills,  is  the  valley  of  Doone.  The  road 
now  and  then  circles  the  head  of  some  deep  and  steep  combe, 
leading  down  into  the  sea ;  now  sweeps  inland  around  some 
high  moorland  ridge ;  finally  the  height  of  1500  feet  is  at- 
tained, and  a  grand  view  opens  eastward  along  the  shore  with 
Porlock  Bay  and  a  fertile  valley  immediately  below.  By  a 
long,  steep  hill  we  descend  thither  to  a  lovely  vale,  the  cottage 
gardens  in  two  villages  more  ravishing  than  ever,  and  Elms 


^T.  26]  DUNSTER  — WELLS  — BATH  149 

in  hedge-rows  again  as  in  Soutli  Devon.  We  pass  over  a  low 
watershed,  and  descend  to  Minehead  station,  the  railway- 
terminus  on  the  seashore.  I  took  train  to  the  first  station 
beyond  —  Dunster,  where  I  was  induced  to  stop  by  the  report 
given  me  by  a  gentleman  met  at  Lynton,  who  had  never  been 
there !  On  walking  up  the  road  from  the  station  I  discovered 
the  village  —  a  very  quaint  one  —  at  the  foot  of  the  hill 
country,  and  a  big  castle  on  the  wooded  hill  at  the  end  of  the 
main  street.  The  old  inn  where  I  lunched  had  a  porch  pierced 
for  crossbows,  and  very  old  woodwork  in  the  gables.  There 
was  an  ancient  shed-like  "yarn  market"  in  the  street  ad  jacent, 
and  also  several  half-timbered  houses.  Very  luckily  I  found 
the  castle  grounds  open  (Tuesdays  and  Fridays).  The  castle 
had  a  high  knoll  and  a  Norman  keep,  an  Ivy-mantled  gate- 
house, and  Edwardian  towers.  There  was  a  Yew  hedge  prob- 
ably 800  years  old,  and  much  most  lovely  vegetation.  ...  I 
walked  along  the  stream  at  the  foot  of  the  castle  hill,  and 
came  to  a  picturesque  mill.  In  the  village  was  a  church  in 
perpendicular  Gothic,  and  an  ancient  tithing  barn.  Thence 
I  took  train  to  Taunton,  where  I  dined  at  seven,  and  wrote 
this.     Weary. 

The  next  day  was  hot.  He  travelled  on  to  Wells,  and 
remained  quiet  in  the  Swan  Hotel  till  the  midday  heat  was 
past,  then  he  explored  the  Close,  the  moated  bishop's  garden, 
and  the  Cathedral.  He  walked  beside  the  moat  with  its  lai-ge 
pollarded  Elms  reacliing  over  the  water,  and  so  out  into  the 
open  country  beyond  the  bisliop's  ])alace.  July  4th.  "  Sunday, 
and  only  one  train  out  of  Wells,  which  I  took  and  travelled  to 
Bath."  He  disposed  of  this  famous  watering-place  in  nine 
lines,  as  follows :  — 

Biggish  hills  surround  the  place ;  and  there  is  one  good- 
sized  park,  pastured  by  cattle  and  sheep,  the  nicer  parts  of 
it  fenced  off  with  iron.  It  contains  nothing  remarkable.  A 
new  corner  with  a  small,  crooked,  slope-side  pond  was  planted 
in  the  flashiest  style  with  golden  Yews  and  Elders,  purple 
Hazels  and  Beeches,  silver  Negundos,  etc.  In  the  town 
were  many  crescents  and  squares,  of  which  the  simplest 
were  the  best.  The  architecture  is  heavy,  same,  and  unat- 
tractive. 


150        LANDSCAPE   STUDY   IN  EUROPE.     ENGLAND     [1886 

He  went  on  the  same  evening  to  Chippenham,  in  order  to 
be  able  to  walk  to  Bowood  before  hot  noon.     July  6th :  — 

It  was  a  hot  four  miles  to  the  park  gates.  Then  a  lovely 
mile  through  great  Beech  woods  to  the  large,  low-spreading 
house.  The  distant  view  of  the  house  was  very  striking,  its 
irregular  terraces  coming  down  into  the  rough  pasture  grass 
of  the  deer  park.  Deer  were  browsing  close  to  the  foot  of  the 
steps.  A  herd  of  some  sixty  deer  ran  close  past  me  in  the 
woods.  In  the  lake,  at  the  foot  of  the  slope,  were  many  wild 
ducks.    Rabbits  were  plenty,  of  course.    I  hunted  up  the  stew- 


K<^-^Ji^~^ 


ard  in  a  remote  corner  of  the  manor  buildings,  and  got  leave 
to  see  the  gardens.  There  was  a  large  Pinetum ;  but  the  ti-ees 
were  not  very  large  as  yet.  I  rambled  about  a  delightful  wood- 
land at  the  foot  of  the  lake.  The  lakeside  was  very,  very  good, 
wild  with  all  manner  of  shrubbery,  Water-Lilies,  and  rushes  ; 
and  the  dam  of  the  lake  is  well  treated.  There  is  a  pretty 
region  of  wooded  mounds,  where  no  doubt  earth  from  the  lake 
excavation  was  dumped.  All  this  was  done  very  long  ago. 
Finally,  the  ancient  terrace  gardens  before  the  house  are  kept 
up  in  the  old-fashioned  manner,  and  are  very  quaint,  with 
stone-edged  parterres,  much  balustrading,  walks  on  different 
levels,  Yews,  etc. 

Writing  to  his  father  the  next  day  he  says,  "  Yesterday  I 
saw  splendid  Bowood  —  Lansdowne  place  —  which  Mr.  Henry 


^T.  26] 


BOWOOD 


151 


Winthrop  Sargent  pronounced  the  second  best  in  all  Eng- 
land." 

That  evening  he  took  train  for  London,  where  he  arrived 
"  with  but  eight  pence  in  pocket."  His  letter  of  credit  on 
Baring  Brothers,  being  intended  for  the  Continent,  was  of  no 
use  in  British  provincial  towns. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.   LONDON  AND  THE 
NORTH 

True  taste  is  forever  growing,  learning,  reading,  worsliipping,  laying 
its  hand  upon  its  mouth  because  it  is  astonished,  casting  its  slices  from 
off  its  feet  because  it  finds  all  ground  holy,  and  testing  itself  by  the 
way  that  it  fits  things.  And  it  iinds  whereof  to  feed  and  whereby  to 
grow  in  all  things ;  for  there  is  that  to  be  seen  in  every  street  and  lane 
of  every  city,  that  to  be  felt  and  found  in  every  human  heart  and 
countenance,  that  to  be  loved  in  every  roadside  weed  and  moss-grown 
wall,  which  in  the  hands  of  faithful  men  may  convey  emotions  of 
glory  and  sublimity  continual  and  exalted.  —  Ruskin. 

He  next  took  lodgings  at  Kew,  in  order  to  have  convenient 
access  to  the  gardens  at  all  times  of  day.  The  weather  was 
extraordinarily  hot  for  England.  He  writes  to  his  father, 
"  Weather  shockingly  hot  for  some  days  past.  87  degrees 
in  the  coolest  part  of  last  night,  according  to  the  newspaper. 
I  have  not  met  a  drop  of  rain  since  leaving  Southampton  — 
a  great  contrast  to  the  soaking  I  had  in  my  last  weeks  in 
Paris.  ...  I  am  just  now  very  ambitious  to  see  cold  and  hot 
St.  Petersburg." 

He  now  collected  nurserymen's  catalogues  with  energy  and 
success ;  sought  for  books  about  Sweden,  Finland,  and  Rus- 
sia ;  and  was  forced  to  attend  to  some  matters  of  business,  — 
such  as  the  I'eplenishing  of  his  wardrobe.  Every  day,  how- 
ever, he  found  time  for  some  study  of  parks  and  gardens. 
He  could  not  walk  across  a  London  park  without  seeing  much 
that  he  wished  to  take  note  of,  the  whole  aspect  of  the  parks 
being  utterly  different  from  what  it  was  in  mid-winter.  If 
he  had  a  few  minutes  in  London  before  train  time,  he  would 
go  into  the  Turner  water-color  room  of  the  National  Gallery. 
In  the  long  afternoons  he  could  spend  an  hour  or  two  in  Kew 
gardens  "  working  over  herbaceous  things."  Jnly  7th : 
"  Supped  in  a  place  on  the  river-bank  by  Kew  bridge,  and 
watched  the  pretty  boating.  Thermometer  90  degrees  to-day." 
The  river  sights  fixed  themselves  in  his  memory ;  and,  in  his 
view,  justified  the  urgency  with  which  he  advocated  in  later 
years  the  devotion  of  the  Charles  River  (Boston)  to  purposes 


«T.  2G]  KEW  — WINDSOR  — MR.  WATERER'S  153 

of  popular  enjoyment.  For  more  than  a  week  at  Kew, 
"  every  day  was  divided  between  plant-inspecting  and  note- 
taking  in  Kew  gardens,  and  study  of  plant-books  in  the 
house.  Some  little  progress  made ;  but  what  a  limitless 
field  !  "  One  evening  he  took  a  look  at  Bedford  Park  gar- 
dening, and  a  Sunday  evening  he  spent  at  liichniond,  w^atch- 
ing  the  boating  thereabouts.  On  a  cool  northwest  day  he 
visited  Eton  and  Windsor  Castle,  and  took  a  long  tramp 
through  the  great  park,  taking  special  note  of  the  Long- 
Walk,  Cumberland  Lodge,  the  cricket  ground,  and  the  lovely 
Virginia  water.  "  The  water  is  very,  very  line,  with  good 
plantings,  and  a  pretty  treatment  of  the  outlet  and  of  the 
long  dam.  The  evening  was  very  lovely  —  showers  and  rain- 
bow, with  sunset  and  moon." 

On  the  17th  of  July  Charles  had  the  pleasure  of  lunching 
by  appointment  with  Mr.  Harry  Milner,  the  direct  inheritor 
of  the  principles  of  Paxton  and  Mr.  Milner,  Senior.  Charles 
intimates  in  his  journal  that,  according  to  Mr.  Milner,  "  there 
is  no  landscape  gardening  anywhere  save  in  England  ;  and 
no  styles  or  principles  at  all  other  than  English."  In  the 
afternoon  Charles  looked  at  the  magnificent  but  ill-kept  gar- 
dens of  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  then  sought  at  the  British 
Museum  for  books  which  might  guide  him  on  his  proposed 
Scandinavian  and  Russian  journey.  Another  day  he  visited 
the  nursery  of  Mr.  Waterer  at  Woking. 

From  the  station  I  went  afoot  to  Mr.  Waterer's  —  very 
crookedl}',  being  misdirected  twice.  Everybody  in  England 
sa3^s  riglit  hand  for  left,  and  vice  versa.  The  country  was 
full  of  nursery  grounds  ;  and  almost  every  cottage  had  golden 
Yews  about  it.  Two  little  showers  occurred ;  and  the  air 
was  very,  very  muggy.  I  stopped  under  a  canal  bridge  dur- 
ing one  shower,  with  four  young  fellows  who  were  cruising 
in  a  wherry.  When  I  reached  Mr.  Waterer's  house,  Mr. 
Waterer  was  at  "  the  farm  "  dining  two  Americans  introduced 
by  Mr.  Sargent !  I  walked  through  the  nursery  to  said  farm, 
and  found  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  L.  Gardner,  of  Boston, 
had  just  gone.  Mr.  Waterer  talked  with  me,  over  cham- 
pagne and  biscuit,  about  Sargent,  Kemp,  Thomas  Milner, 
and  American  planting.  We  walked  in  the  nursery,  seeing 
wonderful  weeping  Beeches,  and  acres  of  "  American  plants." 
I  was  introduced  to  a  son  —  Antony  Waterer,  Jr. ,  who 
showed  me  all  about  the  place,  and  took  me  to  tea  with  his 


154         LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    LONDON      [1886 

aunt  at  six  o'clock.  The  whole  establishment  is  very  inter- 
esting. Getting  from  Mr.  Waterer  a  plain  direction  for 
reaching  the  station,  and  walking  fast  a  distance  of  two  miles 
and  a  half,  I  caught  a  train  which  carried  me  to  Mortlake, 
whence  I  walked  in  the  dark  to  Kew,  where  I  arrived  about 
ten  o'clock. 

The  next  day  Charles  visited  Mr.  Ware's  herbaceous  nur- 
sery near  Tottenham  —  a  very  rich  and  interesting  collection, 
and  had  a  long  talk  with  the  head  man,  Mr.  Ware  being 
away.  "  He  says  that  their  small  American  trade  has  never 
been  satisfactory,  the  American  nurserymen  being  hard  to 
deal  with  ;  and  the  American  amateurs  very  particular.  He 
thinks  the  climate  opposed  to  horticulture  in  America,  as  it 
is  in  Russia.  In  England  there  is  a  continuous  ever-growing 
demand  for  good  perennials." 

On  the  21st  of  July  Charles  returned  to  London.  Calls  in 
London,  and  necessary  preparations  for  his  journey  to  Russia, 
took  up  two  or  three  days.  One  of  his  visits  in  London  was 
to  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the  Commons  Preservation 
Society,  where  he  learned  about  its  work,  and  got  a  set  of  its 
reports.  The  success  of  this  society  encouraged  Charles  in 
later  years  to  attempt  the  organization  of  a  somewhat  similar 
society  in  Massachusetts.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  24th,  hav- 
ing stored  his  heavy  luggage,  he  took  train  for  Cambridge 
with  two  small  pieces,  an  overcoat,  and  an  umbrella.  The 
next  day  being  Sunday,  he  wrote  letters,  and  rested.  Never- 
theless, after  lunch  he  "  strolled  about  the  town.  The  Backs 
are  very  pretty,  but  very  damp.  I  discovered  Emmanuel 
College  by  the  coat  of  arms,  entered,  and  watched  the  swans 
in  '  the  pool.'  "  The  next  day,  July  26th,  he  ti-ied  in  vain  to 
find  Professor  Alfred  Marshall,  who  had  stayed  at  his  father's 
house  at  Harvard  University  in  1875.  To  console  himself, 
he  visited  the  Botanic  Garden  for  an  hour,  and  then  walked 
in  and  out  through  the  colleges  along  the  river.  Observing 
on  a  bulletin  board  the  name  of  a  lecturer,  "  Dr.  Cunning- 
ham, D.  M.  D.,  Harvard,"  he  sought  him  out  to  ask  about  a 
discolored  front  tooth.  Dr.  Cunningham  "  pronounced  the 
tooth  practically  dead,  and  proceeded  to  get  out  the  '  pulp  ; ' 
but  I  going  off  into  fainting,  he  had  to  stop  and  postpone  the 
operation  till  to-morrow."  Dr.  Cunningham,  who  was  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Harvard  Dental  School  in  1876,  was  at  pains  to 
procure  various  courtesies  for  Charles  during  the  next  two 
days;  but  these  days  were  much  interfered  with  by  the  neces- 
sity of  repeated  operations  upon  the  damaged  front  tooth. 


.ET.  26]  CAMBRIDGE  —  DERBY  155 

On  Charles's  last  day  in  London  he  had  tried  in  vain  to 
find  Mrs.  Beadle  and  her  young  ladies  at  the  Hotel  Metro- 
pole,  having  received  a  note  from  Mrs.  Beadle  to  the  effect 
that  her  party  had  returned  from  Scotland,  and  was  at  that 
hotel.  At  Cambridge  he  now  received  a  second  note  from 
Mrs.  Beadle,  to  say  good-by ;  for  she  expected  to  sail  for 
home  very  shortly. 

From  Cambridge  Charles  went  to  Derby,  hoping  to  see 
Elvaston  Castle  grounds  ;  but  he  found  there  was  "  no  admis- 
sion on  any  account."  He  saw,  however,  the  Arboretum  first 
planted  by  Loudon,  now  a  public  garden. 

From  Cambridge  he  wrote  to  his  father  as  follows  :  — 

It  rained  all  day  yesterday  ;  and  I  only  got  a  damp  stroll 
along  the  Backs  and  into  Emmanuel  Quad.  For  three  or  four 
days  I  have  been  feeble  and  blue.  Damp  heat  does  not  suit 
me  at  all.  To-day  I  believe  I  feel  better,  and  shall  sally  out 
to  hunt  up  Mr.  Marshall  or  somebody,  and  on  to  Derby  to- 
night. Here  follows  a  financial  report.  I  believe  you  have 
had  none  since  I  arrived  in  Paris  from  the  south :  — 

Paris,  34  days,  1.   Ordinary  expenses       ....     S2.53  a  day 
2.  Extras,  for  dentistry,  books,  and 

photographs 39.00 

Moving  from  Paris  to  Southampton,  and  expenses 

at  the  latter  place 35.00 

South  of  England,  18  days,  expenses 5.12  a  day 

Kew  and  London,  19  days,  1.  Ordinary  expenses  .       2.86  a  day 
2.  Extra  expenses,  for 
clothiiig,     books, 
and  passport  .     .     88.00 

From  Matlock  Bath  he  wrote  an  amusing  letter  to  his 
mother,  on  July  30th,  in  the  main  about  what  he  called  "  my 
second  series  of  dentistry  adventures,"  but  he  added :  "  It 
seems  ages  since  I  last  saw  any  landscape  gardening.  I  have 
a  feeling  of  having  passed  a  very  unprofitable  mouth  of  July. 
I  vow  I  do  not  know  where  the  time  has  gone  to.  At  Kew  I 
picked  up  something  ;  but  not  very  much,  for  hardly  anything 
is  growable  with  us.  London  days  were  dismal  —  very  — 
being  full  of  journeyings  on  omnibuses  and  in  the  Under- 
ground, and  little  anxieties  about  clothes  and  other  purchases, 
and  some  weariness  and  stupidity.  The  latter  kept  me  from 
making  the  evening  journey  to  the  Metropole  to  see  the  Pil 
kin- Yale-Beadle  party." 


156        LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    ENGLAND     [1886 

Considering  that  Charles  had  seen  in  July  Lynton,  Lyn- 
mouth,  Dunster,  Wells,  Bath,  and  Bowood,  and  had  restudied 
Kew  gardens  and  London  parks  and  the  Thames,  beside  vis- 
iting Windsor,  the  Crystal  Palace  Gardens,  the  Waterer 
nursery,  and  Cambridge,  his  lament  that  he  had  seen  no 
landscape  gardening  in  July  seems  but  ill-founded.  The  fact 
seems  to  have  been  that  hot,  sultry  weather,  his  dental  expe- 
riences, and  some  social  disappointments  in  London,  had  com- 
bined to  depress  him  somewhat.  He  wrote  to  his  friend 
Roland  Thaxter  from  Derby  on  the  wet,  dismal  afternoon  of 
July  29th,  telling  him  of  his  varied  experiences  at  Cambridge  : 
"  All  this  (and  indeed  all  going  about  in  this  land)  makes  our 
College  and  our  New  England  seem  exceedingly  youthful  and 
provincial,  —  but  none  the  less  exceedingly  dear  to  this  C.  E. 
.  .  .  Some  day  I  must  come  again  for  a  regular  pleasure  trip 
in  this  old  world.  This  time  I  am  continually  torn  by  con- 
tending forces  —  one  of  pure  pleasure  urging  me  this  way  — 
the  other  of  assumed  or  imagined  professional  advantage  pull- 
ing me  the  other.  I  long  for  Alps,  for  instance,  but  I  go  to 
flat  Russia." 

On  Friday,  July  30th,  he  took  the  train  at  Derby  to  Mat- 
lock Bath,  and  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  ride.  He  always  liked 
going  up  hills ;  and  rough  rocky  places  were,  on  the  whole, 
more  delightful  to  him  than  smooth  cultivated  country.  So 
he  writes  in  his  journal :  — 

Up  grades  into  higher  country,  narrow  valleys,  tunnels, 
the  twisting  Derwent,  rocks  good  to  see,  the  railway  walls 
wondrously  beverdured.  1  tramped  along  the  village  street 
with  luggage  in  hand,  and  lit  upon  a  small  inn  between  the 
road  and  the  rushing  river.  After  supper,  uphill  into  the 
Pavilion  Gardens  soon  after  seven.  Thence  I  had  a  view  of 
the  narrow  valley  with  the  village  street  on  one  side  of  the 
stream,  and  cliffs,  woods,  and  "  lovers'  walks  "  on  the  other. 
The  "  gardens  "  were  made  out  of  wild  coppice  woods  strewn 
with  Ivied  boulders.  The  Pavilion  was  of  glass  —  a  concert- 
room.     The  terraces  before  it  were  not  bad. 

The  next  day,  July  31st,  he  took  the  train  up  Derwent 
Valley  to  Rowsley. 

A  lovely  country,  —  the  swelling  hills  bearing  woods,  distant 
summits  of  bare  moor  in  view,  and  valleys  of  luscious  green 
with  scattered  trees.     It  rained  heavily  on  arriving ;  but  after 


^T.  26]  CH  ATS  WORTH  — HADDON  HALL  157 

an  hour  came  a  grand  clear-off,  and  a  fine  ride  to  Chatsworth 
House.  There  was  a  crowd  of  excursionists  at  the  gate  ;  but 
I  got  in  at  last.  The  showing  round  through  the  great  house 
was  tedious ;  but  there  are  fine  views  from  the  windows,  in- 
cluding terraces  before  the  house,  a  vista  with  formal  water,  - 
and  a  slope  behind  stretching  up  under  high  woods.  Out 
of  doors  we  were  Lurried  round  past  a  "  French  garden,"  a 
cascade,  a  rock  garden  (where  rocks  are  handled  on  a  larger 
scale  than  I  have  ever  seen),  and  a  fine  Palm  house ;  and 
back  by  the  water,  a  fountain,  and  the  terraces.  I  strolled 
over  the  bridge,  and  to  the  inn  at  Edensor  for  lunch,  and 
got  most  lovely  outlooks  in  every  direction.  There  were  cattle 
in  the  river  as  in  all  the  photogi*aphs,  and  great  sweeps  of 
green  land  edged  and  broken  by  woods.  The  village  of  Eden- 
sor is  a  fancy  one  ;  the  houses  too  villa-like.  Taking  the 
omnibus  back  to  Rowsley,  I  set  off  on  foot  for  Haddon  Hall, 
passing  the  charming  "  Peacock "  and  through  the  valley 
meadows.  At  length,  the  old  towers  and  familiar  bridge  ap- 
peared at  the  right.  I  crossed  the  bridge,  and  went  up  to  the 
low  door,  a  young  man  and  his  wife  just  before  me.  With 
them  I  saw  the  interior,  shown  in  a  well-devised  order,  ending 
with  the  beautiful  ball-room,  and  then  the  throwing  open  of 
Dorothy  Vernon's  door  —  "  Oh,  no,  it  is  300  years  since  Doro- 
thy left."  The  other  folks  marched  off  immediately ;  and  I 
was  left  alone  under  old  Yews,  Dorothy's  door  liaving  closed. 
It  was  a  dark  and  damp  nook  between  the  house  and  the  wall 
against  the  hill.  At  the  right,  sunlight  was  entering  from 
the  open  ground  of  the  lower  terrace.  At  the  top  of  the  ter- 
race stairs  I  sat  long  —  enchanted,  verily.  A  small  boy  was 
weeding  the  path  against  the  battlement  of  the  lower  terrace. 
I  went  down  and  talked  to  said  boy,  who  showed  me  a  way 
down  past  the  buttresses  of  the  terrace  wall  to  the  stream  and 
the  ruined  foot  bridge  at  the  foot ;  whence  I  went  back  to 
Rowsley  by  a  path  along  the  stream.  The  evening  light  was 
soft ;  and  two  fair  maids  were  strolling,  arms  locked.  How 
wise  was  I  to  go  to  Chatsworth  before  Haddon. 

Sunday,  August  1st,  he  spent  the  whole  afternoon,  until 
Lite,  ill  tlie  Pavilion  Gardens  of  Matlock,  which  he  found 
particularly  instructive  as  being  developed  chiefly  from  New 


158        LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     ENGLAND     [1886 

England-like  copse  wood.  On  the  2d  of  August  he  went 
on  to  Buxton,  where  he  explored  the  Pavilion  Gardens  njade 
by  Edward  Miluer,  They  are  owned  by  a  company,  as  at 
Matlock.  Admission  four-pence.  Concerts  are  given  in 
the  glass  Pavilion  ;  and  there  are  tennis  grounds,  a  bowling 
green,  a  "  lake  "  for  boating,  a  Rose  garden,  a  rockery,  and 
so  forth,  —  too  many  features,  for  the  ground  is  taken  up 
with  them  to  the  destruction  of  breadth  of  effect. 

I  found  out  many  names  of  plants  from  an  old  gardener ; 
and  took  note  of  much  in  a  small  way.  Herbaceous  plants 
are  well  used  here  in  the  edges  of  shrubberies  ;  not  in  bands 
as  in  France,  but  irregularly.  Crowds  gathered,  —  people 
from  Manchester  and  other  cities.  There  was  very  fine  tennis 
playing,  —  one  girl  a  "  terror."  Buxton  is  a  town  of  stone 
villas,  hydropathical  establishments,  etc.  The  crescent  and 
the  terraced  hill  before  it  were  rather  daringly,  but  success- 
fully, designed.  I  took  a  walk  out  of  town  into  the  country 
visible  from  the  gardens.  There  were  few  or  no  hedges ;  but 
rude  stone  walls.  The  surface  of  the  country  was  hilly  and 
tossed,  with  patches  of  small  wood,  and  bits  of  roughish 
pasture,  —  altogether,  rather  New  England-like.  A  beauty 
Valerian  along  the  roadsides. 

He  went  on  to  Manchester  that  evening ;  and  had  no 
sooner  dined  than  he  strolled  into  the  street,  and  took  a  tram- 
car  marked  "  Alexandra  Park."  "  A  long  road  through  the 
ugly,  smoky  town  ;  but  the  park  well  worth  seeing,  being  of 
peculiar  design,  consisting  chiefly  of  playgrounds  with  a  long, 
low  terrace  along  one  side."  The  next  morning  he  visited 
Peel  Park. 

An  ugly,  nondescript  sort  of  place  In  the  hideous  region 
called  Salford.  Back  into  town  again  ;  and  another  tram  out 
to  the  Botanic  Gardens,  so  called,  where  was  no  botany,  but 
a  pretty  place  enough,  owned  by  a  body  of  subscribers.  I 
took  note  of  the  flowers  in  bloom,  and  of  the  general  arrange- 
ment. There  was  an  iron  frame  for  a  tent,  wherein  to  give 
big  horticultural  shows ;  a  band-stand  green,  and  a  twisting, 
hidden  swan-water.  Back  again  to  town  ;  and  an  afternoon 
train  for  Preston,  where  I  had  almost  two  hours  in  the  rather 
large  parks  which  stretch  along  the  river.    These  are  Edward 


.EX.  26]  WINDERMERE  — BO WNESS  159 

Milner's  work  again,  and  good.  The  best  features  are  the 
natural  terrace,  and  the  slopes  to  river  meadows  and  the  river, 
large  open  lawns,  well-massed  woods,  a  loggia  whence  views 
over  distant  open  country,  a  well-made  ravine,  an  excellent 
treatment  of  two  crossing  railways,  a  good  terrace  with  a 
statue  above  backed  by  foliage  and  a  fountain  below,  and 
Milner's  regulation  spiral  and  sun-dial.  At  7  o'clock  I  took 
train  for  Windermere.  Fewer  and  fewer  were  the  tall  chim- 
neys ;  and  at  length,  no  more  smoke.  At  sunset  there  was 
a  lovely  look  across  a  bay  of  salt  flats  at  the  soft  mountains 
of  Westmoreland.  The  train  was  delayed,  —  up  grades  and 
rising  liills.  At  Kendal,  an  influx  of  lads  and  lassies  from  a 
"gala."  Reached  a  small  inn  at  Windermere  at  9  o'clock. 
No  lake  visible  yet ;  but  a  young  moon  in  the  sky. 

On  the  4th  of  August :  — 

My  hotel  was  a  little  one  with  a  small  girl  to  wait,  and  no 
other  lodger ;  but  a  crowd  always  in  the  bar.  I  was  rather 
late  getting  up  the  hill  near  the  station  by  a  path  through 
private  grounds  ;  but  finally  got  on  to  the  open  "  Fell ;  "  and 
then  hatl  a  delightful  view  of  tlie  whole  of  Windermere  and 
the  mountains  roundabout.  It  was  a  scene  of  tenderest 
beauty,  wrapt  in  softest  haze.  Helvellyn  was  very  dim,  and 
Laugdale  Pikes  also.  The  lake  was  smooth  and  palely  blue, 
its  two  long  reaches  separated  by  the  island-dotted  narrows 
about  Bowness.  I  went  downhill  again,  and  on  to  Bowuess  ; 
then  by  steamer,  at  3.30,  first  down  the  lake  to  the  foot 
thereof,  where  I  strolled  to  old  Newby  Bridge  by  a  road 
chiefly  bordered  by  coppice  ;  tlien,  in  the  late  afternoon,  back 
by  steamer  to  the  very  head  of  the  lake,  and  to  Bowness 
again  after  seven.  All  delicious.  The  next  day  (August 
5th),  I  left  the  little  hotel  at  9  o'clock  on  a  coach  for  Kes- 
wick, where  I  anived  before  one.  First,  we  went  up  the 
shore  of  Windermere  by  a  gently  hilly  road  through  much 
wildish  small  wood,  past  many  "  seats,"  —  a  region  of  the 
Beverly  [^lass.]  type.  Then  to  Ambleside ;  and  so  past 
Rydal  Water ;  on  jiast  Grasmere,  and  up  into  wholly  open 
land  in  the  pass  called  "  the  Raise  "  at  the  west  foot  of  Hel- 
vellyn.    Then  on,  and  down  past  Thirlmere  and  the  works 


160  LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1886 

just  begun  for  taking  water  hence  to  Manchester.  There 
was  a  look  down  the  Vale  of  St.  John.  Then  we  went  over 
a  low  pass,  and  down  a  long  hill  into  Keswick  Vale,  and  to 
the  George  Hotel  in  Keswick  just  as  a  shower  came  down 
smartly.  In  the  afternoon,  between  showers,  I  got  out  to  the 
foot  of  Derwentwater,  whence  was  a  beauteous  view  of  the 
lakeside  mountains,  ranged  in  lovely  perspective  of  silvery, 
showery  distance.  I  also  strolled  about  the  neighborhood  of 
the  village ;  and,  towards  evening,  enjoyed  the  striking  effects 
of  sunlight  bursting  from  between  clouds,  and  gleaming 
golden  on  emerald  slopes  of  purple-shadowed  and  silver- 
misted  hills,  —  a  sight  to  make  one  hold  one's  breath  with 
wonder.  At  my  late  supper  I  had  a  little  talk  with  a  young 
man  and  his  wife,  —  the  first  talk  since  Cambridge. 

August  6.  The  morning  was  cloudy,  but  clearing ;  so  I 
took  coach  at  10  o'clock,  with  nameless  acquaintances  of  last 
evening  and  others,  for  an  all-day  trip.  We  went  out  along 
Derwentwater,  through  rich  woods  at  the  foot  of  ferny 
heights,  past  wet  meadows  and  fields  of  rushes  at  the  head  of 
the  lake,  past  the  foot  of  almost  waterless  Lodore,  through  a 
low  pass  at  the  foot  of  the  fine  Castle  Crag,  past  Bowder 
Stone,  and  into  fair  Borrowdale.  There  were  meadows  and 
hay-making,  one  or  two  tiny  hamlets,  little  stone  bridges  over 
clear  streams,  the  mountains  around  wooded  below  and  rising 
above  in  exquisite  forms  of  crag  and  scar,  and  steeps  of 
golden  green  mottled  with  the  deep  green  of  Bracken,  and 
higher  up  with  the  brown  and  bronze  of  Heather.  There 
were  many  silver  threads  of  streamlets,  and  many  wet  and 
glistening  bits  of  ledge.  About  the  high  peaks  were  much 
broken  fog  and  cloud.  The  walk  up  the  ascent  of  Honister 
Pass  was  long  and  steep,  —  a  hard  struggle  for  the  horses,  — 
first  along  the  wooded  course  of  a  rocky  stream,  and  then 
along  the  same  stream  in  an  open  land  of  rock,  Fern,  and 
Heather.  At  the  summit  was  a  corner  and  an  impressive 
view  down  the  steep  and  narrow  valley  at  the  foot  of  the 
Crag  of  Honister,  by  which  we  proceeded  on  and  down,  and 
so  to  Buttermere  and  an  inn  for  lunch  about  one  o'clock. 
Next,  I  went  by  boat,  with  some  others,  over  a  bit  of  Crum- 
mock  Water  close  by,  and  walked  part  way  up  the  open  val- 


JET.2G]  LAKELAND   DEFENCE  161 

ley  to  see  a  high,  slender  waterfall,  —  Scale  Force,  —  issuing 
from  a  corner  in  a  grassy  mountain,  and  falling  in  a  narrow, 
verdurous  rock-cleft  about  six  feet  wide.  At  four  we  took  a 
coach  again,  passing  first  over  a  higher  but  less  imposing- 
pass,  then  down  the  Vale  of  Newlands,  and  round  the  foot  of 
Derwentwater  into  Keswick.  Fog  and  cloud  were  thicken- 
ing fast,  —  no  glory  from  low  sun  to-night ;  but  an  ever 
uien^orable  day. 

This  h)vely  country  is  just  what  I  imagined  it,  —  moun- 
tains of  friendliest  character,  of  exquisite  highly- wrought 
sculpturing,  of  subtlest,  gracefullest  form,  and  of  marvellous 
fitful  color  under  this  watery  sky.  The  scenery  is  of  a  very 
distinct  type,  and  of  its  sort  the  perfectest  imaginable. 

The  next  day  was  dark  and  rainy. 

Just  as  well,  perhaps ;  for  fine  weather  would  have  per- 
suaded this  sybarite  to  linger  and  linger  on.  I  looked  at 
some  absurdly  inadequate  photographs  ;  and  then  bethought 
me  of  the  secretary  and  prime  mover  in  the  Lakeland  De- 
fence Association,  which  has  fought  ojfif  two  railway  schemes 
and  done  other  service.  I  got  directions  ;  walked  a  little 
way  from  town  ;  and  fortunately  found  him  at  home.  I  intro- 
duced myself  as  an  American  much  interested  in  the  work  of 
the  Association,  He  told  me  that  the  closing  of  ancient  foot- 
ways was  the  chief  trouble  at  present.  It  was  done  right  and 
left  by  new  proprietors  newly  rich  ;  and  was  hard  to  prevent, 
because  the  burden  of  proof  lay  strangely  enough  with  the 
public  ;  it  was  also  a  disagreeable  sort  of  quarrel,  because  it 
seemed,  in  some  measure,  personal.  A  new  law  was  wanted 
to  enable  the  local  authorities  to  fight  the  battles,  instead  of 
the  secretary  and  his  Association.  Parliament  will  soon  take 
this  matter  up  along  with  Mr.  Bryce's  "  Scottish  Mountains  " 
bill;  Parliament  has  already  affirmed  in  other  matters  the 
]n-inciple  of  the  real  value  of  scenery  ;  has  refused  to  charter 
railways  which  would  have  injured  scenery  ;  and  has  required 
the  ^lanchester  Water  Works  people  to  save  soil  wherewith 

to  re-cover  their  masses  of  tunnel  debris.     Mr.  R asked 

about  my  work  in  America,  —  if  I  were  in  the  Law  or  what ; 
and  on  hearing  my  trade,  made  me  sit  down  again  and  tell 


162       LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     SCOTLAND     [1886 

him  about  the  Yellowstone,  Niagara,  and  so  forth.  Then 
we  looked  at  his  old  vicarage  garden,  —  and  I  fled  for  the 
noon  train. 

Out  of  the  mountains  and  to  Carlisle.  The  day  was 
clearing  up  ;  so  that,  on  crossing  the  low  land  at  the  head  of 
Solway  Firth,  I  could  see  the  fine  group  of  Cumberland 
Mountains  very  well.  We  crossed  some  wet  moorlands,  — 
very  bleak.  There  was  a  long  ascent  through  bare  hill 
country  with  not  much  cultivation,  but  occasional  plantations 
of  Spruce.  In  the  hedge-rows  were  Scotch  Pines  instead  of 
Elms.  The  Scotch  names  of  stations  seemed  familiar.  Once 
"  Ecclefechan  "  flashed  past,  —  Craigenputtock  must  be 
somewhere  behind  these  dreary  hills,  thinks  C.  E.  Two  or 
three  castles,  with  plantations  around  them,  appeared  in  val- 
leys of  these  moors.  We  went  up  and  over  a  dull  pass  near 
the  source  of  the  Clyde  and  Tweed ;  and  on,  down  Into  a 
country  of  chiuineys,  and  to  smoky  Glasgow.  After  dinner 
I  took  a  short  stroll  about  the  cold,  windy,  and  deserted 
streets,  empty  because  the  shops  were  closed.  It  was  Satur- 
day afternoon,  and  the  dismal  pall  of  Sunday  had  fallen 
already. 

On  Monday  he  went  by  tram-car  to  the  south  verge  of  the 
smoky  city  to  Queen's  Park. 

I  had  been  urged  to  be  sure  and  see  it;  but  I  found 
nothing  worth  while,  —  much  carpet  bedding,  every  plant 
numbered,  and  a  printed  list  under  glass  set  alongside !  I 
journeyed  back  again,  and  out  another  way  to  the  Botanic 
Garden.  It  Is  chiefly  a  pleasure  garden,  with  much  bed- 
ding again,  and  shrubberies  stiffly  edged.  A  small  plant 
collection  In  one  corner  I  looked  over  thoroughly,  since  It 
afforded  a  review  of  some  of  my  labors  at  Kew.  Next,  I 
looked  at  the  outside  of  the  University  buildings,  and  at  the 
park  below  it.  During  a  shower  I  looked  into  a  museum. 
Rain  coming  on,  I  discovered  an  interesting  photograph 
exhibition  in  the  Public  Galleries.  I  am  weary  of  mists  and 
showers ;  and  believe  I  have  seen  enough  of  British  garden- 
ing. ...  I  shall  skip  to  Edinburgh  to-morrow.  Glasgow  is 
unprofitable  and  ugly. 


r 


^  del    QL — ^^^} 


^ 


.ET.  26]  EDINBURGH— DALKEITH  163 

The  ride  to  Edinburgh,  on  the  10th  of  August,  was  through 
a  dull  open  country  of  hilly  pasture,  broken  by  dirty  mining 
villages  and  smoking  chimney  stacks  of  huge  "  works."  His 
enjoyment  of  Edinburgh  was  interfered  with  by  very  bad 
weather.  On  his  one  fine  day  he  exploited  the  Castle, 
High  Street,  Arthur's  Seat,  and  the  Crag,  "finding  the 
prospects  finer  in  every  way  than  I  anticipated,  the  effect 
heightened  by  tlie  Turneresque  atmosphere,  and  by  cloud, 
haze,  and  smoke."  As  usual,  he  also  visited  and  explored 
thoroughly  the  Botanic  Garden.  With  his  characteristic 
love  of  the  seaside,  he  took  a  tram-car  to  Newhaven,  where 
he  saw  with  pleasure  the  queer  fishing-boats  and  the  fish- 
wives in  costume.  He  also  looked  into  r.n  exhibition  which 
was  "called  International;  but  was  not.  As  a  Scotch  show 
it  was  good,  the  ship-builders'  exhibits  being  particularly 
interesting."  On  an  afternoon  which  was  only  cloudy  in- 
stead of  rainy,  he  found  his  way  to  the  long,  shabby  vil- 
lage of  Dalkeith,  and  to  the  park  gates  at  the  end  of  its 
main  street. 

Explored  the  said  park  of  Dalkeith,  which  is  curiously 
different  in  quality  from  English  places  of  the  same  general 
character.  ]\Iany  of  the  trees  were  large  and  old ;  but,  seen 
from  the  house,  not  effectively  arranged.  The  house  stands 
on  the  brink  of  the  deep  valley  of  Esk,  the  opposite  bank 
being  richly  wooded  with  old  trees.  A  cove  in  the  bank,  at 
one  side  of  the  house,  is  treated  as  a  "  pleasure  garden,"  show- 
ing steep  banks  of  Laurel  and  scattered  Yews,  and  of  massed 
Khododendrons.  A  very  high,  stone-arched  bridge  is  carried 
over  Esk  just  below,  springing  from  a  natural  bluff  on  one 
side  to  the  made  bank  on  the  other,  its  abutments  finely  hid- 
den in  foliage.  Through  the  high  arch  one  gets  a  pretty 
glimpse  of  the  splashing  river. 

That  evening  he  took  the  steamer  to  Hamburg  at  9.30 
from  Leith  docks.  The  passengers  were  chiefly  German 
tourists  going  home. 

All  the  persons  to  whom  Charles  had  letters  in  Edinburgh 
were  absent  at  the  time  of  his  visit.  He  was  particularly 
sorry  not  to  find  Mr.  IMcPherson,  of  the  Scottish  Footpaths 
Society  ;  for  he  was  already  interested  in  the  work  of  that 
society,  and  had  seen  the  need  of  some  similar  work  at  home. 


CHAPTER  IX 

LANDSCAPE  STUDY   IN  EUROPE.    HAMBURG,  DENMARK, 
SWEDEN,  AND   RUSSIA 

The  more  extensive,  therefore,  your  acquaintance  with  the  -works  of 
those  who  have  excelled,  the  more  extensive  will  he  your  powers  of 
invention,  and  what  Vfill  appear  still  more  like  a  paradox,  the  more 
original  will  he  your  conceptions.  —  Si»  Joshua  Reynolds. 

For  twenty-four  hours,  from  Sunday  noon  to  Monday  noon, 
the  sea  was  very  rough,  and  I  was  sick ;  but  Monday  after- 
noon I  got  on  deck  (wet  with  water  shipped  in  the  night), 
and,  as  the  sea  fell  rapidly,  I  soon  recovered.  We  passed  red- 
clif ted  Helgoland  about  four  o'clock,  and  a  lightship  marked 
"  Elbe  "  two  hours  later ;  but  saw  no  land  till  about  seven. 
It  was  Cuxhaven  with  its  wooden  piers  and  docks.  Thence 
we  proceeded  .slowly  up  the  river,  many  odd  fishing-smacks 
coming  down  with  sidelights  burning.  The  evening  was  very 
warm,  but  wettish.  When  I  went  to  bed  the  ship  was  still 
proceeding  against  a  strong  tide.  This  morning  (Tuesday, 
August  17)  I  took  a  cab  up-town  to  the  hotel  on  Binner- 
Alster.  In  the  streets  were  women  and  dogs  harnessed  in 
carts,  and  other  queer  things.  Sad  to  say,  rain  and  smut  as 
ever. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  weather  cleared,  and 
Charles  walked  out  countrywards  along  the  inner  and  outer 
Alsters. 

Water  parks  such  as  Boston  should  have  made  of  the 
Back  Bay.  I  got  out  into  a  villa  region  —  Longwood-like  — 
Wiience  a  view  of  the  high  city  spires  across  long  green-edged 
wxter  alive  with  boats,  small  steamers,  and  fleets  6f  swans. 
When  sunset  came  and  the  lighting  of  lamps,  I  returned  by 
steamer  under  the  fine  Lombards  Bridge,  across  the  inner 
basin  to  the  quay  in  the  heart  of  the  town.  There  I  took  an 
ice  in  a  water  pavilion.     Hamburg  is  a  delightful  town  1 


r.  26] 


HAMBURG  — ALSTER  BASINS 


165 


These  water  parks  interested  Charles  greatly.  He  inspected 
repeatedly  their  shores,  the  landing-stages,  and  the  planta- 
tions ;  and,  as  usual,  took  great  delight  in  the  intelligent  pro- 
vision for  public  enjoyment  upon  the  water.     "  I  followed 


A  water-side  arrangement  —  Hamburg. 

the  good  public  gardens  which  run  all  round  the  lines  of  the 
old  walls  to  the  Botanic  Garden  and  the  Zoological  Garden, 
both  of  which  are  interesting  and  instructive."  He  walked 
through  the  river-side  of  the  town,  observing  the  old  canals 
and  the  high  gabled  buildings;  and  thence  to  the  steamer- 
landing  just  below  the  mooring-ground  of  the  crowded  ships. 
Here  he  took  a  steamer  down  the  Elbe  seven  or  eight  miles 
to  Blankenese  landing. 


the  houses  looking  westward  over  the  river  and  the  low  salt- 
croeked  country  beyond.  The  river  is  full  of  small  shipping, 
with  quaint  rigs  and  colored  sails.  Blankenese  is  very  odd, 
having  steep,  crooked,  paved  footways,  —  a  bigger  and  Ger- 
manified  Clovelly.  Close  by  is  a  large  park.  I  entered  and 
rambled  in  it  long.  It  is  a  very  fine  piece  of  landscape  work. 
Thence  I  turned  towards  town,  along  the  high  road.  Many 
})eople  were  out  pleasure-driving ;  the  whole  road  and  the 
bordering,    largish    places   very    Brooklinesqne    [Brookline, 


166       LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    HAMBURG    [1886 

Mass.],  —  new  telephone  poles  and  all.  A  steamer  from  the 
landing  Teufelsbriicke  brought  me  to  the  hotel  just  in  time 
for  dinner.  Very  odd  soup  to-night,  having  the  appearance 
of  broth ;  but  containing,  beside  numerous  vegetables,  slices 
of  eels,  doughballs,  prunes,  and  much  vinegar. 

The  next  morning,  August  20th,  he  spent  on  Alster  steam- 
ers, taking  notes  of  the  excellent  water-side  arrangements, 
and  of  the  water-side  villa  gardens,  the  public  walks,  and  the 
beer  gardens.  In  the  afternoon  he  took  the  train  for  Kiel ; 
but  found  the  country  dull  till  near  Kiel.  There  was  much 
open  moor,  Heather,  small  Birches,  peat-diggings,  and  fields 
of  grain  ;  few  hedges  or  wooden  fences  divided  the  fields,  but 
mainly  walls  of  earth.  The  houses  were  steep-thatched,  and 
planted  close  about  with  small  trees  for  shelter,  making  thus 
islands  in  the  flat  expanse.  The  train  passed  one  large  Beech 
forest  and  one  of  Pines.  Birches,  Alders,  Poplai-s,  Wych- 
Elms,  and  Mountain  Ashes  with  bright  berries  were  visible. 
The  cottage  gardens  were  full  of  Dahlias.  Charles  had 
stopped  at  Kiel  to  see  the  Botanic  Garden,  but  he  found  it 
locked  up,  and  no  porter's  lodge  was  visible,  the  university 
being  in  vacation.  He  visited,  however,  the  Schloss  Garden 
on  the  shore  of  the  harbor,  finding  a  water-side  avenue  of 
Elms  and  Lindens,  a  soldiers'  monument,  and  stretches  of 
greensward  and  massed  shrubs,  —  a  homelike  scene. 

In  the  market  square  before  a  very  odd  brick  church,  a 
throng  of  country-women  were  selling  produce  to  towns- 
women,  the  country-folk  wearing  one  sort  of  straw  hat,  and 
the  townsfolk  another.  Beyond  the  Botanic  Garden,  and  still 
close  to  the  shore  of  the  bay,  I  found  a  region  of  detached 
houses  in  Cambridge-like  yards,  the  streets  quiet  and  tree- 
planted,  leading  down  to  the  old  avenue  along  the  shore, 
whence  were  pretty  pictures  of  coasters,  ironclads,  and  small 
boats  on  blue  water. 

At  eleven  o'clock,  August  21,  I  took  the  steamer  "  Au- 
gusta-Victoria," bound  for  Scandinavia.  The  craft  was  excel- 
lent, and  the  passengers  very  civilized,  —  chiefly  tourists, 
Germans  going  to  see  Scandinavia,  and  Scandinavians  going 
home.  There  were  several  pretty  girls  of  the  Swedish  type, 
and  one  couple  speaking  French,  in  whom  everybody  was  soon 
much   interested.     He  was   dark   and    Spanish-looking;  she 


^T.  26]  COPENHAGEX  167 

fair  and  beautiful,  like  the  pictures  of  Nielson.  Their  behav- 
ior was  rather  "  pronounced,"  —  he  lay  with  his  head  on  her 
knee ;  and  at  table  he  put  a  piece  of  paper  in  her  pretty  ear. 
How  the  sober,  c[uiet-faced,  smooth-haired  womenkind  looked 
and  looked,  and  how  the  men  admired !  In  the  Kieler  Fjord 
I  saw  a  navy  yard  and  twelve  ironclads  in  the  stream.  The 
shores  were  very  like  those  of  Narragansett  Bay.  Very  soon 
the  open  sea  appeared  ahead,  and  a  tall,  white  light-tower, 
and  a  string  of  white  buoys.  The  water  was  utterly  smooth 
and  blue ;  colored  sails  were  becalmed  here  and  there  ;  and 
the  sun  was  very  hot.  After  midday  dinner  there  was  no 
land  in  sight.  I  wrote  a  letter  home,  and  read.  Happy  as  a 
clam!  Nothing  agrees  with  this  child  like  sailing  in  smooth 
water.  We  were  some  hours  coasting  Langeland.  It  showed 
low  gravel  bluffs  and  beaches,  much  grain  inland,  scattered 
groves,  stumpy  spires,  and  stray  windmills.  Thence  we  passed 
into  the  wide  waters  of  Grosser  Belt,  Seeland  rapidly  rising, 
and  showing  gravel  bluffs  and  low  hills — Long  Island  Sound 
scenery.  Soon  a  cluster  of  red  roofs,  a  narrow  entrance  to  a 
port,  a  big  railway  ferry  steamer,  a  quay,  and  a  custom-house 
—  Korsor.  .  .  .  The  port  is  very  small,  merely  an  embark- 
ing-place,  reminding  me  of  AVarwick,  R.  I. ;  then  sunset,  and 
we  were  off  in  the  train.  .  .  .  Through  a  soft,  pretty  country  — 
fine  Beech  woods  now  and  then  —  but  soon  dark.  Kjoben- 
havn  [Copenhagen]  at  9.45. 

Sunday,  August  22.  Clear  and  warm.  I  walked  through 
this  town  generally.  Its  streets  are  stone  paved,  its  sidewalks 
likewise,  with  no  curbstones.  In  the  old  streets  is  some  very 
quaint  architecture  ;  some  canals  come  into  the  town  from  the 
harbor.  ...  I  followed  the  fortification  promenades  north- 
eastward, and  came  to  the  salt  water  side  below  the  harbor 
quays.  Here  was  a  large  fort  surrounded  by  a  moat  —  a 
shaded  promenade  on  a  narrow  strip  between  the  moat  and 
the  water  of  the  harbor,  the  strip  containing  a  drive,  a  saddle 
pad,  and  a  footpath.  The  banks  of  the  moat  were  all  covered 
with  verdure,  and  the  fort  was  hidden.  Small  boats  and 
yachts  were  moored  all  along  the  seaside,  and  just  beyond  this 
was  the  main  channel  with  big  vessels,  an  island  with  a 
harbor  lighthouse,  and  the  open  water  of  the  Sound  each  side 


168        LANDSCAPE   STUDY   IN   EUROPE.     DENMARK     [1886 

tliereof.  .  .  .  There  were  many  seats,  and  much  people  enjoy- 
ing the  harbor  scene  and  each  other's  appearance.  I  returned 
.  through  the  aristocratic  quarter,  which  lies  strangely  near  the 
shipping  and  the  warehouses.  .  .  .  From  a  large  irregular 
"  square  "  in  the  heart  of  the  town,  thirteen  streets  went  out, 
several  with  tramways  in  them.  Thence  I  went  to  the  Botanic 
Garden,  which  I  found  rather  large,  with  trees  as  well  as 
herbs,  and  irregular  planting.  The  trees  were  generally 
small,  and  crowded  in  groups  of  orders.  The  herbaceous 
plants  were  in  scattered  beds,  and  in  one  corner  in  a  formal 
arrangement.  There  were  water-side  boxes  for  water  plants, 
and  stream  plants  were  similarly  grown.  There  was  a  special 
space  for  Danish  plants.  .  .  .  Evidently  this  is  no  climate 
for  evergreens.  The  grass,  too,  was  very  weedy  and  brown  — 
quite  American.  I  was  twice  ordered  off  it  by  Garden  officers 
when  poking  to  find  labels.  What  use  in  labels,  if  one  may 
not  get  to  read  them  ? 

The  next  day  he  greatly  enjoyed  a  visit  to  the  Frederiks- 
berg-Have,  formerly  a  royal  park,  the  chateau  now  a  military 
school. 

This  park  is  unlike  anything  I  have  ever  seen.  Its  woods 
are  cut  by  straightish  grass  allej^s.  Its  paths  twist  and  curve 
about,  crossing  vistas  and  much  crooked  water  very  irregu- 
larly. The  ground  is  flat,  and  comparatively  very  little  of  it 
is  in  grass.  The  woods  consist  of  Beech,  Oak,  Elm,  Ash,  and 
a  few  other  trees ;  and  are  much  trodden  by  the  populace ;  yet 
they  are  generally  green  with  sprouting  from  the  base  of  the 
trunks,  and  pushing  of  seedlings.  The  Renaissance  chateau 
is  on  an  overlooking  elevation.  Old  Linden  alleys  lead  up 
to  it ;  and  immediately  in  front  of  it  are  grass  terraces  and 
hedges  of  Hawthorn.  There  was  a  poor  zoological  garden 
alongside ;  but  I  crossed  over  the  road  into  the  park  of  Son- 
dermarken,  where  was  a  water  reservoir  in  place  of  a  chateau  ; 
but  otherwise  it  was  like  Frederiksberg.  There  were  some 
masses  of  very  fine  woods,  and  a  good  Linden  avenue ;  but 
the  grassed  vistas  were  too  straight  and  too  parallel-sided. 

After  dinner  I  sauntered  on  the  lovely  Lange  Linie. 
There   were   yachts    about   and   much    people ;    soldiers   in 


^T.  26]  COPENHAGEN  —  HELSINGOR  169 

blue,  all  Christy's  first  cousins  [Christy  —  a  Dane  —  was  his 
father's  coachman  for  several  years]  ;  old  ladies,  very  old- 
fashioned  ;  all  sorts  of  young-  women,  —  countrified  with  flat 
black  straw  hats  and  ribbon  hanging  behind,  to  stylish  crea- 
tures almost  Parisian.  The  great  majority  were  soberly 
dressed,  hearty,  and  good-faced ;  the  children  were  of  very 
American  appearance, — young  boys  in  unbound  felt  hats, 
sailor-suits,  and  so  forth.  .  .  .  There  were  people  driving  in 
barouches,  and  on  horseback,  as  well  as  walking ;  but  these 
were  few. 

He  was  out  early  the  next  morning,  walking  along  the  empty 
pavements  across  the  canal,  past  the  ruin  of  the  burnt  palace, 
past  the  Egyptian  (!)  (or  Etruscan)  Thorwaldsen  Museum, 
through  the  tlironged  market-place,  and  along  the  fish  quay 
of  the  canal.  "  It  was  a  very  quaint  scene,  —  the  crowd  of  a 
general  mixed  color  with  their  blue  ajjrons,  straw  hats  and 
white  handkerchiefs  tied  over,  and  the  odd  gabled  buildings 
around,  one  of  which  had  a  spire  of  four  alligators,  their 
tails  twisted  up  to  a  great  height."  At  eight  o'clock  he 
went  on  to  Helsingor,  a  pleasant  two-hour  ride  through  "  a 
gently  undulating  grain-growing  country  in  which  reaping 
was  going  on.  The  cottages  were  long  and  low,  and  thatched 
or  red-tiled,  and  white-walled,  the  outbuildings  being  often 
of  wood, —  the  first  since  Boston.  Fences,  hedges,  or  stone 
walls  were  few.  There  were  groves  and  some  large  woods, 
chiefly  of  Beech  ;  but  also  Norway  Spruce,  Larch,  Birch,  and 
Mountain  Ash.  There  was  no  rock  save  boulders.  The 
train  passed  two  or  three  chateaux  of  Western  Europe  archi- 
tecture set  in  simple  parks."  The  general  asjoect  of  Hel- 
singor is  thus  described  :  "  The  buildings  are  low  and  white- 
walled,  —  apparently  of  yellow  brick  whitewashed  ;  the  roofs 
are  of  red  tile,  but  some  of  thatch  ;  the  shops  are  very  small ; 
the  windows  are  white-framed,  and  they  open  outward  in  four 
pieces  ;  and  as  most  of  the  windows  are  open,  the  effect  is 
odd."  He  went  down  to  the  small  breakwater  port  where 
there  was  nothing  going  on  ;  but  the  Sound  outside  was  full 
of  large  vessels. 

Here  I  got  sight  of  a  large  castle  on  the  extreme  end  of 
the  point  towards  the  Swedish  coast ;  and  to  it  I  went  over 
three  several  moats  and  through  a  complication  of  military 
buildings,  gates,  and  shaded  moat-side  M'alks.  The  great 
building  was  very  striking  ;  its  architecture,  particularly  that 


170        LANDSCAPE   STUDY   IN   EUROPE.     DENMARK     [1886 

of  the  roof,  very  picturesque  and  characteristic.  Following 
some  signs,  which  I  managed  to  comprehend,  I  arrived  at  a 
small  jutting  brick  bastion,  at  the  angle  of  a  small  water 
battery  mounted  with  a  row  of  small  guns.  There  was  a  view 
all  up  and  down  the  Sound.  One  guardsman  was  using  a 
mounted  telescope  to  make  out  the  flags  of  passing  vessels  ; 
and  the  red  and  white  crossed  banner  of  Denmark  fluttered 
from  a  staff.  This  was  the  Platform  before  the  Castle  of 
Elsinore  !  There  were  ten  barques  under  full  sail  standing 
north,  and  many  smaller  craft,  some  tacking  under  the 
Swedish  coast,  some  close  at  hand.  A  great  fleet  was  coming 
up  from  the  far  south.  A  very  beautiful  sight.  The  guard 
had  already  recorded  ten  Danish  vessels,  six  Norwegian,  one 
Russian,  thi-ee  Swedish,  two  German,  etc.,  as  having  passed 
this  morning.  The  water  was  as  blue  as  possible.  Thought 
I  should  not  object  to  standing  watch  at  Elsinore  myself ! 
This  is  one  of  the  few  famous  straits  of  the  world.  I  lingered 
long,  alone  with  the  silent  sentinel ;  no  sound  but  the  ripple 
of  water  on  the  boulders  below  and  the  gentle  slatting  of  the 
flag  halliards.  Presently  came  the  heavy  tramping  of  two 
large  companies  of  infantry  passing  out  to  the  drill-ground. 
I  went  out  after  them ;  and  along  the  north-looking  shore  to 
a  bathing-beach,  hotel,  casino,  and  so  forth,  called  Marienlyst. 
Here  I  examined  some  very  unsuccessful  recent  planting  of 
shore  grounds ;  and  then  went  slowly  back  through  town  to 
the  port,  passing  many  high,  paintless  wooden  fences  with 
Lilacs  and  Virginia  Creeper  hanging  over  them,  —  very 
American.  Next  I  took  steamer  to  Skodsborg  through  a 
small  water-side  villa  region.  Helsingor  is  very  quaint  from 
the  water :  a  red-roofed  town  with  a  big  Slot  (palace)  and 
five  windmills  waving  their  arms  over  it.  Behind  Skodsborg 
I  viewed  the  large  royal  forest.  It  has  Beeches  young  and 
old,  pretty  paths  and  thickets,  a  Godthaab  and  a  mill-pond 
with  a  mill  in  the  midst ;  then  a  high  open  part,  and  a 
royal  hunting-lodge  with  a  view  of  the  blue  Sound  over  the 
woods  of  the  shore,  big  ships  appearing  above  trees.  This 
part  of  the  forest  is  wholly  English-park-like,  with  broad  but 
browned  stretches  of  grass,  deer,  and  masses  of  very  large 
trees.     I   saw  Hawthorns,  but  no   Hollies.     I  reached  the 


^T.  26]  COPENHAGEN  171 

shore  again  at  Klampenborg.  All  manner  of  summer  houses 
are  strung  for  miles  along  the  shore  road.  I  looked  into 
many  places  hereabout ;  supped  under  some  trees  on  the 
shore  ;  and  at  dark  took  a  steam  tramway  and  a  horse-car 
which  brought  me  to  my  hotel  in  Copenhagen  at  half  past 
nine. 

The  next  day  he  looked  through  the  Thorwaldsen  Museum. 

There  is  sculpture  enough  for  five  men's  life-work,  one 
would  think.  Some  of  large,  heroic  creatures,  very  fine ; 
many  portrait  busts  also ;  but  most  of  the  work  on  rather  a 
small  scale,  and  all  in  imitation  Greek,  —  even  a  Pan- 
Athenaic  frieze !  What  a  curious  genius  out  of  the  land  of 
the  Vikings.  His  body  lies  buried  in  the  court  of  the  build- 
ing, which  building  is  Pseudo-Egyptian  in  design,  —  Pseudo- 
Greek  sculpture  in  a  Pseudo-Egyptian  temple,  —  and  in  the 
same  town  with  such  admirable  native  architecture  as  that  of 
the  Borsen  and  the  Rosenborg  Slot.  In  the  afternoon  I  took 
tram-cars  out  on  the  northern  shore  road  to  the  Royal  Park, 
Charlottenlund  ;  but  there  was  no  admittance  to  the  park,  so 
I  inspected  the  neighborhood,  which  was  partly  open  forest, 
partly  small  summer  places,  and  partly  all-the-year-round  vil- 
lages. The  summer  villas  were  generally  small,  low,  and 
pretty,  a  door  in  the  middle  of  the  long  side  leading  into  a 
large  middle  room-hall.  The  front  yards  had  little  green- 
sward, but  much  shrubbery,  with  a  variety  of  deciduous 
things  ;  sometimes  some  Conifers,  but  these  were  seldom  suc- 
cessful ;  and  not  much  flower  gardening,  Indian  Corn  was 
used  with  other  foliage  plants ;  Ivy  was  rare  ;  but  Virginia 
Creeper  and  Dutchman's  Pipe  were  very  common.  The 
Creeper  on  wire  fencing  made  high,  dense  hedges ;  but 
there  were  also  hedges  of  Hawthorn,  Privet,  and  Lilac,  and 
of  Norway  Spruce  clipped.  Painted  wooden  fences  were 
everywhere,  of  several  sorts,  —  pickets,  round  sticks,  and 
fancy  sawed  boarding,  —  all  as  about  Boston  ;  also  Ameri- 
can twirling  water-sprinklers  and  hand  mowing-machines 
abounded.  There  is  no  green  grass  now  unless  watered. 
.  .  .  The  alongshore  road  is  Copenhagen's  chief  pleasure- 
drive,  and  yet  there  is  a  steam  tram  in  it.  .  .  .  The  long  road 


172  LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN    EUROPE.     SWEDEN      [1886 

is  all  tree-planted  and  watered,  and  bordered  now  by  villas, 
now  by  open  fields  for  sale,  now  by  bits  of  fishing  village, 
now  by  the  large  Royal  Park  at  the  left,  and  always  the 
Sound  close  at  the  right.  There  are  also  regions  of  beer 
gardens  and  bathing  establishments.  For  six  kilometres  the 
Beech  forests  of  Jaegersborg  and  Dyrehave  are  just  behind 
the  roadside  places  at  the  left. 

That  evening  Charles  crossed  the  ferry  to  Sweden,  making 
a  breakwater  port  just  at  dark  after  a  delicious  hour  and  a 
half  crossing  the  Sound,  through  much  shipj^ing  and  in  the 
glow  of  sunset.  The  train  started  at  ten  o'clock.  In  the 
roomy  compartment,  which  resembled  the  Swiss  second-class 
carriage,  Charles  could  lie  at  full  length.  The  night  was 
warm,  and  he  slept  well ;  but  whenever  he  woke,  he  looked 
out  to  see  the  country. 

I  woke  at  three  odd.  A  young  moon  shone  over  moving 
Spruce  tops.  There  was  some  light  when  next  I  woke.  We 
were  passing  through  forests  of  Spiaice,  Pine,  and  small 
Junipers  ;  the  surface  was  irregular  ;  and  there  were  rocks 
and  boulders  everywhere ;  white  mists  were  spread  far  over 
heathy  flats  between  hills.  At  my  next  waking  the  sky  was 
clear,  and  the  sun  was  rising  ;  woods  and  hummocky  open 
land  were  all  twinkling  with  dewdrops  ;  soon  many  ponds 
appeared,  quiet,  with  rocked  and  wooded  shores,  and  islets, 
and  perhaps  a  clearing  or  two  (the  first  time  this  word  has 
been  applicable  in  my  European  travel).  By  and  by  there 
was  more  and  more  open  country  ;  but  into  Stockholm  wild 
land  still  predominated.  There  were  rough  pastures,  woods 
of  small  Birches,  Poplars,  Alders,  Mountain  Ashes,  Pines, 
and  Spruces  ;  small  fields  of  Barley  and  Oats  now  reaping, 
and  often  big  boulders  in  the  fields,  —  all  irregularly  bounded 
by  rockiness.  The  houses  were  small  and  low,  made  of  hewn 
logs ;  the  roofs  shingled,  thatched,  tiled,  or  slated ;  the  walls 
colored  dark  red ;  and  when,  as  sometimes,  finishing-boards 
were  used,  these  and  the  window-sashes  were  painted  white. 
There  were  big  red  and  unpainted  wooden  barns ;  and  about 
the  crop  lands  split-log  fences.  The  little  farmsteads  looked 
comfortable.  The  railway  cuts  showed  barren  glacial  gravel ; 
and  there  were  big  glaciated  rocks,  mossy  and  partly  bever- 


^T.  26]  STOCKHOLM  173 

clured.  Put  me  anywhere  out  of  sight  of  the  houses  and 
fences,  and  I  should  say  I  was  in  Maine.  There  were  whole 
beds  of  low  Blueberry,  and  also  much  mountain  Cranberr}'' ; 
crowded  young  Spruces,  some  sawmills,  and  much  piled  cord- 
wood  ;  but  not  one  town  of  any  size,  and  not  a  sign  of 
nabobry  anywhere,  —  what  a  contrast  to  dogcart-at-every- 
station  England !     Stockholm  at  12.30.     Bath  and  lunch. 

August  2G.  At  the  breakfast  station  on  the  railroad  this 
morning  there  entered  three  brothers,  all  in  broadcloth,  and 
all  in  good  spirits.  The  eldest,  a  sea  captain,  told  me  that 
he  and  his  brothers  had  united  in  a  visit  to  their  old  father, 
somewhere  about  Gotenburg,  the  family  not  having  come 
together  for  many  years,  and  that  now  they  were  going  back 
to  work,  —  one  in  the  far  north  of  Sweden,  one  in  Stockholm, 
and  one  at  sea.  .  .  .  He  said  the  land  thereabout  was  owned 
chiefly  by  the  men  in  occupation  thereof,  yet  there  w^ere  some 
very  large  tenanted  estates ;  that  very  few  were  rich,  and 
equally  few  were  poor ;  that  a  man  with  $50,000  was  very 
well  off,  and  one  with  -1100,000  or  -t200,000  very  rich.  After 
establishing  myself  at  the  Hotel  Rydberg,  I  bought  a  map 
and  guide-book,  and  conned  the  same  w^ith  great  interest ;  but 
had  to  take  a  nap,  being  fagged  with  fourteen  hours'  rail.  In 
the  afternoon  I  strolled  out  to  get  my  bearings,  and  to  take  a 
general  survey.  My  hotel  is  at  the  end  of  the  North  Bridge, 
which  is  the  centre  of  the  town,  with  the  King's  Palace, 
(stupid  Renaissance)  at  the  other  end.  There  is  a  tree-planted 
sort  of  bastion  in  the  stream  beside  the  bridge,  whence  steam- 
boats may  be  taken  to  other  parts  of  the  town.  The  palace 
and  the  old  town  are  on  an  island  and  islets,  whence  the  North 
Bridge  leads  to  the  northern  new  town,  and  by  drawbridges 
to  the  southern  new  town,  which  latter  is  built  high  on  a 
rocky  bluff.  There  is  a  lock  between  the  drawbridges  for  the 
passage  of  vessels  from  the  salt  \vater  fjord  below  to  the  fresh 
Riddarfjarde  above.  There  are  quays  all  about  the  island  of 
the  old  town  ;  a  mass  of  wood-boats  at  one,  large  sloops  with 
standing  gaffs.  On  this  quay  are  wooden  frames,  in  which 
cordwood  is  piled  and  so  measured,  people  buying  it  out  of 
the  frames.  Fishing-boats  lie  in  another  part ;  and  one  long 
quay  is  lined  by  the  bows  of  as  many  as  thirty  small  iron 


174  LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN   EUEOPE.     SWEDEN      [1886 

steamers,  all  with  their  steam  up,  and  their  destination  and 
hour  of  departure  placarded.  Country  folk  were  going  on 
board  with  empty  produce  baskets,  and  odds  and  ends  of 
freight  for  country  stores.  These  boats  navigate  the  intricate 
inland  waters  of  Lake  Malaren.  I  further  discovered  the 
Kungstrlidgarden  ("  Tuileries  ")  —  rather  originally  designed 
with  rows  of  trees  and  Hawthorn  hedge  parterres. 

The  next  morning  Charles  took  a  small  omnibus-steamer  at 
a  neighboring  quay,  and  sped  out  of  town. 

Pine-clad  rocks  were  in  sight  from  the  very  North  Bridge, 
and  the  steamer  took  me  towards  them.  A  tall  wood-sloop 
was  coming  down  through  a  dark,  wooded  strait  in  the  west. 
My  boat  soon  entered  a  narrow  passage  ;  made  many  stops  at 
tiny  landings  ;  put  a  "  bloated  capitalist  "  ashore  on  his  own 
float,  where  children  met  him  under  big  willows ;  made  a  call 
at  the  gate  of  the  big  State  Prison  ;  turned  sharj^ly  around 
several  rocky  points  of  partly  behoused  islands ;  passed  a 
ship-yard  or  two  hidden  in  coves,  and  landed  me  at  the  end 
of  the  route.  Fare,  three  cents.  There  are  such  voyages  in 
countless  directions  from  the  old  town.  Seeing  a  rocky, 
piney  hill  not  far  off,  I  went  for  it,  the  road  passing  over 
rough  ground  with  wooden  houses  often  set  on  rocks,  a  plank 
walk  from  ledge  to  ledge  at  the  roadside ;  a  factory  or  two 
near  by,  —  the  sort  of  rawness  and  awkward  newness  such  as 
I  have  not  seen  since  I  left  Boston.  I  arrived  at  unfenced 
Pine  woods  —  delicious.  Going  up,  I  came  out  on  the  ledgy 
top.  The  Blueberry  bushes  were  already  turned  scarlet  in 
places.  There  were  beds  of  Mountain  Cranberry,  mosses, 
and  in  shallow  hollows  in  the  ledges  and  clefts  (where  low 
Blueberry  and  Lambkill  grow  at  Mt.  Desert)  there  were 
crowded  plants  of  pink-blooming  dwarf  Heath.  I  noticed 
Pines  and  a  few  Spruces,  Birches,  tree  Elders,  Poplars,  richly 
fruited  Mountain  Ashes,  and  a  Wild  Cherry  ;  also  Barberries, 
Privets,  wild  Roses,  Elders,  Hazels,  Hawthorns,  Scrub  Oaks, 
Willows,  Gooseberries ;  and  on  open  ledges.  Raspberries, 
Harebells,  blue  Scabious,  golden  St.  Johnswort,  and  a  pink 
Geranium.  From  the  upper  ledges  there  was  a  view  of  the 
water-girt  and  water-cut  town,  and  of  the  dark,  sombre  girdle 


JET.  26}  STOCKHOLM  — DJURGARDEN  175 

of  Pine  forest  all  round  about.  "  The  Venice  of  the  North  !  " 
The  North  indeed  it  is.  Descending  from  the  ledges  into  a 
narrow  road,  I  passed  a  long,  narrow  pond  between  hills,  and 
so,  by  aid  of  the  map,  to  a  hamlet  with  a  wooden  church, 
a  variety  store,  a  house  of  battened  boarding,  and  another 
omnibus-boat  landing.  After  a  sail  of  one  minute  and  a  half 
I  landed  again  on  an  island,  whence  I  walked  over  two  bridges 
to  the  Prison  landing,  and  took  another  boat  to  town.  All 
these  islets  and  shores  have  the  character  of,  say,  West  Man- 
chester [Mass.]  ;  the  rocks  often  high,  with  buildings  scat- 
tered about  in  odd  places.  A  little  further  from  town,  but  in 
sight,  the  shores  are  more  wooded,  and  resemble,  say,  Bartlett 
Island  Narrows  [Mt.  Desert].  It  being  now  half  past  five,  I 
crossed  to  the  east  quay  of  the  old  town,  and  took  a  boat  on 
the  Saltsjiin.  Here  in  the  stream  between  high,  partly-built 
shores,  are  large  vessels  at  moorings  and  along  the  quays. 
We  passed  two  islands  with  public  buildings  and  villas,  which 
are  reached  from  the  north  town  by  bridges,  and  in  five 
minutes  landed  on  Djurgarden.  There  were  lumber-yards  at 
the  shore ;  but  just  behind,  on  higher  ground,  a  string  of 
pleasant  restaurants,  beer  gardens,  etc.  This  is  Stockholm's 
chief  pleasure  ground.  I  selected  the  very  swellest,  where  a 
big  band  was  playing  good  music,  and  on  the  piazza  dined 
handsomely.  A  heavy  shower  now  coming  on,  I  spent  the 
evening  in  an  adjacent  circus-theatre,  taking  a  boat  to  town 
just  after  ten  o'clock.  The  night  effect  of  the  city  was  glori- 
ous, —  lights  on  the  shipping  and  on  many  islands,  on  the 
heights  of  South  new  town,  and  on  the  shores  of  lower  North 
town  ;  bright  electrics  on  the  bridges  of  tlie  old  town  quays 
between.  My  omnibus-boat  was  full  of  theatre-goers ;  but 
others  had  taken  an  open  liorse-car,  which  arrives  at  North 
new  town  by  going  round  and  over  bridges. 

The  next  morning,  August  28th,  was  spent  in  study  of  the 
interesting  plantations  of  the  Kungstriidgarden.  Here  was 
much  Willow  of  several  sorts,  and  other  hardy  things.  In 
the  Huinlegarden  and  along  a  new  boulevard  in  a  new  quar- 
ter, he  found  excellent  shrub  masses  of  a  decorative  sort,  suit- 
able for  a  town  way.  The  arrangement  of  the  whole  island 
of  Djurgarden  interested  him  very  much,  the  interior  and 


176         LANDSCAPE   STUDY   IN  EUROPE.     SWEDEN       [1886 

much  of  the  shore  being  wholly  public ;  but  parts  of  the  shoro 
still  commercial,  and  other  parts,  further  from  town,  set  with 
gardened  villas.  At  this  extreme  end  was  a  sort  of  fish- 
ing hamlet.  The  ground  was  of  a  rough,  wild  sort,  with 
grassy  bits  among  ledges,  and  big  boulders  now  and  then,  — 

the  West  Roxbury  Park  [Boston]  sort,  with  the  addition  of 
water  views  of  great  interest.  Schooners  were  beating  up 
the  channel;  a  brig  or  two  was  running  out;  the  opposite 
shore  was  high  and  piney,  with  a  few  summer  houses  on  steep 
rocky  sides  or  at  the  head  of  coves  (as  if  on  Harbor  Hill  at 
Northeast  Ilarbor,  or  on  Mr.  Curtis's  shore,  and  but  twenty 
minutes  from  town  by  boat!).  Eastward  there  was  a  charming 
wild  scene,  —  blue  water,  breezy,  and  a  few  sails  in  the  dis- 
tance among  grouped  and  scattered  islands  and  rocks,  —  for 
all  the  world  like  the  east  end  of  the  Fox  Island  Thorough- 
fare or  Edgemoggin  Reach  [Maine].  Some  of  the  summer 
houses  were  approached  from  their  landings  by  a  tower,  thus  : 
there  being,  apparently,  an  elevator 
inside  the  tower.  At  the  extremity 
of  the  island  I  found  a  little  quay 
-4^  which  looked  like  a  steamer-land- 

ing ;  so  I  waited  awhile,  watching 
the  struggles  of  a  big  sloop  with  a  square  sail  which  was 
trying  to  beat  up  the  channel ;  and,  sure  enough,  a  mite  of  a 
steamer  shortly  appeared  from  behind  a  rock  point,  stuck  her 
nose  against  my  quay,  and  carried  me  off  along  the  shore  of 
Djurgai'den  back  to  Stockholm. 

The  next  day,  Sunday,  he  took  a  steamer  at  nine  o'clock 
for  Upsala,  —  normally  a  five-hour  voyage  ;  really  a  voyage 
of  six  hours  and  a  half. 

The  bow  was  piled  with  country  freight.  The  upper  deck 
was  full  of  passengers  quite  of  the  coast  of  Maine  descrip- 
tion, including  young  sailors  going  home.  Within  fifteen 
minutes  from  the  quay  we  were  passing  among  scarcely  in- 
habited, rocky,  and  spruce-clad  islands.  An  endless  succes- 
sion of  them;  through  straits  of  all  widths.  We  passed 
through  two  floating  bridges ;  picked  up  pas.>engers  out  of 
rowboats,  —  sometimes  when  no  houses  were  in  sight ;  entered 


^T.  2G]  UPSALA— TO   FINLAND  177 

a  cul-de-sac,  to  all  appearance,  with  a  low  reedy  shore  ahead ; 
but,  lo,  a  channel  through  the  reeds  into  another  arm  of  the 
lake.  At  the  head  of  one  large  island  was  a  big  four-domed 
building,  and  an  excursion  steamer  at  the  quay  flying  Norse, 
Danish,  German,  French,  English,  and  American  flags.  Pine 
woods  stretch  all  round  the  horizon.  At  length  we  came 
into  a  narrow  river,  which  at  last  was  little  more  than  a 
ditch.  The  country  was  now  flattish  and  cultivated.  A  big 
ugly  schloss,  and  the  odd  towers  of  a  church  appeared  above 
trees  and  roofs,  —  Upsala. 

The  rainy  afternoon  was  spent  In  viewing  the  old-fashioned 
Botanic  Garden  of  Linnjeus  with  its  clipped  hedges  of  pyram- 
idal Conifers,  the  large  new  building  of  the  University,  the 
ugly  but  famous  brick  Cathedral,  several  public  gardens  of  a 
very  simple  sort,  and  a  promenade  along  the  ditch-like  river. 
"  There  were  many  students  in  the  streets,  wholly  American- 
esque.  The  voyage  of  the  morning  was  very  pleasant ;  but 
the  scenery  rather  same,  having  not  nearl}^  the  variety  of  that 
from  Rockland  [jNIaine]  eastward."  After  dark  he  took  train 
for  Stockholm  again. 

The  next  day  he  took  steamer  for  Ilelsingfors  ;  but  before 
he  left  Stockholm  he  made  the  following  entry  in  his  journal: 
"  Hurrah  for  the  North  and  Stockholm.  Here  is  no  archi- 
tecture,—  not  nearly  so  much  as  in  Copenhagen,  or  in  Bos- 
ton for  that  matter,  —  except  the  bridges.  Nothing  gi-eat  in 
the  way  of  fine  art  in  any  sort.  No  Parisian  fashions  ;  no 
conspicuous  nabobry  ;  no  smoke  or  smut ;  no  rags,  dirt,  or 
drunkenness  ;  but  men  and  women  of  a  most  sterling  appear- 
ance." 

The  voyage  to  Helsingfors  (Aug.  30th)  was  very  prosperous. 

The  afternoon  among  the  sea  islands  off  Stockholm  was 
extremely  interesting  and  amusing.  We  twisted  and  turned 
in  this  manner,  often  pass- 
ing through  passages  of 
extreme  nai-rowness, 
islands 

wooded,  and  very  sparsely 
inhabited.  The  steamer 
did  not  get  fairly  to  sea 


larrowness,  the  X^^"^ *^r\/^''\jl^,^.r^/  A  ( 
rocky,  darkly  \  -cJ^('  f  \-/-0  J 
nd  verv  snarselv      1  ^^ — "^«^<SVr^"Xr^l  *' ^'' 

^:0 c^ — *==: 

till  almost  sunset,  having  started   at   3   p.  m.     We    passed 
through  one  narrow  crack  between  two  modern  forts,  and 


178         LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    FINLAND      [1886 

later,  just  before  putting  to  sea,  through  a  gulch  between  two 
islets  only  just  wide  enough  to  admit  the  ship,  —  a  red  fish- 
ing village  on  the  southern  isle.  Out  in  the  open  water  were 
some  bad  ledges,  an  island  with  a  big  day-mark,  and  another 
with  a  lighthouse.  All  the  inner  islands  were  wooded  and 
scarcely  inhabited.  A  few  were  occupied  by  summer  houses 
half-hidden  away  under  trees  or  beside  big  rocks.  We  met 
a  few  vessels  towing  up,  several  wood-boats  under  sail,  a  big 
one-masted  craft  with  no  bowsprit,  and  one  pretty  sloop 
yacht.  There  were  very  many  pretty  views  up  open  reaches, 
with  complicated  side-scenes  of  jutting  points  and  woods, 
and  perhaps  a  sail  or  two  in  the  far  distance.  The  night 
was  good,  and  the  water  smooth ;  and  at  breakfast  time  tlie 
low  Finnish  coast  was  in  sight,  with  three  Russian  iron-clads 
on  the  horizon.  Rounding  an  outlying  rock  the  ship  headed 
shorewards  about  ten  o'clock ;  passed  an  islet  with  a  light- 
house, and  slowed  down  to  pass  a  very  narrow  passage  be- 
tween the  islands  of  Sweaborg, — high,  white-rocked,  and 
covered  with  strong  forts.  Ilelsingfors  with  two  big  Greek 
churches  came  in  sight  on  rocky  ground  at  the  head  of  the 
bay,  well  sheltered  by  islands.  There  was  a  blue-turnip 
church  on  Sweaborg  itself.  We  landed  on  the  quay  in  the 
midst  of  a  market.  .  .  .  The  people  had  rather  a  cadaverous 
and  villainous  look,  being  plainly  very  poor.  The  men  wore 
colored  shirts  not  tucked  in,  with  perhaps  a  waistcoat  or  coat 
over  same,  —  odd  effect.  The  women  had  a  meek,  mild 
appearance,  and  a  very  light  complexion.  Swarms  of  chil- 
dren were  almost  white-haired.  These  were  the  Finns.  The 
townspeople  were  chiefly  Swedes.  Russians  were  not  so 
common  ;  but  were  generally  more  barbarous-looking  than 
the  Finns,  being  short  legged,  and  short  necked,  and  having 
snub  noses. 

After  lunch  I  explored  the  broad  and  straight,  cobble- 
paved  streets,  with  sidewalks  rudely  paved  with  stone,  but 
having  no  curbs.  The  sti'eets  had  a  bleak,  cold,  and  ugly  look 
altogether,  and  all  were  very  empty  of  people.  One  planted 
boulevard  was  more  cheerful,  being  lined  with  coldly  ambi- 
tious Frenchy  buildings.  The  suburban  parts  were  very 
dishevelled.     The  streets  pushed  out  with  difficulty  among 


^T.  2G]  HELSINGFORS  179 

raw  ledges.  There  were  views  up  and  down  the  ragged  coast, 
which  was  low,  with  many  rocks  and  islets  and  occasional 
fishermen's  hovels.  The  whole  had  the  rather  dismal  char- 
acter of  the  region  about  our  Carver's  Harbor  [Penobscot 
Bay],  for  instance.  On  the  water-side,  at  the  back  of  the 
town,  I  found  a  public  garden,  with  groves  of  Birch,  Poplar, 
and  Alder  in  swales  among  rocks,  and  some  groupings  of 
hardy  shrubs.  The  Botanical  Garden  of  the  university  was 
close  beside  and  decidedly  interesting  ;  small  and  soon  ex- 
plored, but  surrounded  by  a  superb  hedge  of  American 
Crataegus  coccinea.  I  made  note  of  the  trees  and  shrubs 
which  looked  thriving,  —  a  short  but  hardy  list.  .  .  .  The 
climate  must  be  rougher  than  ours  of  Boston,  —  probably 
much  like  that  of  our  northwest,  —  and  some  Siberian  things 
should  be  of  use  to  us  in  those  parts.  The  glass-houses  were 
on  a  small  scale,  hardly  up  to  little  Harvard's.  I  walked 
thence  to  the  villa  region  at  the  extremity  of  the  town  point 
towards  Sweaborg  islands.  Here  were  wooden  houses,  bat- 
tened or  made  of  matched  boards,  some  with  much  jig-saw 
work,  —  all  with  piazzas  and  canvas  shades.  The  more 
modern  houses  were  rather  good,  of  bright  wood,  —  these 
being  in  the  latest  Russian  style,  as  an  architectural  jsicture- 
book  in  a  shop  window  showed  me.  There  were  painted 
fences  of  too  fancy  patterns,  and  rather  desperate  shrub- 
beries ;  and  hardly  any  trees  but  white  Birches  and  Mountain 
Ashes.  There  was  much  bare  ledge  about ;  and  from  the  top 
of  one  I  saw  a  cold  sunset.  How  these  cold  shores  must 
shiver  in  winter,  wlien  they  say  there  is  a  regular  road  across 
the  gulf  to  invisible  Reval  on  the  Russian  side  opposite. 
Turning  back,  I  followed  the  shore  into  town,  getting  the 
last  reflections  of  the  sun  from  the  gilt  turnips  of  the  big 
church,  and  from  a  sort  of  minaret  in  the  town  behind. 

September  1st.  I  rattled  over  the  cobblestones  to  the 
station  for  a  9  A.  M.  train  in  a  droshky,  driven  by  a  villain 
of  the  deepest  dye.  It  was  a  strange  vehicle,  with  no  traces 
and  no  breeching  to  the  harness.  The  train  passed  slowly 
through  what  the  guide-book  calls  the  most  thriving  part  of 
all  Finland,  —  that  is,  the  best  settled  part ;  but  it  is  a  poor 
enough  country,  more  like   some   of  the   interior   of    New 


180  LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     RUSSIA       [1886 

Brunswick  than  anything  I  have  ever  seen.  Then  we  came 
to  wilder  parts,  to  stations  where  there  was  no  house  in  sight, 
—  only  a  few  muddy  carts,  perhaps,  with  the  horses  hitched 
to  the  fence,  —  to  endless  forests  of  dwarf  trees,  —  mostly 
Spruces  and  Pines,  —  to  great  mosslands  where  no  trees  grow, 
and  now  and  then  to  ponds,  to  rocky  regions,  and  rarely  to 
some  poor  farms  with  small  weather-stained  log-houses,  the 
people  harvesting  the  dwarf  grain.  So  on  all  day.  ...  I 
read  "  Vanity  Fair  "  most  of  the  way,  and  was  glad  enough 
to  arrive  at  Wiborg  at  7.25.  A  drosliky  carried  me  into  a 
very  uninviting  sort  of  town,  — cobbles  and  rawness  in  the 
main  street  even,  and  many  houses  of  logs.  At  the  hotel  I 
was  shown  to  a  room  through  a  stable-yard,  several  store- 
rooms, and  a  kitchen ;  but  it  was  good  when  I  got  there. 
The  house  was  only  one  story  high,  like  most  of  the  town ; 
and  the  rooms  were  arranged  round  an  interior  court,  there 
being  no  such  thing  as  a  hall  or  entry. 

The  next  day  Charles  wished  to  see  the  Nicolai  place ;  and 
started  to  do  so  in  spite  of  low  clouds  and  a  high  wind  ;  but 
finding  himself  somewhat  ill,  he  turned  back,  and  took  the 
next  train  for  St.  Petersburg  through  more  wilderness.  His 
first  remarks  about  that  city  are  as  follows  :  "  Long,  cobble- 
paved  streets,  wide  Neva,  not  enough  people  to  fill  the  frame 
of  the  city,  —  a  huge,  long-distance  town." 

Having  taken  a  general  view  of  the  city,  and  presented 
certain  letters  of  introduction,  on  the  cool  and  bright  4th 
of  September  Charles  took  a  horse-car  over  long,  straight 
roads,  across  a  semi-suburban  region,  over  a  bridge  or  two 
crossing  branches  of  the  Neva,  and  arrived  within  a  short 
walk  of  the  Botanical  Gardens,  which  proved  exceedingly 
interesting. 

Arriving  at  the  apparent  headquarters  of  the  garden,  I 
marched  up  and  asked  for  Dr.  Kegel,  having  a  letter  to 
him  from  Professor  Sargent.  He  was  within  ;  and  proved  to 
be  engaged  in  sorting  apples.  He  talked  to  me  briefly  in 
French,  and  on  learning  that  I  was  a  landscape  architect,  he 
gave  me  an  introduction  to  a  person  at  the  Park  of  Pavlofsk, 
and  then  handed  me  over  to  a  youth  who  conducted  me 
through  endless  greenhouses,  and  finally  into  a  big  botanical 
library.     Here   I   met   Maximowicz,  who   was   cordial   and 


^T.  26]  RUSSIA  — ST.  PETERSBURG  181 

talked  English  remarkably.  Here  also  appeared  the  younger 
Dr.  Kegel,  presumably  sent  by  his  father,  who  showed  me 
more  greenhouses,  and,  at  length,  something  of  the  outdoor 
garden.  But  it  was  now  half  past  five  ;  and  I  bade  fai'ewell 
to  get  back  to  half  past  six  dinner  by  another  tram  and  a 
rather  long  walk. 

The  distances  here  are  enormous ;  the  streets  straight  and 
wide,  w^ith  many  and  large  open  squares  ;  the  buildings  are 
brick,  but  stuccoed  and  tinted,  and  generally  covered  with 
big  signs,  quite  in  the  New  York  manner.  The  outer  parts 
of  the  city  are  very  poorly  built,  —  log  buildings  are  now  and 
then  mixed  up  with  brick  blocks,  and  open  land,  mud-holes, 
and  board  houses  abound ;  so  that  the  general  effect  is  very 
like  that  of  some  squalid  American  suburbs.  Beyond  St. 
Isaac's  and  one  or  two  other  churches,  and  a  Florentine  pal- 
ace or  two,  there  is  no  architecture  worth  looking  at. 

The  next  day,  in  accordance  with  an  invitation  from  one 
of  the  gentlemen  to  whom  he  had  a  letter  in  St.  Petersburg, 
Charles  took  a  ten  o'clock  train  from  the  Baltic  station 
(reached  by  a  droshky  over  endless  cobbles  in  half  an  hour), 
and  was  met  by  his  new  friend  at  the  first  station' out.  The 
country  was  flat  and  dreary,  and  sparsely  peopled ;  but 
there  were  some  summer  villas  near  this  fii-st  station.  They 
went  together  two  or  three  stations  further  to  Peterhof,  the 
railway  thus  far  being  patrolled  by  infantry,  because  the 
Czar  was  in  Peterhof. 

We  alighted,  and  in  a  rickety  vehicle  drove  about  the  im- 
perial domain.  There  were  many  made  ponds ;  and  in  one 
of  these  a  stucco  Roman  villa  on  one  island,  and  an  Ionic 
ruin  on  another.  On  a  little  hill,  at  a  distance,  was  a  sort  of 
Parthenon,  built  on  top  of  an  ordinary  dwelling  ;  and  here 
were  terraces,  and  Greek  statuary,  and  a  very  distant  view 
of  the  Gulf  and  of  the  gilt  dome  of  St.  Isaac's.  There  was 
only  one  other  small  hill  in  sight.  We  visited  various  parts 
of  the  large  park,  finding  a  birch  cottage,  a  thatch  cottage, 
and  an  "  English  palace  in  an  English  park,"  and  so  down 
towards  the  Gulf  side  by  way  of  a  made  "  ravine ; "  and  to 
lunch  in  a  restaurant.  We  walked  in  the  afternoon  in  the 
inner  park,  roundabout  the  big,  ugly  palace,  seeing  more  toy 


182  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE,    RUSSIA        [1886 

buildings,  —  Monplaisir,  Marly,  and  so  forth,  —  and  a  great 
many  elaborate  fountains  and  step-cascades  scattered  about 
in  the  scrub  woods  on  the  plain  between  the  palace  and  the 
Gulf  shore.  Finally  we  went  up  to  the  palace  front  on  a 
terraced  bluff,  and  through  more  stupid  pseudo-Versailles 
gardens  behind  it,  to  the  station  for  the  train  back  to 
Ligowo ;  whence  a  half-hour's  walk  through  a  brick  avenue 
brought  us  to  a  little  wooden  house  hired  for  the  summer  by 
my  friend's  cousin. 

Here  Charles  was  pleasantly  entertained  by  a  small  colony 
of  English  people.  The  region  was  characterized  by  Birch 
woods  and  a  mill-pond,  one  side  of  which  was  a  region  of 
villas  all  built  to  let. 

September  6.  Still  bright  and  cool.  A  morning  of  prowl- 
ing in  the  poor  public  gardens  of  the  inner  town.  In  one 
were  many  labelled  specimens.  Another  was  made  by  Peter 
the  Great  in  the  formal  manner ;  but  its  trees  are  now  in 
a  wretched  condition.  A  third  was  in  English  taste ;  and 
the  best.  ...  In  the  afternoon  I  took  notes  in  the  garden  of 
the  Admiralty.  I  find  the  interpretation  of  Russian  lettering 
difficult  but  amusing ;  though  frequently  impossible.  It  is 
the  first  land  I  have  got  into  where  signs  on  horse-cars  are  of 
no  use  to  me.  Words  that  are  Greek  are  decipherable  ;  but 
much  of  the  alphabet  is  not  Greek,  and  the  combinations 
have  a  strange  appearance. 

On  three  different  days  in  St.  Petersburg  Charles  sought 
diligently  for  an  entomological  paper  by  a  Russian  savant, 
which  was  much  desired  by  his  friend  Roland  Thaxter  at 
Cambridge.  Through  the  kindly  assistance  of  two  or  three 
Russian  men  of  science,  he  at  last  procured  the  desired  arti- 
cle. He  gave  part  of  every  day,  however,  to  the  gardens. 
Thus,  on  the  7th  of  September,  he  explored  again  the  Botani- 
cal Garden,  but  was  disappointed,  finding  little  of  profit  to 
him.  On  the  next  day  he  took  a  long  journey  by  tram  across 
the  "  islands,"  and  then  walked  through  the  park  of  Yelagin 
Island,  — 

where  water  was  all  around,  and  also  much  within  the  is- 
land ;  so  that  the  effect  was  unique.  Evidently  it  was  once 
a  flat,  boggy  ground,  which  has  been  made  usable  by  digging 


iET.  26]  ST.  PETERSBURG  —  PA VLOFSK  183 

deeper  the  wettest  parts,  and  raising  the  roads  and  paths  with 
the  material  so  obtained.  The  roads  of  this  park  were  un- 
usually well  planned ;  and  the  trees  are  the  best  I  have  seen 
about  St.  Petersburg.  The  general  effect  of  the  mixed  water, 
greensward,  and  wood  is  very  pleasing ;  and  there  are  pretty 
outlooks  up  and  down  arms  of  the  Neva  and  across  the  same 
to  occasional  villa  regions.  Also,  there  is  a  yacht-club  house  ; 
and  a  fleet  of  craft. 

He  visited  the  Hermitage  picture  gallery  for  the  greater 
part  of  a  rainy  day. 

A  glorious  collection,  with  good  representatives  of  every 
school.  No  end  of  fine  Rembrandts,  and  Dutch  and  Spanish 
pictures  in  quantity ;  but  for  me  the  Italians  are  better  than 
all  else.  There  were  two  or  three  very  poetic  Salvator  Rosas, 
only  one  Angelico  and  one  Botticelli,  but  both  good.  Some 
supposed  da  Vincis  were  no  more  pleasing  than  others  I  have 
seen  ;  but  there  was  a  lovely  Luini,  good  Tiutorettos,  and  a 
Veronese. 

On  September  7th  Charles  wrote  to  his  mother :  — 

The  droshkies  are  the  life  of  the  streets.  They  are  driven 
very  fast,  even  in  the  Nevsky  Prospekt,  where  they  are  thick- 
est, —  there  being  nothing  in  the  way.  A  big  bearded  officer 
alone  in  one  of  these,  his  great  winter  coat  always  on  his 
shoulders,  and  he  being  rushed  and  rattled  over  the  endless 
cobbles  —  this  is  ty})ical  St.  Petersburg.  The  army  is  every- 
where ;  and  a  shabbily  uniformed  and  dirty  lot  are  the 
common  soldiers,  but  good  fighters  evidently.  The  common 
people  are  dirty  and  of  strangely  primeval  appearance,  so 
to  speak.  They  might  be  Cave  men,  most  of  them  —  long- 
haired, and  completely  unkempt,  and  hungry-looking. 

Friday,  September  10.  Bright,  blue  day.  Visit  to  Pav- 
lofsk.  The  first  forty-five  minutes  by  train  were  through 
an  open,  flat,  wet,  almost  useless  country  ;  but  the  low  hill 
land  of  Pulkova  was  in  sight  at  the  right.  I  got  a  strange 
view  of  the  clustered  domes  of  the  many  Greek  churches  in 
St.  Petersburg,  and  of  one  or  two  huge  domed  structures  out 
of  town  set  in  swamp.     The  terminal  station  is  in  the  midst 


184         LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    RUSSIA        [1886 

of  the  Imperial  park.  The  park  village  is  at  a  short  distance, 
all  being  the  private  property  of  the  Czar.  The  park  lies  on 
the  first  upland,  a  stream  descending  to  the  swamp  level 
through  a  winding  hollow.  There  is  no  rock  anywhere ;  yet 
this  valley  is  picturesque.  The  highway  is  carried  over  the 
valley  on  a  granite  bridge,  a  low  dam  under  the  bridge  hold- 
ing back  water  which  forms  an  irregular  pond.  This  pond 
is  surrounded  by  country  places ;  and  there  is  much  boating 
on  the  pond.  Below  the  bridge,  on  the  brink  of  the  valley, 
is  the  Palace,  flying  a  big  Imperial  banner.  There  is  no  ad- 
mittance to  the  grounds  close  about  it ;  but  all  of  the  large 
park  behind  is  freely  opened.  I  walked  far  through  this 
park,  and  returned  to  the  valley  some  distance  downstream. 
The  park  is  exceedingly  good.  It  is  very  flat,  and  the  soil  is 
rather  poor ;  yet,  as  a  whole,  it  is  a  very  charming  piece  of 
scenery  —  incomparably  more  interesting  than  any  wholly 
natural  scenery  to  be  found  about  St.  Petersburg.  There  are 
but  few  sorts  of  trees  and  shrubs  ;  but  these  are  admirably 
grouped  and  massed,  and  great  intricacy  results  therefrom. 
The  water  is  carried  about  in  an  irregular  way,  running  now 
into  green  meadow,  now  into  wood,  and  is  often  come  upon 
with  surprise.  This  water  is  held,  occasionally,  by  low  dams 
hidden  under  bridges,  as  in  the  case  of  the  main  stream  in 
the  valley.  Finally  there  is  a  rather  deep  gulch  in  the  woods 
by  which  the  park  water  runs  down  to  meet  the  main  stream, 
and  flows  into  the  lowland.  The  lowland  and  all  the  exterior 
country  is  shut  out  of  view ;  but  there  are  amply  long  vistas 
and  varied  perspectives  within  the  park  itself.  The  roads 
and  walks  are  few  and  narrow ;  but  they  are  well  and  always 
reasonably  curved,  and  all  appear  to  have  definite  destina- 
tions. Near  the  palace  is  a  formal  park  with  straight  hedged 
alleys,  a  "  rondpoint "  with  statues  at  terminations,  and 
massed  wood.  There  are  dark  alleys  with  openings  at  the 
ends  into  the  light  of  the  valley  ;  and  stone,  shaded  seats  on 
the  brink  of  the  valley  bluff,  with  pretty  views  up  and  down 
the  stream. 

After  lunch  I  rambled  about  a  village  of  villas ;  but  saw 
little  that  was  good.  The  small  yards  were  cut  up  by  very 
unreasonable  paths,  and  were  dotted  all  over  with  separate 


JET.  26]  THE  EMPTINESS  OF  ST.  PETERSBURG  185 

young  Birches,  Mountain  Ashes,  Poplars,  Spruces,  or  Pines. 
There  were  too  many  mirror-balls  and  flagpoles,  and  very 
little  good  keeping.  The  houses  were  mostly  one  storied  and 
wide  spreading,  with  large  windows  and  large  panes,  and  cool- 
looking  rooms  within.  .  .  .  The  park  had  many  people  in  it ; 
and  the  train  to  St.  Petersburg  was  full  of  excursionists  ;  but 
the  people  from  the  train  were  soon  lost  in  the  city's  wide,  dusty 
spaces  among  these  cold,  stupid  blocks  of  stuccoed  buildings. 
The  emptiness  of  St.  Petersburg's  endless  streets  is  strange. 
There  are  soldiers'  barracks  and  engine  houses  all  about,  and 
many  domed  churches,  and  elaborately  roofed  and  glazed 
shrines,  before  which  people  stop  to  bow  and  bow  and  cross 
themselves  many  times  over  —  even  men  on  the  tops  of 
horse-cars.  Everybody  is  dirty,  including  the  soldiery  and 
the  long-haired  priests ;  and  a  great  many  are  almost  shaggy 
and  wild-man  like.  People  of  the  upper  classes  are  very 
scarce..  In  the  public  garden  of  the  Admiralty  young  ladies 
may  be  seen  smoking  cigarettes  in  the  late  afternoon.  There 
seems  to  be  very  little  heavy  carting,  —  or  perhaps  the  dis- 
tances dissolve  it ;  what  there  is  goes  on  in  very  rude  carts 
hauled  by  single  horses  more  or  less  barbarously  adorned, 
which  carts  always  proceed  through  the  streets  in  caravans. 
...  As  I  write,  I  can  see  such  a  procession  full  half  a  mile 
away,  crawling  along  a  straight,  cobble  street,  and  nothing 
between  here  and  there  save  three  or  four  foot-passengers 
moving  like  ants  at  the  foot  of  the  long  salmon-colored  walls. 

It  must  be  obvious  to  any  one  who  com])ares  Charles's  de- 
scription of  the  state  of  the  French  population  with  that  of 
the  English,  or  of  the  Swedish  with  that  of  the  Russian,  that 
his  feelings  toward  any  given  community  were  much  in- 
fluenced by  its  physical  surroundings,  or  in  other  words  by 
its  architecture,  landscape,  and  climate.  This  was  no  new 
thing  with  him  ;  as  the  following  description  of  an  American 
city  bears  witness  :  — 

July,  1883.  The  city  and  people  are  very  interesting  to 
me.  The  system  of  streets  is  rectangular,  but  also  radial. 
Most  streets  and  all  avenues  are  planted  with  trees  —  chiefly 
Mnples — and  there  is  considerable  variety  in  the  plans  of 
planting.     Very  few  dwellings  are  built  in  blocks.     There 


186 


LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN  EUROPE 


[1886 


are  miles  upon  miles  of  cheap  but  decent  houses,  each  within 
its  little  plot  of  land.  A  few  streets  contain  more  pretentious 
houses  ;  but  these  are  also  of  an  appalling  architectural  sarae- 
iiess —  French-roofed,  square,  brick,  stone-ti'immed  dwellings, 
unhomelike  and  "  stuck-up."  No  Greek-portico  houses,  and 
as  yet  no  Queen  Anne.  It  is  a  commonplace  and  very  com- 
munistic-looking city,  but,  I  suppose,  a  fair  type  of  many 
cities  in  the  West. 

The  dull  flatness  of  the  country  in  which  the  city  lies,  the 
oppressive  lack  of  interest  and  variety  in  the  city  itself,  and 
the  sameness  of  the  people  —  here  are  three  phenomena  to  be 
set  down  as  closely  connected. 


Q 


CHAPTER  X 

LANDSCAPE    STUDY  IN  EUROPE.     GERMANY,  HOLLAND, 
AND  HOMEWARD 

I  believe  it  is  no  wrong  observation,  that  persons  of  genius  and 
those  who  are  most  capable  of  art  are  always  most  fond  of  nature  : 
on  the  contrary,  people  of  the  common  level  of  understanding  are  prin- 
cipally delighted  with  little  niceties  and  fantastical  operations  of  art, 
and  constantly  think  that  finest  which  is  the  least  natural.  —  The 
GUAKDIAN,  1713. 

Charles  mailed  no  part  of  his  journal  in  Russia,  fearing 
that  it  might  be  taken  for  newspaper  correspondence  and  so 
be  detained.  From  St.  Petersburg  he  rode  straight  to  Berlin, 
the  journey  requiring  about  thirty-four  hours.  The  first  day's 
ride  was 

as  dull  as  possible.  Interminable  small  wood,  wet  heath  or 
mossland,  with  occasional  open  spaces,  partly  in  grass  and 
partly  in  grain.  There  were  small  villages  of  primitive  ap- 
pearance now  and  then ;  but  they  were  scarce.  At  dusk  I 
noticed  small  camp-fires  at  short  distances  along  the  line,  a 
sentinel  at  every  bridge  and  culvert,  and  other  soldiers  along 
the  line,  their  bayonets  gleaming  in  the  light  of  the  full  moon. 
Doubtless  the  Czar  is  to  pass  this  way  to-night.  There  were 
only  four  cars  in  the  train  —  one  sleeper,  one  first-class,  one 
second-class,  and  a  luggage  van  ;  and  this  is  the  great  express 
between  Paris,  Berlin,  and  St.  Petersburg. 

The  ride  through  Prussia  on  the  second  day  was  still  very 
dull  :  but  there  were  more  towns,  and  some  of  picturesque 
aspect.  The  Vistula  and  Oder  were  stupid  and  slow  rivers 
where  the  railroad  bridges  crossed.  There  were  miles  of 
browney,  whitey  stubble  on  light  sandy  soil ;  and  the  dust 
was  horrible  —  fine  and  sufPocating.  Berlin,  with  its  brilliant 
lights  and  good  pavements,  seemed  a  great  contrast  to  St. 
Petersburg.  Charles's  first  object  of  interest  in  Berlin,  apart 
from  a  general  survey  of  the  great  city,  was  the  Botanical 
Garden,   which   he   found   very  rich   and  fine ;   glass-house 


188       LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IX  EUROPE.     GERMANY     [1886 

plants  set  out  in  groups  by  continents,  collections  of  annuals 
and  biennials  specially  arranged,  and  great  numbers  of  new- 
planted  trees  and  shrubs  sadly  crowded.  The  Conifers  were 
very  prettily  grouped  ;  the  Sequoia  gigantea  large,  but  cov- 
ered in  winter.  The  garden  was  adorned  with  some  fine  old 
trees.  The  city  squares  —  for  example,  the  Konigs  Platz, 
Pariser  Platz,  and  the  older-planted  Leipziger  Platz  —  were 
very  good  indeed.  The  streets  were  smooth  and  clean,  as  in 
Paris  ;  and  there  was  a  general  air  of  great  prosperity.  Most 
of  the  gentlemen  to  whom  Charles  had  letters  of  introduction 
being  out  of  town,  he  took  refuge  at  the  opera  and  in  an  art 
exhibition  —  the  Centennial  of  the  Berlin  Academy. 

The  finest  collection  of  moderns  I  have  ever  seen.  All 
countries  but  France  are  represented  ;  and  it  offers  an  encour- 
aging contrast  to  the  Salon.  Here  are  very  few  sensational 
pictures,  very  few  horrible,  and  no  low  realistic.  There  is 
landscape  from  "  China  to  Peru,"  and  North  Cape  to  Sahara, 
and  human  life  from  huts  to  courts,  and  from  babyhood  to 
death  —  a  sort  of  summary  of  life  and  of  the  scenes  that  life 
is  lived  in.  It  is  more  educative  than  any  school,  and  in 
America  it  would  be  impossible.  There  is  no  end  of  patriotic 
cartoons  for  town  halls ;  Kaiser  Wilhelm,  Bismarck,  and 
Moltke  glorified  in  all  ways.  Here  were  Makart's  lunettes 
from  the  Academy  at  Vienna ;  some  striking  symbolical 
friezes  ;  and  a  few  pleasing  fanciful  pictures,  —  such  as  one 
called  "  The  Loves  of  the  Waves." 

At  Berlin  Charles  enjoyed  for  two  days  the  company  of 
Dr.  Carl  Bolle,  who  was  good  enough  to  guide  him  personally 
through  much  of  the  government  park  and  forest  work 
about  Berlin. 

September  17th,  with  pleasant  Dr.  Bolle  I  had  a  long  tram 
ride  out  to  Dorf  Tegel,  Schloss  Tegel,  and  the  graves  of  the 
Humboldts.  We  walked  along  a  lake-side  through  Pine 
woods  on  sandy  soil,  with  government  forests  all  about,  and 
the  Berlin  Water  Works  on  the  further  shore,  to  the  charm- 
ingly wooded  and  very  secluded  island  owned  by  Dr.  Bolle. 
Here  in  a  new  brick  villa  we  had  a  primitive  dejeuner 
prepared  by  a  sort  of  "Laura"  [of  Northeast  Harbor]  in 
charge.     Then  we  had  a  long  and  interesting  inspection  of 


JST.  26]  BERLIN  189 

Dr.  Bolle's  plantations.  There  were  numbers  of  rare  trees, 
among  them  many  Americans,  planted  during  the  last  twenty- 
years.  Dr.  Bolle's  talk  about  his  trees  was  highly  instruc- 
tive. The  climate  is  evidently  milder  than  Boston's  ;  but 
less  favorable  than  Hamburg's.  After  coffee  in  a  garden, 
we  took  a  rowboat  around  the  island,  and  down  the  lake,  and 
came  as  the  sun  was  setting  to  Tegel  again  ;  and  thence  I 
went  to  town,  while  Dr.  BoUe  went  back  to  his  island. 

In  a  letter  of  the  2-4th  of  September  Charles  wrote  to  his 
mother :  — 

You  should  have  seen  me  going  about  with  that  completely 
bald-headed  and  very  kindly  Dr.  Bolle,  —  short-legged,  and 
with  a  very  old  coat  and  a  black  slouch  hat.  He  ambled 
along,  and  I  continually  had  to  stop  my  headway,  because  of 
his  halting  to  finish  a  sentence.  We  talked  about  trees  and 
shrubs  chiefly ;  and  he  seemed  to  like  it,  for  he  spent  one 
whole  day  and  two  half  days  in  taking  me  about.  .  .  .  His 
knowledge  of  ti-ees  and  plants  was  something  marvellous.  I 
could  hardly  name  an  American  plant  that  he  had  not  had 
growing  in  his  island  of  Scharlenberg.  I  know  he  showed 
me  what  was  best  worth  seeing  near  Berlin.  .  .  .  But  my 
time  was  very  short.  I  begin  to  feel  driven.  ...  I  am  sorry 
if  my  letters  from  the  North  of  England  gave  an  impression 
of  illness ;  but  I  was  only  "  feeble  ; "  and  since  then,  save 
a  few  very  hot  days,  I  have  been  very  well,  but  I  shall  come 
home  corporeally,  at  least,  the  same  creature  you  last  saw,  — 
very  thin,  the  right  shoulder  higher  than  the  left,  long-footed, 
and  all.  People  stop  outside  my  door  to  view  my  boots,  and 
exclaim,  "  Wunderbar." 

Charles  had  the  usual  varieties  of  fortune  with  regard  to 
letters  of  introduction.  Sometimes  the  persons  to  whom  his 
letters  were  addressed  were  out  of  town  ;  sometimes  they 
received  him  politely,  but  gave  him  but  little  time  and  few 
valuable  directions  ;  sometimes  they  put  him  into  the  hands 
of  incompetent  guides  about  gardens,  nurseries,  or  parks  ; 
sometimes  they  took  the  pains  to  copy  out  for  him  extracts 
from  printed  books  which  he  had  in  his  trunk ;  and  some- 
times he  was  indebted  to  them  for  instructive  guidance  at 
their  own  homes,  and  for  invaluable  indications  as  to  what  he 


190     LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    GERMANY      [1886 

had  better  search  for  in  places  near  his  future  route.  To  the 
end  Charles  remained  in  doubt  as  to  whether  it  was  profitable 
to  be  conducted  through  interesting  places,  even  by  experts 
or  owners.  He  needed  no  one  to  point  out  to  him  the  merits 
or  defects  of  scenery ;  and  in  any  garden  or  park  where  the 
jjlants  were  named  he  always  thought  he  could  learn  more 
alone  than  in  company.  His  experience,  however,  might  not 
be  a  very  good  guide  for  other  people ;  for  he  had  an  ex- 
traordinary facility  in  the  use  of  maps,  guide-books,  and 
time-tables,  and  found  his  own  way  about  very  easily  in 
any  country  where  he  could  sjjeak  and  understand  a  little  of 
the  language. 

From  fine  Berlin  Charles  rode,  on  the  21st  of  September, 
by  rail  through  a  much  cultivated  country,  occasional  govern- 
ment forests,  and  the  pretty  region  of  Spreewald,  —  green 
meadows  with  haycocks,  much  branching  of  the  river,  red- 
tiled  villages,  dark-stained  old  windmills  built  to  be  turned 
bodily  about,  many  idyllic  groups  of  peasants  at  work  in 
fenceless  fields,  barefooted  women  digging  potatoes,  and  oxen 
at  work.  Towards  night  he  took  a  branch  road  to  the  station 
Muskau,  and  landed  there  in  great  darkness  with  woods  all 
about. 

A  small  boy  showed  the  way  to  the  Hotel  Hermannsbad, 
—  woods  —  at  length  a  building  with  one  light ;  much  pound- 
ing, but  nobody  comes ;  small  boy  smiles  much,  and  I  sus- 
pect him  of  wanting  to  take  me  to  some  other  hotel ;  more 
pounding  on  door  and  windows,  but  all  dark  and  still,  and 
rain  beginning.  Finally  I  commanded  the  boy  to  take  me  to 
Hotel  Stadt  Berlin,  whose  omnibus  I  had  seen  at  the  station. 
More  dark  woods,  then  a  narrow,  cobbled  street,  an  ox-cart 
blocking  the  way,  a  little  square  with  an  ambitious  lamp-post 
in  the  centre  by  a  water  tank,  an  archway  and  a  door  indi- 
cated by  the  boy.  The  door  was  open  and  —  behold,  men 
beering  and  smoking.  A  pleasant  woman  in  black  exhibited 
rastonishment  at  my  not  having  taken  the  omnibus.  A  little 
supper  upstairs  was  served  by  Marie  in  friendliest  fashion. 

The  next  morning  was  lost  through  a  heavy  rain  ;  but  in 
the  afternoon,  — 

the  clouds  breaking,  I  went  out  with  an  umbrella,  having 
first  planned  my  walk  by  the  aid  of  a  map  in  the  hotel.  The 
village  is  surrounded  by  a  park,  the   Schloss  standing  close 


^T.  26]  MUSKAU  —  DRESDEN  191 

beside  the  village,  near  the  river  Neisse.  My  walk  was  long 
and  most  interesting.  This  is  landscape  gardening  on  a 
grand  scale,  and  the  resulting  scenery  is  extremely  lovely. 
Altogether  it  is  the  most  remarkable  and  lovable  park  I  have 
seen  on  the  Continent.  There  are  no  ledges ;  but  steep 
irregular  slopes  of  river  bluffs,  and  hills  beyond.  The  woods 
have  an  almost  American  variety  of  species,  and  many 
American  plants  are  very  common,  —  such  as  wild  Cherry, 
Acacia,  and  Cornel.  I  found  even  Clethra,  Ilamamelis,  and 
Diervilla.  There  are  many  large  Oaks,  and  much  Juglans 
(walnuts),  Liriodendron,  Magnolia,  Negundo,  Tilia,  etc. 
One  valley  is  all  Conifers.  A  long  stream,  derived  from  the 
river,  is  exceedingly  well  treated ;  its  varied  banks  are  cov- 
ered with  Cornus,  etc.,  and  masses  of  American  Asters,  Eupa- 
torium  and  Golden-rod.  The  water  about  the  Schloss  is 
also  most  exquisite  with  a  tiny  island  or  two,  a  water  terrace, 
and  a  landing  under  a  far-reaching  Negundo.  The  distant 
parts  are  wholly  naturalesque,  with  well-designed  roads  and 
paths,  and  charming  views  from  capes  of  highland  over  the 
river  valley  and  the  almost  hidden  Muskau  village.  By 
sunset  the  clouds  were  all  broken,  and  the  light  from  the 
low  sun  was  very  beautiful.  The  hotel  at  dark,  weary  but 
happy.  This  work  of  Fiirst  Piickler  is  of  a  sort  to  make  me 
very  proud  of  my  profession !  For  here  in  a  land  of  dull, 
almost  stupid  scenery,  Nature  has  been  induced  to  make  a 
region  of  great  beauty,  great  variety,  and  wonderful  charm. 

Charles  R])ent  the  whole  of  the  next  morning  in  the  park 
and  in  the  Muskau  Baumschule;  and  in  the  afternoon  went 
to  Dresden.  Ever  since  Stockholm,  the  letters  Charles  wrote 
home  had  shown  a  strong  desire  to  turn  homewards  himself. 
On  the  27th  of  September  he  wrote  to  his  father :  "  To  tell 
the  truth  I  am  now  in  a  hurry  to  get  home,  and  wish  I  was 
going  on  the  12th  of  October  instead  of  the  19th."  Dresden, 
September  24  — 

An  almost  frosty  night.  In  jNIuskau  there  had  been  a 
severe  frost  on  the  17th  of  September.  This  morning  I 
found  the  Botanical  Garden  here  dilapidated  by  the  same 
fiend.  Alany  of  the  greenhouse  plants  set  out  were  utterly 
lost,  and  the  whole  place  was  very  dismal.     I  explored  the 


192      LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    GERMANY      [1886 

Biirgervviese,  a  strip  of  park  running  into  the  city ;  and 
looked  about  tlie  Grosse  Garten.  And  after  lunch,  just  as  a 
heavy  shower  came  down,  I  turned  into  the  picture  gallery. 
Again  glorious  Italians,  and  a  vast  collection  of  Dutch  things, 
and  Raphael's  "  Sistine  Madonna"  and  "Santa  Barbara." 
.  .  .  My  hotel  is  almost  empty  but  good,  my  room  looking 
on  the  Augustus  Briicke  and  the  river  Elbe.  The  centre  of 
the  roadway  of  the  bridge  is  given  over  to  the  use  of  little 
carts  drawn  by  girls  and  dogs,  to  country  women  carrying 
great  baskets  strapped  to  their  backs,  and  to  frequent  squads 
of  soldiery. 

The  next  day  he  took  a  horse-car  to  the  river-side  suburb 
of  Waldschlosschen,  where  he  examined  many  private 
grounds,  the  houses  being  finely  placed  on  a  hillside  above 
the  Elbe.  He  noted  many  good  pergolas  and  some  excellent 
terrace  gardens.  Parts  of  the  hillsides  were  used  for  vines  on 
terraces.  The  distant  views  were  good ;  and  the  showery 
sky  very  lovely.  In  the  afternoon  he  searched  for  photo- 
graphs ;  but  found  "  naught  of  professional  value.  I  bought 
a  few  picture  photographs ;  but,  as  usual,  found  photo- 
graphs a  snare  and  delusion."     Sunday,  Sej)tember  26th:  — 

I  took  a  steamer  from  the  quay  below  Briihl  Terrace  for  a 
voyage  up  the  river.  There  were  few  passengers,  for  Dres- 
den's season  is  evidently  over.  Rafts  of  logs  and  many  long 
canal  boats  were  drifting  down  the  stream.  Long  tows  were 
being  pulled  up  by  chain-winding  craft.  The  ferries  were 
queer,  and  the  rowboats  queerer  with  a  long  oar  fixed  at  the 

stern  for  rudder.  The  river 
is  winding,  the  bank  some- 
times high  and  "  villaed," 
oftener  low  and  set  with 
willows.  The  hills  at  the  east  are  pretty  high  and  wildish  ; 
and  at  Pillnitz  where  I  landed  (told  to  by  Dr.  Bolle),  not  far 
off.  There  is  a  water-side  Schloss,  a  part  of  its  grounds 
pseudo- Japanese,  enclosing  a  formal  Renaissance  garden  with 
old  oranges  in  tubs,  high  hedges  of  the  labyrinth  variety,  and 
a  good  avenue  of  Horse-Chestnuts.  Between  the  Schloss 
and  the  foot  of  the  high  hills  is  an  arboretum  of  moderate- 
sized  specimens,   mostly   well  grown   and  including  all  the 


^T.  2G]  PILLNITZ—  LEIPSIC  193 

modern  introductions.  Here  I  rambled  long.  After  lunch 
in  a  river-side  restaurant,  whence  was  a  charming  view  over 
river  meadows  to  the  distant  blue  hills  and  the  fantastic  rock 
forms  of  the  foot-hills  of  the  "  Saxon  Switzerland,"  I  went 
back  tlirough  gardens  again,  and  alongshore  past  several 
country-seats  to  the  steamer,  which  took  me  back  to  Dresden. 

That  evening  Charles  went  on  to  Leipsic,  where,  on  the  next 
afternoon  (September  27th)  he  examined  carefully  two  parks, 
Rosenthal  and  Johanna  Park.  "  The  first  is  large  and  very 
simple  ;  flat,  with  woods,  winding  roads  and  paths,  some  long, 
narrow  vistas,  and  much  broad,  open  grass.  American  Oaks 
were  set  out  from  wood  masses,  and  looked  well.  The 
Johanna  Park  is  small,  with  a  circular  tour-drive,  a  small 
irregular  pond,  and  some  good  intricacies  of  shrubbery. 
Children  and  maids  were  everywhere  in  flocks."  Leipsic 
happened  to  be  full  of  commercial  men.  A  fair  was  going 
on.  Every  square  was  filled  with  booths,  —  one  given  over 
to  shows,  candy  booths,  and  merry-go-rounds ;  anotlier  full  of 
Jews.  The  hotels  were  full  of  advertisements,  and  exhibi- 
tions of  products  were  numerous.  "  The  booksellers'  win- 
dows were  also  very  interesting.  Plainly  Germany  excels 
the  world  in  quantity  and  variety  of  printed  books." 

September  28.  Heavy  rain.  In  a  big  bookstore  I  looked 
through  catalogues  for  landscape-gardening  books,  and  bought 
two.  After  a  long  table  d'hote  I  marched  out  to  the  Botanic 
Garden.  It  is  a  small  garden,  and  not  over  interesting;  but 
there  has  been  no  such  frost  here  as  at  Muskau  and  Dresden. 
I  came  back  through  the  town  fair,  where  crowds  were  try- 
ing to  enjoy  themselves  over  beer,  cake,  and  candy,  and  all 
manner  of  shows,  including  a  "  grand  American  theatre." 
The  "  Star-spangled  Banner  "  once  more !  Last  seen  on  the 
clown  in  a  circus  at  Stockholm,  and  before  that  on  a  quack 
doctor's  van  in  the  town  square  of  Wells. 

Wednesday,  September  29.  I  took  a  ten  o'clock  train  on 
the  Thuringian  Railway  for  Weimar.  There  was  not  much 
scenery  save  along  the  river  Saale.  Now  and  then  the  river 
had  been  undermining  hills  of  gray  and  soft  rock,  verdur- 
ous cliffs  being  thus  formed.  Two  ruined  castles  appeared 
on  high  rocks.  The  small,  brown-roofed,  crowded  villages 
were  often  placed  just  under  wooded  hills  at  the  edge  of 


194        LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN   EUROPE.    GERMANY     [1886 

the  cultivated  plain,  each  with  some  sort  of  quaint  church 
steeple.  In  the  afternoon  I  explored  Weimar  during  a  clear- 
ing of  the  sky,  enjoying  the  old  church,  the  good  Markt 
Platz  with  its  old,  decorated  houses,  the  quaint  old  Schloss 
with  its  ti-ees  and  tower,  making  a  charming  group,  and  sev- 
eral old-German  streets.  The  valley  of  the  river  Ilm  is  close 
beside,  and  all  open  as  a  park.  There  is  one  formal  part,  but 
almost  all  is  irregular.  It  includes  a  winding  stream,  a  few 
rocky  slopes  well  shaded,  some  romantic  paths  at  the  foot  of 
wooded  banks,  a  kiinstliche  Ruine  in  a  wood,  and  Goethe's 
gardenhouse  and  Romishes  Haus,  the  latter  with  old  Amer- 
ican Cedars  beside  it.  There  were  Tulips,  Poplars,  and 
Birches,  and  American  Oaks  and  Maples  in  abundance  ;  and 
some  of  these  had  already  turned  handsomely.  Rhus  Cotinus 
and  Rhus  typhina  were  turned  too.  Plainly  the  summer  is 
over,  and  this  child  must  put  for  home.  I  spent  the  evening 
over  Jaeger's  book  —  good. 

September  30.  I  looked  through  the  small  public  gardens 
of  Weimar  on  my  way  to  the  station  to  take  a  train  which 
brought  me  to  Eisenach  at  11.30.  The  ride  was  charming. 
Castles  and  views  of  the  Thuringian  hills.  In  the  afternoon 
I  explored  the  town  of  Eisenach,  which  is  small,  crooked, 
and  in  parts  very  quaint.  I  happened  on  "  Luther's  house," 
and  the  house  in  which  Bach  first  saw  the  light.  There  is  a 
monument  to  the  latter  in  the  Markt  Platz,  and  also  a  good 
war  monument  behind  the  old  church.  On  a  slope  command- 
ing views  of  the  town,  the  valley,  and  Wartburg,  I  found 
Mr.  Eichel's  garden  planted  largely  with  American  trees  and 
shrubs,  and  arranged  to  show  off  Wartburg,  which  appears 
as  a  high,  wooded,  and  in  parts  steep  hill,  crowned  by  an 
irregular  group  of  buildings  and  towers.  Other  lesser  hills 
fall  towards  a  cultivated  country  lying  northward,  and  become 
densely  wooded  with  the  Tliuringian  forest  towards  the  south. 
The  garden  contains  all  manner  of  tree-framings  and  fore- 
grounds for  the  picture  of  Wartburg.  The  town  in  the  deep 
valley  is  mostly  planted  out.  The  garden,  on  the  whole,  is 
good,  although  some  very  bad  use  is  made  of  brilliant  flowers. 
I  passed  down  into  the  town  again,  and  up  a  valley  out  of  it 
towards  the  forest.     Here  is  the  charming  Marienthal,  an 


^T.  26]  WARTBURG  195 

open  glade  with  a  stream.  At  the  sides  are  high,  aud  some- 
times bare-rock  hills,  and  also  much  wood.  At  first  many 
villas  are  set  on  hill-slopes  at  the  sides  ;  but  the  bottom  of 
the  valley  is  always  open  and  park-like.  There  are  many 
side  paths  to  view-points  and  to  distant  parts,  signs  being 
set  up  by  the  Waldverein,  and  seats  being  provided  by  the 
Verschonerungs  Verein.  Finally  the  valley  grows  very  nar- 
row, and  a  path  leads  up  a  brook  bed  into  a  strange  cleft 
two  feet  or  so  wide,  long,  crooked,  and  from  twenty  to  fifty 
feet  deep.     Here  I  turned  back,  the  sun  having  set. 

October  1.  "  Ach  du  lieber  Gott!  "  The  first  words  from 
some  feminine  in  the  next  room  this  morning.  So  say  I, 
when  I  look  at  the  above  date.  I  started  out  early.  The 
air  was  very  misty ;  but  while  I  climbed  the  pretty  path  up 
the  slopes  of  Wartburg  the  mists  were  dissolving,  and  all  was 
clear  when  I  reached  the  top.  A  delightful  climb  —  the 
woods  fresh  and  dewy,  many  birds,  and  up,  high  ahead,  the 
walls  of  the  Burg,  a  square  tower,  with  a  big  cross  against 
the  sky.  I  arrived  on  the  platform  before  the  drawbridge 
about  ten  o'clock.  There  were  two  soldiers  under  the  arch, 
but  nobody  else  was  about,  and  all  was  intensely  still.  There 
were  grand  views  over  plains,  and  over  the  rough  wooded, 
mountains  of  Thuringia  —  for  Wartburg  is  some  600  feet 
above  Eisenach  town.  The  exterior  of  the  Burg  itself  is  very 
well  worth  looking  at, — part  is  half-timber  work,  part  rude 
masoni-y,  part  handsome  Romanesque.  There  is  also,  alas  !  a 
modern  part  for  the  residence  of  some  Herzog.  On  the  spur 
of  the  mountain  is  a  little  inn,  very  pretty  in  medieval  style, 
and  most  excellently  planned  to  fit  its  position  on  the  ledge. 
With  two  other  lone  men  I  was  shown  all  about  the  Burg  in 
too  hurried  fashion.  There  are  many  buildings  on  different 
levels  of  the  ledge,  and  of  different  dates  and  styles.  The 
Komanesque  Schloss  is  very  fine,  well  I'estored  in  this  cen- 
tury. .  .  .  From  grouped,  round-arched  windows  of  every 
room  are  wondrous  views  over  hills  and  woods  down  into  deep 
valleys  immediately  below.  Luther's  room  —  his  table  and  so 
on  —  is  in  a  small  side  building.  In  one  court  was  a  particu- 
larly picturesque  grouping  of  the  buildings,  old  copper  gar- 
goyles, and  wrought-iron  flowery  bell-pulls  —  very  good  to  see. 


196       LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE.    GERMANY     [1886 

In  the  afternoon  I  set  out  in  a  carriage  to  see  Wilhelms- 
thal,  a  park  in  tlie  midst  of  the  Thuringian  forest,  first  made 
in  1700,  and  in  this  century  partly  remade  by  Fiirst  Piickler. 
It  is  the  summer  residence  of  Gross  Herzog  von  Sachsen.  I 
drove  in  state  out  by  the  Marienthal,  on  up  the  narrow  Anna- 
thai,  to  the  pass  called  the  Hohe  Sonne,  whence  was  a  distant 
view  of  Wartburg  through  a  narrow  cutting  in  dense  woods. 
Thence  I  went  down  a  skilfully  designed  road  on  the  further 
slope  to  Wilhelmstlial,  which  is  only  an  inn  and  a  very  plain 
chateau  with  outbuildings,  in  a  "  park  "  entirely  unfenced 
and  undefined  as  to  boundaries,  —  the  fact  being  that  the 
whole  forest  roundabout  belongs  to  the  same  Herzog.  Its 
principal  features  are  a  good  made  pond,  pleasant  green 
slopes  running  up  into  the  edges  of  the  forest  which  comes 
down  from  surrounding  high  hills,  some  fine  groups  of  old 
trees,  some  good  water-side  planting,  and  a  quaint  water  tank 
near  the  house  in  a  grove  of  very  large  Norway  Spi'uces.  It 
is  a  very  simple  and  very  quiet  sort  of  place,  not  more  than 
any  well-off  American  might  have  —  the  whole  situation  being 
extremely  American.  I  returned  to  the  hotel  at  5.30  in  part 
by  another  and  lesser  road,  leading  through  the  forest  and  to 
a  grand  view-point  called  Marienblick.  Who  the  "  Marie  " 
so  often  honored  here  may  be  does  not  appear. 

That  evening  Charles  went  on  to  Cassel ;  and  the  next  day 
(October  2d)  was  almost  all  spent  at  Wilhelmshohe,  an  ex- 
traordinarily elaborate  and  artificial  hillside  park,  full  of  a 
great  variety  of  curious,  interesting  objects.  Pie  observed  the 
artificial  waterfalls,  architectural  and  natural,  the  sham  medi- 
aeval castle  of  great  size,  the  huge  nondescript  construction  at 
tlie  head  of  the  fine  cascades  crowned  by  a  big  statue  of 
Plercules,  one  thousand  steps  leading  up  thereto  from  the 
basin  at  the  foot  of  the  cascades,  and  a  grand  "  perspective  " 
down  these  cascades  over  a  long,  narrow  green,  over  the 
chateau,  and  on  some  five  miles  across  the  plain  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill  into  distant,  faintly  seen  Cassel. 

Altogether  this  is  the  hugest  work  of  "  landscape  garden- 
ing" —  if  such  it  must  be  called  —  I  have  seen,  more  impres- 
sive through  its  vastness  than  Versailles,  Peterhof,  or  Wind- 
sor. It  is  a  work,  one  would  say,  such  as  only  a  despot  could 
have  carried  out.     A  high  ridge,  almost  a  mountain,  is  made 


.ET.  26]  WILHELMSHOHE  — ARNHEM  197 

use  of  in  bold  fashion.  Everywhere  are  steep  slopes  of  forest ; 
aucl  then  this  semi-architectural  alley  runs  from  the  chateau 
straight  up  to  the  crest,  with  Hercules  at  the  top,  almost  a 
thousand  feet  above  the  Schloss.  Cascades  start  from  his 
feet !  and  a  huge  jet  fountain  (not  playing-  for  me)  is  in  the 
foreground  before  the  Schloss.  There  is  no  end  of  other 
water  works  and  "  temples,"  and  several  "  lakes  "  and  caves  ; 
and  flower  gardens  are  scattered  about  in  the  big  woods  on 
each  side. 

Of  course  Charles  needed  to  see  this  largest  thing  in 
Europe  of  its  kind  ;  but,  to  his  thinking,  it  was  not  a  good 
kind.  The  next  day,  which  was  dark  and  gloomy,  he  went 
on  to  Arnhexn,  on  the  Rhine  in  Holland.  The  ride  of  the 
morning  was  very  pretty,  up  the  vale  of  Diemel,  across  the 
water-shed  at  noon,  and  then  down  the  vale  of  Ruhr.  .  .  . 

Wednesday,  October  4.  "  The  Hotel  of  the  Sun,"  imme- 
diately upon  the  Hafen,  which  holds  a  heavy  barge  or  two. 
Beyond  is  the  muddy  Rhine,  or  so  much  thereof  as  has  not 
been  turned  off  into  other  channels,  and  the  green  bank  of 
the  further  side.  Now  and  then  a  boat  passes.  I  took  a 
tram-car  out  of  the  dull,  narrow  streets  —  all  brick  walls,  side- 
walks, curbs,  and  roadway,  —  along  an  eastward  road  of  villas. 
I  alighted  at  the  end  of  the  route,  and  explored  on  foot,  find- 
ing two  larger  places  having  oddish  brick  chateaux  with  moats 
around  them,  one  girt  about  with  straight  rows  of  young 
Quercus  i)alustris,  which  are  going  to  be  fine.  The  moats 
were  made  more  or  less  irregular  with  little  islands,  and  were 
decorated  with  swans.  On  the  main  road  was  a  fine  quadru- 
ple row  of  Beeches,  the  nuts  pattering  down.  The  country 
beyond  was  very  oi^en  and  green,  but  not  so  very  wet,  and 
not  bewindmilled,  as  I  had  expected  to  see  it.  Even  the  side 
roads  were  paved  with  small  bricks,  and  swept  of  leaves, 
which  are  beginning  to  fall.  Going  back  the  car  was  full  of 
folks,  —  ladies  returning  from  making  calls,  and  children  from 
an  afternoon  in  the  country.  These  were  queer  and  old-fash- 
ioned-appearing people,  their  bonnets  worse  than  English. 
Most  of  them  were  left  at  their  doors,  the  houses  looking  on 
to  the  quay  of  the  Rhine.  The  streets  were  narrow  and  very 
quiet,  the  clatter  of  wooden  shoes  the  only  noise,  save  (curious 


198        LANDSCAPE   STUDY   IN   EUROPE.     HOLLAND     [1886 

contrast)  the  occasional  clanging'  of  the  bell  of  the  steam 
tram-car  which  starts  from  the  door  of  the  hotel. 

October  5.  I  took  the  steam  tram  some  four  miles  to  the 
open  villa-garden  of  Hemelsche  Berg ;  and  through  this  to 
a  sort  of  public  ground  called  Oorsprong  —  a  gully  with 
water  and  old  Beeches.  This  region  is  reputed  the  most 
varied  and  agreeable  in  Holland  ;  but  it  is  very  tame  and  un- 
remarkable, save  for  the  number  of  small  villas  in  small  gar- 
dens. These,  however,  are  not  peculiarly  Dutch.  There  are 
no  canals  and  no  particular  trimness.  Most  of  the  gardens, 
or  rather  door-plots,  are  in  a  Frenchy  style,  with  a  semicir- 
cular driveway  never  used  as  such,  and  standard  Roses  along 
the  driveway  with  shrubs  grouped  in  corners  and  strung  along 
the  fence.  The  houses  also  are  Frenchy.  Only  in  one  sort 
of  dorp  did  I  find  Dutch  cottages.  These  were  brick  and 
very  plain,  and  the  door-plot  was  all  clean  gravel  with  a  row 
of  clipped  Lindens  close  to  the  house  wall,  and  some  plants 
in  tubs  set  about. 

After  dinner  I  examined  the  park  of  Sonsbeek  behind  the 
town.  Here  are  some  well-wooded  hills,  a  chain  of  dammed 
ponds  with  old  trees  en  masse  about  them,  and  bits  of  meadow 
coming  to  the  water  here  and  there.  Between  the  ponds  were 
some  poor  rockery  waterfalls.  The  woods  were  thickened 
with  successful  undergrowth,  and  carpeted  with  Ivy,  this 
treatment  being  very  good.  The  neighborhood  of  the  house, 
too,  was  good.  A  court  between  the  house  and  the  deer  park 
was  formal  Dutch,  with  trees  in  tubs.  In  front  of  the  house 
all  was  English  —  a  slope  to  the  stream,  greensward,  massed 
large  trees,  and  the  town  of  Arnhem  only  agreeably  seen  in 
the  distance. 

An  evening  train  brought  him  to  the  Hague  by  eight 
o'clock. 

While  I  could  see,  we  were  crossing  sandy,  heathery  coun- 
try, which  the  guide-book  says  extends  to  the  Zuider-Zee. 
This  is  not  my  idea  of  Holland. 

October  6.  I  first  looked  about  the  town,  which  is  really 
Hollandish  this  time  with  its  canals  and  basins,  the  roads 
alongside   hardly  ever  railed  or  parapeted,  and   the   house 


^T.  26]  THE   HAGUE  —  SCHEVENINGEN  199 

windows  often  not  two  feet  above  the  water  level.  There 
is  one  basin  v.'ith  green  islets ;  formally  arranged  trees  stand 
about  the  straight  edges  of  the  water.  Soon  I  rode  out 
to  Seheveniugen  through  a  long  tree  avenue,  which  passes 
through  the  royal  wood  ;  so  I  came  to  the  narrow  fishing- 
town  "  high  street."  At  the  end  thereof  were  two  huge, 
brown,  lubberly  hulls  of  tub  fishing-craft  set  up  against  the 
sky  at  the  top  of  the  sea  beach.  Eastward  were  several  big 
closed  hotels  and  some  villas,  and  a  huge  ruin  of  a  great  hotel 
recently  burnt.  The  sea  promenade  on  the  face  of  the  dune 
is  paved  with  brick  ;  it  winds,  and  travels  up  and  down,  and 
is  drifted  over  with  sand.  The  beach  is  wide  and  flat  and 
"  unterminated,"  the  coast  being  here  convex.  The  sea  was 
roiighish  and  hazy.  Half  a  dozen  "  tub  fishermen "  were 
aground  in  the  midst  of  the  surf ;  and  I  watched  one  new 
arrival  put  ashore.  The  fish  were  unloaded  by  baskets  borne 
by  men  wading  up  to  their  necks.  The  fish  were  then  spread 
in  little  piles  on  the  beach,  and  were  at  once  surrounded  by  a 
small  mob  of  fishwives,  to  whom  an  imperturbable  official, 
armed  with  an  old  red,  white,  and  blue  staff,  sold  the  fish  at 
auction.  There  was  hot  squabbling  and  jabbering  such  as  I 
have  never  heard.  I  could  not  see  how  any  one  woman  knew 
what  she  was  buying.  Indeed,  I  saw  much  quarrelling  after 
the  departure  of  the  auctioneer.  This  was  a  scene  as  mys- 
terious as  that  at  Monte  Carlo ;  but  that  is  all  silent  as  a 
church.  The  women  were  most  picturesquely  dressed  — 
tight  white  caps  with  pin-like  or  plate-like  side  and  front 
fixings,  very  full  skirts,  crossed  shawls,  black  stockings  (the 
legs  often  shown  to  the  knee),  and  big  and  white  wooden 
shoes.  The  men,  too,  were  very  odd  fellows  with  loose  trou- 
sers, hands  in  their  pockets,  a  sort  of  short-sleeved  over- 
jacket,  and  a  very  small  hat  —  the  latter  particularly  funny 
on  many  very  old  men  who  were  loafing  about.  I  have  seen 
nothing  more  amusing  than  these  crowds  about  the  fish. 
Everybody  was  so  utterly  unconscious,  too ;  though  most  of 
them  knew  they  were  being  sketched  by  a  Frenchman  who 
was  on  one  knee  a  little  way  off.  .  .  .  After  dinner  at  the 
Hague  I  walked  into  hot  Bosch  (the  wood),  a  formal  arrange- 
ment of  trees  becoming  forest  beyond.     The  avenues  of  old 


200        LANDSCAPE   STUDY  IN   EUROPE.     HOLLAND     [1886 

Beeches  were  grand.  At  four  o'clock  I  took  the  trahi  v/ith  a 
ticket  for  London.  We  passed  through  real  Dutch  land, 
green  meadows  with  rows  of  pollarded  Willows,  canals  above 
the  general  level,  houses  strung  along  the  canals,  masts  often 
visible  above  low  roofs  or  low  trees,  tanned  sails  and  big  hulls 
apparently  sailing  over  grassland,  countless  windmills  whirl- 
ing rapidly,  in  groups  and  scattered  here,  there,  and  every- 
where, black  and  white  cattle  feeding  or  drinking  from  tubs, 
wooden-shoed  children  waddling  home  from  school  —  all  merry 
and  delightful.  Delft,  Schiedam,  Rotterdam  —  a  short  ride. 
An  omnibus  took  me  through  the  edge  of  Rotterdam  to  the 
steamer.  I  supped  after  the  glory  of  a  red  sunset  was  over. 
The  river  was  full  of  shipping  —  after  all  there  is  nothing 
like  the  picturesqueness  of  water  and  water  life.  The  fading 
light  was  followed  by  a  pale  moonlight.  The  river  is  crooked, 
but  well  lighted  by  range  lights.  There  was  much  slowing 
of  engines,  and  cautious  management  to  avoid  all  manner 
of  craft. 

The  next  morning  (October  7th)  at  eight  he  was  in  London. 
"  The  weather  all  smut  and  rain  —  England."  At  the  end 
of  his  journal  he  gives  the  reckoning  of  the  seventy-four  days 
spent  in  Germany,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Finland,  Russia,  Ger- 
many again,  and  Holland,  and  makes  the  cost,  including  his 
purchases,  15.63  per  day.  On  the  14th  of  October  he  wrote 
to  his  father  :  — 

I  am  in  the  midst  of  complications  of  packing.  Books  are 
fcoming  in,  and  clothes,  and  so  on  daily.  I  managed  to  spend 
some  ten  pounds  ten  yesterday  —  awful.  I  have  been  out  to 
■the  village  in  Essex  where  Repton,  a  great  landscaper  of  the 
last  century,  lived,  this  excursion  being  at  Mr.  Olmsted's 
request,  who  wrote  me  he  would  like  a  photograph  of  the 
house  if  it  could  be  found.^     In  the  British  Museum  I  learned 

1  "When  you  are  in  England  again,  if  you  can  find  the  village  of 
Hanstreet,  and  it  is  not  much  out  of  the  way,  you  might  like  to  see  the 
present  condition  of  the  cottage  and  its  garden  that  Repton  says,  at  the 
close  of  his  book,  has  been  the  most  interesting  place  in  the  world  to 
him.  The  house  in  which  he  died  a  few  weeks  later.  If  there  happens 
to  be  a  local  photographer  there,  I  shall  be  glad  if  you  can  order  a  pic- 
ture of  it  taken  for  me."  (F.  L.  O.  to  C.  E.,  February  25,  1886.)  Repton 
published  his  excellent  treatises  from  1794  to  1803.     Mr.  Olmsted  was 


{F(irs/mt7c  of  the  last  /'nor  of  a  letter  to  //is  mother  from  Londou,   Oetolnr  /j) 


,(l.,.-v-vQ<-J^_-^       Vy«^ 


j._'x7^^,  Of^^c^ 


^T.  2G]  THE  PAVOXIA  ASHORE  201 

from  a  this-centuiy  edition  of  Repton  that  the  house  existed 
fifty  years  ago ;  so  I  set  out,  and  find  it  I  did.  The  village 
has  not  a  new  building  anywhere  in  it ;  and  Repton's  cottage, 
as  the  people  still  call  it,  stands  between  two  big  Lindens  at 
one  end  of  the  street.  But  nobody  seemed  to  know  who  Rep- 
ton might  have  been,  —  not  even  the  family  living  in  the  said 
cottage. 

His  last  professional  visit  in  England  was  to  Dropmore  and 
the  garden  of  ISIr.  Theodore  Waterhouse,  whom  he  had  met 
agreeably  on  the  Riviera. 

The  Pavonia  sailed  from  Liverpool  on  the  19th  of  Octo- 
ber. On  the  morning  of  the  29th,  after  being  in  the  fog  for 
three  or  four  days  without  getting  observations,  she  ran  on  to 
High  Pine  Ledge  off  the  shore  of  Scituate,  Mass.,  ten  miles 
south  of  the  entrance  to  Boston  Harbor.  The  captain  sent  a 
boat  ashore  to  summon  assistance  from  Boston.  The  tide 
was  rising ;  and  in  a  few  hours  her  own  engines  backed  the 
ship  off  the  Ledge.  The  rocks  had,  however,  broken  the  skin 
of  the  ship  enough  to  admit  water  to  one  or  more  of  the  for- 
ward compartments.  The  captain  being  firmly  persuaded 
that  he  was  north  of  Boston  entrance,  pi-oceeded  southward. 
Ciiarles  had  seen  and  recognized  the  shore  wliile  the  ship  was 
fast  on  the  rocks,  and  had  told  one  of  tlie  officers  of  the  deck 
what  land  it  was.  The  wind  was  northeast,  and  a  storm 
threatened.  The  captain,  clinging  to  his  idea  that  he  was 
north  of  Boston,  kept  on  going  south  towards  Barnstable  Bay. 
Fortunately  two  men  in  a  fishing-boat  at  anchor  shouted  to 
him  as  he  passed  that  if  he  went  on  two  minutes  longer  he 
would  be  ashore.  From  them  he  learnt  where  he  was,  and 
turned  his  ship  to  the  northward.  But  precious  time  had 
been  wasted.  Water  was  coming  slowly  into  the  forward 
part  of  the  ship,  and  she  settled  more  and  more  by  the  head. 
The  wind  increased,  and  the  prospect  darkened ;  for  night 
was  approaching.  When  the  ship  got  within  seven  or  eight 
miles  of  Boston  entrance,  a  pilot  boat  suddenly  hove  in  sight. 
Thereupon,  the  first-class  passengers  were  notified  by  the 
ship's  surgeon  that,  if  they  chose,  they  might  go  to  the  pilot 
boat.  The  great  majority  of  the  first-cabin  passengers  chose 
to  go,  and  were  set  upon  the  pilot  boat  by  the  steamer's  boats. 
Charles  remained  on  the  steamer.     He  had  made  friends  with 

not  born  till  1822  ;  so  that  two  far-away  Americans  of  the  second  and 
third  generation  after  Repton  were  interesting  themselves  in  his  local 
surroundinjrs. 


202  LANDSCAPE  STUDY  IN  EUROPE  [1886 

some  of  the  younger  officers  of  the  ship,  and  with  some  of  the 
Swedish  steerage  passengers,  men,  women,  and  children,  whose 
appearance  and  manners  he  had  very  much  liked.  The  dis- 
tinction made  between  the  first-cabin  passengers  and  the 
others,  when  the  pilot  boat  presented  herself,  went  very  much 
against  his  grain.  Moreover,  there  were  some  old  and  deli- 
cate persons  of  his  acquaintance  among  the  first-class  passen- 
gers who  could  not  be  transferred  to  the  little  schooner. 
When  his  father  asked  him  afterwards  why  he  did  not  seek 
safety  on  the  pilot  boat,  his  only  answer  was  that  the  sugges- 
tion did  not  agree  with  him.  The  steamer  now  proceeded 
very  slowly  towards  Boston  light,  her  screw  coming  more  and 
moi*e  out  of  the  water  as  the  vessel  settled  forward.  At  last 
it  became  impossible  to  steer  her  ;  and  she  was  forced  to 
anchor  in  deep  water  three  or  four  miles  from  the  entrance 
to  the  harbor.  The  situation  was  extremely  forlorn  ;  and 
every  person  on  board  was  filled  with  the  gravest  apprehen- 
sions. Suddenly  from  out  the  fog  there  appeared  a  powerful 
towboat  which  had  been  sent  from  Boston  to  seek  for  the 
Pavonia,  in  answer  to  a  telegram  from  the  officer  of  the  boat 
which  had  landed  near  Scituate  in  the  morning.  This  towboat 
had  sought  for  the  Pavonia  several  hours  unsuccessf ulh^  and 
in  despair  of  finding  her  was  returning  to  port  just  before 
dark.  She  at  once  took  the  Pavonia  in  tow,  and  attempted 
to  pull  her  towards  the  entrance ;  but  with  all  her  efforts 
she  could  effect  nothing.  The  Pavonia  could  not  be  steered, 
and  yawed  wildly  about.  At  last  the  captain  of  the  tow- 
boat  conceived  the  idea  of  towing  her  stern  foremost ;  and 
this  method  succeeded.  Very  slowly  in  the  rising  wind  and 
increasing  darkness  the  great  steamer  was  pulled  into  the 
narrow  entrance.  She  struck  again  upon  a  rock  near  the 
lighthouse,  but  did  not  stick  there.  At  last  she  was  dragged 
into  the  President's  Roads,  where  the  water  was  comparatively 
shoal.  The  passengers  had  been  some  hours  on  deck  with 
their  life-preservers  on.  When  at  last  she  sank,  the  water 
just  came  over  the  main  deck;  so  that  the  whole  cargo  and 
all  the  passengers'  luggage,  except  some  small  pieces,  were 
submerged. 

Charles's  family  heard  early  in  the  morning  that  the  Pavo- 
nia had  gone  ashore  ;  and  they  had  no  more  intelligence  until 
he  arrived  late  at  night  at  his  father's  house.  At  the  end 
of  a  year's  solitary  travel,  he  had  run  his  greatest  risk,  and 
passed  the  day  of  greatest  emotion  and  most  serious  medita- 
tion, almost  within  sight  of  home.  All  his  precious  books 
and  photographs  remained  at  the  bottom  of  the  Bay  for  three 


^T.  26] 


SAFE   HOME 


203 


days;  but  by  careful  treatment  ^fter  their  recovery  they 
were  saved  in  fair  condition.  A  few  books  had  to  be  re- 
bound ;  but  there  was  no  irreparable  damage  —  even  illus- 
trations printed  in  colors  in  some  of  the  books  on  landscape 
art  came  out  unhurt. 


A  bastion  and  landing  on  the  Alster  Basin,  Hamburg. 


CHAPTER  XI 

STARTING  IN  PRACTICE.     FIRST  WRITING 

Consult  the  genius  of  the  place  in  all : 
That  tells  the  waters  or  to  rise  or  fall, 
Or  helps  the  ambitious  hill  the  heavens  to  scale, 
Or  scoops  in  circling  theatres  the  vale  ; 
Calls  in  the  country,  catches  opening  glades, 
Joins  willing  woods,  and  varies  shades  from  shades. 
Now  breaks  or  now  directs  the  intending  lines. 
Paints  as  you  plant,  and,  as  you  work,  designs. 

Pope. 

The  very  name  of  Charles's  profession  was  still  undeter- 
mined in  the  United  States,  when  in  December,  1886,  he 
hired  an  office  in  Boston,  and  offered  his  services  to  the  pub- 
lic. Mr.  Olmsted  had  always  used  the  term  Landscape 
Architect  in  preference  to  Landscape  Gardener;  because 
the  word  architect  conveyed  cleaidy  the  professional  idea, 
and  distinguished  the  designer  of  landscape  from  the  nur- 
seryman or  florist.  English  custom  was  rather  in  favor  of 
Gardener,  but  French  and  Italian  were  on  the  side  of  Archi- 
tect.    Charles  decided  to  call  himself  a  Landscape  Architect. 

A  much  greater  difficulty  in  his  path  was  the  almost  uni- 
versal ignorance  as  to  the  function  of  the  profession.  Few 
persons  knew  what  a  landscape  architect  could  do  that  was 
desirable  and  worth  paying  for.  People  knew  that  it  was 
profitable  to  employ  architects ;  for  that  profession  had  been 
recognized,  even  in  the  United  States,  for  nearly  a  hundred 
years.  But  what  is  this  so-called  landscape  designing  ?  they 
asked.  Does  not  Nature  make  the  broad  landscape,  and  the 
gardener  decorate  the  house-lot?  A  building  should  doubt- 
less be  designed ;  but  can  the  building's  surroundings  and 
approaches  also  be  designed  ?  Moreover,  there  was  no  estab- 
lished method  of  charging  for  the  services  of  a  landscape 
architect.  A  physician  received  a  fee  for  each  visit,  a  lawyer 
charged  a  lump  sum  for  his  services  in  each  case,  a  sum  bear- 
ing some  projiortion  to  the  values  at  stake  ;  and  the  architect 
charged  a  percentage  on  the  total  of  the  contracts  made  and 
executed  under  his  supervision.  Should  a  landscape  architect 
charge  for  his  time  by  the  day  or  hour,  or  for  a  design  by  the 


JET.  27]  .  METHODS   OF  PRACTICE  205 

number  of  acres  it  covered,  or  should  he  proportion  his  charges 
in  a  general  way  to  the  importance  of  the  work  planned  by 
him  ?  A  still  graver  question  was  this  :  Shall  the  landscape 
architect  take  contracts  for  executing  the  work  he  has  him- 
self planned,  and  so  add  the  piofits  of  a  business  to  the  in- 
come of  a  profession  ?  Of  this  last  method  Charles  had  seen 
successful  examples,  pecuniarily  considered,  both  at  home 
and  abroad ;  but  it  had  seemed  to  him  that  in  all  these 
examples  the  artist  had  been  well-nigh  lost  in  the  man  of 
business.  Charles,  therefore,  resolved  to  follow  the  example 
of  his  master,  Mr.  Olmsted  ;  he  decided  not  to  undertake 
surveying  of  any  sort,  not  to  take  contracts  for  the  execution 
of  his  plans,  and  not  to  take  commissions  on  labor  or  mate- 
rials, or  on  the  amount  of  a  contract,  as  architects  habitually 
do,  but  to  be  in  all  cases  strictly  a  professional  adviser  like  a 
lawyer.  After  an  experience  of  about  two  years,  he  described 
his  function,  and  his  way  of  charging  for  his  services,  in  the 
following  concise  circular :  — 

Mr.  Eliot  offers  his  services  to  owners  of  suburban  and 
country  estates,  trustees  of  institutions,  park  commissioners, 
hotel  proprietors,  and  persons  or  corporations  desiring  to  lay 
out  or  improve  villages,  suburban  neighborhoods,  and  summer 
resorts.  He  is  consulted  as  to  the  placing  of  buildings,  the 
laying  out  of  roads,  the  grading  of  surfaces,  and  the  treat- 
ment of  new  and  old  plantations.  He  designs  the  arrange- 
ment and  planting  of  public  grounds,  of  private  parks  and 
gardens,  of  house-lots  and  streets. 

A  visit  and  consultation  is  the  first  step  in  all  cases. 
Verbal  suggestions  and  rough  sketches,  embodying  a  satis- 
factory solution  of  the  immediate  problem,  can  sometimes  be 
made  on  the  spot ;  while  if  plans,  designs,  or  written  reports 
are  required,  the  preliminary  visit  supplies  the  information 
upon  which  these  can  be  based  and  their  cost  estimated.  In 
case  a  plan  drawn  to  scale  is  obviously  necessary,  a  survey- 
or's plat  should  be  obtained  before  the  visit  of  the  landscape 
architect. 

The  usual  charge  for  a  day  visit,  made  from  any  principal 
railroad  centre  not  more  remote  from  Boston  than  the  follow- 
ing named  points,  is  fifty  dollars  :  — 

Bar  Harbor,  Me.     Binghamton,  X.  Y.     Wilkesbarre,  Pa. 

Montreal,  P.  Q.      Rochester,  N.  Y.        Philadelphia,  Pa. 


206         STARTING  IN   PRACTICE.     FIRST  WRITING      [1886 

The  usual  charge  foi'  a  day  visit  made  from  the  office  in 
Boston  is  twenty-five  dollars.  The  expense  of  the  round  trip 
from  the  chosen  centre  is  in  all  cases  to  be  added.  The 
charge  for  designs,  and  for  plans  based  upon  surveys  pre- 
viously obtained,  depends  upon  the  amount  of  detail  called 
for,  and  cannot  be  fixed  before  the  problem  is  examined. 

The  railroad  points  mentioned  are  about  a  night's  I'ide 
from  Boston. 

The  first  paragraph  of  this  circular  simply  describes  the 
things  he  himself  did  as  a  landscape  architect;  but  it  defines 
perfectly  the  function  of  this  new  profession.  A  little  later 
he  used  a  somewhat  longer  circular,  which  gave  a  few  more 
particulars,  and  was  better  suited  to  his  enlarging  practice  at 
a  distance  from  Boston  ;  but  he  never  changed  his  general 
method  of  work,  or  his  method  of  charging  for  his  services. 
(See  Appendix  I.) 

Charles's  first  office  was  in  the  southwest  upper  corner  of 
the  southern  half  of  the  square  house  on  the  corner  of  Bea- 
con and  Park  streets,  the  half  which  had  been  the  home  of 
his  gi'eat-aunt,  Mrs.  George  Ticknor.  The  rooms  commanded 
a  broad  view  over  Boston  Common  to  the  west  and  sovith, 
and  were  as  sunny  and  out-of-door-like  as  any  lover  of  fine 
landscape  could  desire.  The  first  decoration  he  pinned  to 
the  walls  was  a  large  coast  survey  chart  of  eastern  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  coast  of  Maine.  That  old  love  warmed  the 
new  purpose.  Naturally  his  clients  were  few  at  fii-st,  and  he 
had  some  leisure,  which  he  devoted  to  visiting  his  relatives, 
old  and  young,  to  making  notes  on  the  pioneer  voyages  to  the 
coast  of  Maine  and  the  early  trading-posts  along  that  shore 
(notes  which  he  first  used  in  a  paper  read  to  the  Champlain 
Society  at  a  meeting  held  at  his  office  February  9,  1887),  and 
to  occasional  work  on  a  descriptive  catalogue  of  the  plants  in 
the  Arnold  Arboretum. 

To  write  for  the  press  was  a  part  of  his  plan  of  life  ;  for  he 
had  accepted  in  some  measure  tlie  opinion  expressed  repeat- 
edly by  Mr.  Olmsted  and  his  father  that  he  had  a  gift  of 
expression  which  ought  to  be  utilized.  Thus,  Mr.  Olmsted 
wrote  to  him  on  October  28,  1886,  a  letter  to  be  received  on 
landing  from  his  homeward  voyage,  in  which  the  following 
passage  occurred  :  "  I  know  that  you  will  feel  more  than  most 
men  what  you  owe  to  your  profession,  —  that  is,  to  '  the 
cause.'  I  mean  [something]  beyond  the  zealous  pursuit  of 
it.  In  one  way  I  wish  to  give  you  my  opinion,  derived  from 
reading  your  letters  chiefly,  that  you  are  able  to  serve  it 


<    5 


o    « 
IK    •« 

is!    2i 


§1 


7^     c« 

P     P. 


-ET.  27]  FIRST  PLANTING   DESIGN  207 

better  than  any  living  English-writing  man.  .  .  .  You  will 
not  think  it  flattery,  if  I  say  that  you  can  easily  give  the  pub- 
lic what  the  public  most  needs  much  better  than  any  other 
man  now  writing."  In  an  eai-lier  letter  Mr.  Olmsted  had 
written  :  "  I  have  seen  no  such  justly  critical  notes  as  yours 
on  landscape  architecture  matters  from  any  traveller  for  a 
generation  past.  You  ought  to  make  it  a  part  of  your  scheme 
to  write  for  the  public,  a  little  at  a  time  if  you  please,  but 
metliodically,  systematically.  It  is  a  part  of  your  professional 
duty  to  do  so." 

The  first  private  place  for  which  Charles  made  a  design 
was  the  estate  of  Mr.  Jolm  Parkinson  at  Bourne,  on  Buz- 
zards Bay,  Massachusetts.  The  house  was  already  built 
close  to  the  shore,  and  about  it  was  a  bare,  wind-swept,  sandy 
field  of  pleasing  surface,  covered  with  an  old  sod  and  low 
bushes.  From  the  front  door  of  the  house  one  looked 
straight  into  the  broad  stable  door,  four  hundred  feet  away. 
Charles  planted  at  various  distances  from  the  house,  in  front 
and  on  the  right  and  left,  masses  of  small  Willow,  Maple, 
Linden,  cork- barked  Ehn,  Poplar,  and  Sumac,  with  some 
Stone  Pines ;  but  reserved  about  three  acres  between  these 
detached  groups  for  an  open  lawn.  These  plantings  were  all 
made  in  the  spring  of  1887 ;  and  the  general  plan  has  never 
been  changed,  although  some  of  the  groups  have  been  some- 
what increased  in  size,  and  additional  nurse  trees  have  been 
planted  to  secure  effectual  protection  against  the  heavy  winds. 
The  first  of  the  three  accompanying  illustrations  shows  the 
aspect  of  the  field  when  the  plantings  were  just  made.  The 
next  illustration  was  taken  from  the  same  point  of  view 
fourteen  years  later ;  while  the  third,  taken  from  the  door- 
step of  the  house,  shows  the  lawn  as  bounded  on  the  north 
and  west  by  the  plantations  as  they  appeared  in  June,  1901. 

All  the  plantations  have  been  assiduously  tended  ;  but  no 
wooden  shelters  have  ever  been  provided  against  the  formida- 
ble winds.  When  the  house  was  built,  there  was  only  one 
tree  on  the  field  (it  appears  on  the  left  of  the  first  illus- 
tration), so  that  the  owners  thought  of  naming  the  place 
'•  Single-Tree."  They  did  name  it  "  Plainfield."  The  trans- 
formation of  the  scene  from  the  house  within  fourteen  years 
is  remarkable. 

Charles's  first  article  for  tlie  press,  dated  March  12, 
1887,  appeared  in  tlie  Boston  "  Transcript "  on  March  16th, 
under  the  title,  "The  Duty  of  the  Season."  In  the  follow- 
ing March  the  same  article,  recast  and  shortened,  appeared 
ill  "  Garden  and  Forest,"  under  the  title,  "  The  Suburbs  in 


208         STARTING  IN   PRACTICE.     FIRST  WRITING      [1887 

March."  The  doctrine  set  forth  was  of  course  applied  by  its 
author  in  all  the  suburban  plantings  of  which  he  had  charge ; 
and  in  the  spring  and  fall  of  1887  he  had  the  opportunity  of 
giving  a  conspicuous  example  of  the  effect  of  his  principle  in 
suburban  planting ;  for  he  was  employed  by  the  Ti'easurer  of 
Harvard  University  to  direct  the  expenditure  of  five  hundred 
dollars  on  shrub  plantations  in  the  College  Yard  at  Cam- 
bridge. It  was  the  first  time  that  any  considerable  amount 
of  decorative  planting  had  been  attempted  in  those  much 
frequented  grounds,  —  except  indeed  with  trees.^  The  gist 
of  the  advice  is  not  to  dot  the  ground  with  single  plants,  but 
to  plant  thick  masses  along  the*  fences  and  close  about  the 
house.  His  teaching  of  this  old  and  simple  method  seemed 
to  have  a  quick  and  widespread  effect  in  the  vicinity  of  Bos- 
ton, where  the  planting  of  front  yards  and  other  small  enclos- 
ures soon  afterwards  showed  great  improvement.  The  arti- 
cle is  here  printed  as  it  appeared  in  the  "  Transcript,"  but 
with  four  emendations,  including  the  title,  drawn  from  the 
revision  in  '•  Garden  and  Forest." 

THE    SUBUEBS    IN   MARCH. 

In  the  suburbs  this  is  the  ugliest  season  of  the  year.  The 
snow  lies  only  in  dirty  patches  ;  the  bare  earth  is  alternately 
frozen  and  thawed ;  the  grass  is  colorless ;  the  houses  in  their 
forsaken  enclosux-es  stand  cold  and  forlorn. 

Large  districts  of  Dorchester,  Jamaica  Plain,  Brookline, 
Newton,  Brighton,  Cambridge,  and  Somerville  are  now  in 
this  dishevelled  state,  more  accurately  described  as  this  dis- 
gracefully naked  state.  For  it  is  not  our  pitiless  climate  (as 
we  commonly  persuade  ourselves)  that  is  chiefly  responsible 
for  this  bleakness.  If  we  will  walk  out  into  the  countiy,  we 
shall  have  to  recognize  this :  there  March  is  not  ugly  —  far 
from  it.  If  our  surroundings  are  unhappy,  we  ourselves  are 
to  blame ;  we  who  have  built  streets  and  houses  all  through 
the  fields  and  woodlands  which  once  were  beautiful  the  year 
round,  and,  having  by  so  doing  destroyed  that  original  beauty, 
have  as  yet  done  nothing  at  all  to  win  back  what  we  may 
of  it. 

1  By  1901  much  of  the  planting  against  the  low  fence  about  the  Yard 
had  been  destroyed;  but  the  plantings  against  the  buildings  have  for  the 
most  part  survived,  although  never  properly  tended  for  lack  of  money. 


^T.  27]  FIRST  PUBLISHED   LETTER  209 

In  these  woods  and  pastures  grew  a  great  variety  of  trees, 
shrubs,  and  herbs ;  some  which  attained  their  perfection  only 
in  summer,  others  whicli  were  especially  the  delight  of  winter. 
Of  the  former  our  public  and  private  grounds,  our  front  yards 
and  back  yards,  hold  far  too  few  —  our  sins  of  omission  in  this 
respect  are  surprising  —  but  of  the  latter  almost  none.  Where 
can  be  seen  planted  about  houses  the  richly  coloi^ed  red  Cedar, 
or  the  Arbor  Vitai  (except  rai'ely  as  a  hedge),  or  the  prostrate 
Juniper,  or  Bayberry  with  its  clustered  gray  fruit,  or  red- 
twigged  wild  Koses,  or  yet  redder  Cornels,  or  the  golden- 
barked  shrub-Willows  ?  How  seldom  appear  white  Birches,  or 
any  of  the  American  Firs  and  Si^ruces?  Where  about  Boston 
do  any  of  the  trailing  evergreens  cover  the  ground  at  the 
edges  of  shrubberies?  Where  are  the  houses  which  have 
bushes  crowded  about  their  bays  and  corners  (as  the  field- 
bushes  crowd  the  stone  walls)  till  they  seem  to  be  fairly  grown 
to  the  ground  ?  Where  is  any  suggestion  of  those  thickets  of 
mingled  twiggery  and  evergreen  which  once  adorned  the  very 
fields  our  houses  stand  in  ?  AYe  have  destroyed,  and  we  have 
made  no  reparation.  Speaking  generally,  we  have  reduced 
our  bits  of  ground  to  mere  planes  of  shaven  grass,  from  which 
the  house  walls  rise  stiff  and  unclothed.  We  expend  from 
83000  to  120,000  and  upwards  upon  the  shell  of  our  abode, 
and  indefinite  sums  upon  its  interior  appointments  and  deco- 
rations, but  outside  we  leave  it  all  bare  and  unbeautiful, 
and  spend  only  for  the  gaudy  brightness  of  geraniums  in 
summer.     No  wonder  March  is  ugly  in  the  suburbs. 

Let  us  look  to  ourselves  and  see  if  this  year  we  cannot 
better  things  a  little.  The  remedy  is  the  planting  of  appro- 
priate and  numerous  shrubs  and  small  trees.  Between  this 
writing  and  the  coming  May  are  the  weeks  of  later  April, 
during  which  trees  and  shrubs  can  be  moved  with  safety. 
Now  is  the  time  to  plan  our  plantings.  Close  at  hand  ai-e 
the  tree  nurseries  crowded  with  plants  —  our  native  species 
and  those  of  all  similar  climates.  Here  are  a  hundred  sorts 
of  trees,  not  counting  the  forest  kinds  which  gi*ow  large, 
species  and  varieties  of  every  form,  habit,  and  color;  among 
them  such  fine-blooming  sorts  as  tlie  Yellow-wood  and  Locust, 
the  Tulip-tree  and  the  Magnolias,  the  double  Apples  and  Cher- 


210         STARTING  IN   PRACTICE.     FIRST  WRITING      [1887 

ries,  the  Catalpas,  the  Redbud,  and  the  flowering  Dogwood. 
Of  shrubs  there  are  some  two  hundred  sorts,  including  about 
a  dozen  really  hardy  broad-leaf  evergreens,  and  another  dozen 
coniferous  evergreens ;  beside  some  fifty  fine-blooming  decid- 
uous varieties.  Beware  of  the  nurseryman's  "  choice  speci- 
mens," many  of  which  will  need  to  be  protected  by  boards 
during  five  months  of  the  year ;  and  do  not  make  the  common 
mistake  of  dotting  the  ground  with  single  plants.  This,  at 
any  rate,  is  not  the  way  to  make  March  dooryards  less  bleak. 
Rather  may  we  spend  the  same  money  in  planting  mixed  and 
somewhat  crowded  thickets,  here  of  high  and  there  of  dwarf 
bushes,  along  the  fences  and  close  about  the  house.  To 
clothe  the  nakedness  of  the  ground  and  of  the  fences  and 
buildings  should  be  our  aim.  Large  trees,  such  as  our  sub- 
urbs are  full  of,  cannot  do  this ;  neither  can  scattered  speci- 
mens of  smaller  sorts  ;  neither  can  sparse,  stalky  shrubberies : 
we  must  plant  our  bushes  thickly,  so  as  to  hide  the  dirt  be- 
neath them,  and  we  must  carry  the  grass  under  them  as  far 
as  possible.  Then,  even  though  we  use  few  evergreens,  our 
yards  will  appear  well  furnished  and  sheltered,  and  no  coming 
March  will  ever  seem  so  bleak  as  this  has  been.  Moreover, 
when  summer  comes,  we  shall  find  we  have  exchanged  our 
geraniums  for  varied  banks  of  foliage  set  with  a  succession  of 
flowers  of  vastly  greater  interest,  which  too  will  bloom  season 
after  season  without  further  expense  to  us.  The  twentieth 
part  of  the  cost  of  a  house  will  do  thoroughly  well  such  plant- 
ing as  I  mean.  "Where  house-lots  are  very  small,  we  can  form 
"  planting  clubs  "  of  our  neighbors,  and  so  get  shrubs  enough 
for  all  at  wholesale  prices ;  but  under  any  circumstances  the 
cost  of  such  planting  is  by  no  means  so  great  as  to  excuse  us 
from  attempting  it. 

9  Pabk  Street,  Boston,  12  March,  1887. 

In  June,  1887,  The  Directors  of  the  Longfellow  Memorial 
Association  called  upon  Charles  to  present  a  plan  for  laying 
out  their  grounds,  lying  between  Brattle  and  Mt.  Auburn 
streets,  Cambridge,  directly  in  front  of  the  Longfellow  house. 
Within  ten  days  Charles  prepared  a  plan,  a  descriptive  letter, 
and  estimates  of  the  cost  of  executing  the  work  he  suggested. 
The  essential  parts  of  his  design  are  described  in  the  follow- 
ing  passages  of  the  letter  to  the  President  and  Directors :  — 


^T.27]  LONGFELLOW  MEMORIAL  211 

Your  land  is  sharply  divided  into  upland  and  lowland  by  a 
steep  terrace-like  bank.  The  brink  of  this  bank  commands 
a  pleasing  prospect  over  the  Charles  River  marshes  to  the 
hills  beyond.  It  is  plain  that  whatever  memorial  monument 
you  may  determine  upon  should  be  placed  here. 

By  the  terms  of  the  deed  of  your  land  you  are  required  to 
build  certain  roadways  leading  from  Brattle  Street  to  a  point 
about  80  feet  from  the  spot  just  mentioned  as  the  fittest  for  a 
monument.  Houses  will  in  time  occupy  the  lands  abutting 
on  these  roads,  and  grocers'  carts  as  well  as  pleasure  car- 
riages will  use  the  driveways.  Thus  this  part  of  your  pro- 
pei'ty  is  destined  to  be  a  wholly  public  place,  —  not  a  highway 
to  be  sure,  but  a  long  court  with  a  road  about  it  and  a  grassy 
space  in  the  middle. 

I  suggest  that  the  grass  space  be  made  65  feet  wide,  the 
roadways  20  feet,  the  sidewalks  10  feet,  —  the  latter  includ- 
ing a  strip  of  turf  3  feet  wide  between  the  wallc  and  drive- 
way. In  this  strip  I  would  set  a  row  of  Elms  or  Sugar 
Maples  (the  latter  would  live  the  longer  in  your  gravel  soil). 
Their  tall  trunks  and  their  boughs  bending  over  the  road- 
ways would  frame  to  its  advantage  the  Southward  prospect 
from  Brattle  Street.  If  you  may  not  plant  trees  on  your 
land,  perhaps  the  adjoining  private  owners  would  permit 
them  to  be  set  close  to  the  bounding  line.  The  edge  of  the 
sidewalk  I  place  three  feet  from  your  line  to  allow  of  the 
widening  of  the  sidewalk  by  so  much  whenever  increase  of 
population  may  demand  it.  On  the  roadway  I  would  have 
no  curbstones ;  exeejit  at  the  termination  near  the  monument, 
where  carriages  will  stop.  Along  Brattle  Street  I  have 
thought  a  dwarf  wall  of  stone  necessary,  to  keep  people  off  the 
central  grass  space  and  to  make  a  handsome  finish.  So  much 
for  the  portion  of  your  land  which  on  my  plan  is  called  "  the 
green,"  —  from  its  approximate  resemblance  to  the  village 
green  of  old  times. 

From  the  end  of  the  green  to  Mt.  Auburn  Street  the  land 
is  yours  to  treat  it  as  you  may  please,  and  certainly  you  can 
do  nothing  better  than  to  adapt  it  to  the  use  and  enjoyment 
of  all  orderly  citizens,  and  of  women  and  children  in  par- 
ticular.    On  my  plan  this  part  is  called  "  the  garden,"  and 


212         STARTING  IN   PRACTICE.     FIRST   WRITING      [1887 

because  a  public  garden  (unless  it  be  expensively  lighted  by- 
electric  liglit)  bad  best  be  closed  soon  after  sunset,  I  propose 
a  wall  with  a  gate  in  it  at  the  end  of  the  green,  and  another 
wall  with  a  gate  on  Mt.  Auburn  Street.  But  the  larger  part 
of  this  portion  of  your  land  is  at  present  very  wet,  —  water 
now  stands  upon  it  at  ground  level.  The  city  dumped  much 
gravel  upon  it  some  years  ago,  but  its  level  is  still  some  4 
feet  below  Mt.  Auburn  Street,  and  about  10  feet  below  Brat- 
tle Street.  To  make  it  usable  as  a  pleasure  garden,  its  drain- 
age must  be  improved  and  its  surface  somewhat  raised. 

After  showing  how  the  drainage  could  be  effected,  and 
how  the  material  needed  to  raise  the  level  of  the  lowland 
could  be  advantageously  taken  from  the  upland,  the  letter 
proceeded :  — 

On  my  plan  I  have  assumed  an  exedra  and  placed  it 
facing  squarely  South.  From  its  terrace-like  Southern  edge 
you  will  overlook  the  lower  garden,  and,  Mt.  Auburn  Street 
being  screened  by  bushes,  you  will  look  off  across  the 
marshes. 

At  the  foot  of  the  wall  there  is  a  gravel  walk  connecting 
the  two  main  walks  of  the  garden,  —  so  that  promenaders 
may  not  have  to  pass  through  the  exedra.  This  bit  of  walk, 
under  the  sunny  wall  of  the  exedra  terrace,  will  be  a  warm 
spot  in  Spring  and  Autumn,  and  two  buttress-like  wing-walls, 
jutting  from  the  main  wall  as  shown  on  the  plan,  will  shelter 
it  yet  more  completely  and  make  it  a  favorite  "  children's 
corner."  People  sitting  on  the  exedra  terrace  will  look  over 
the  heads  of  those  standing  on  this  path,  —  and  will  not  see 
them  unless  they  stand  close  to  the  parapet.  All  this  the 
long  section  shows  plainly. 

The  lower  garden  I  would  treat  extremely  simply.  Let 
the  water  of  the  spring  be  led  across  it  as  a  little  brook,  — 
its  edges  set  with  the  wild  plants  of  brooksides  ;  let  the 
neiirly  level  grass-land  spread  away  from  the  brook  to  the 
edges  of  scattered  masses  of  shrubs  ;  let  Mt.  Auburn  Street 
be  hidden  by  dense  shrubbery,  and  let  trees  rise  from  behind 
shrubs  on  the  East  and  West  boundaries ;  for  here  there  can 
be  no  question  of  interfering  with  the  view  from  Brattle 
Street. 


^T.  27]  LONGFELLOW  MEMORIAL  213 

A  single  wide  path,  its  gravel  generally  hidden  by  the 
shrubs,  will  lead  one  all  about  the  j^lace.  It  must  be  wide 
enough  to  permit  of  couples  of  promenaders  passing  each 
other  easily,  and  there  will  be  baby-carriages  to  be  avoided 
too.     Ten  feet  will  do. 

Two  sheltered  corners  may  be  given  up  to  childreit's  play- 
grounds; a  third  corner  should  some  day  contain  a  small 
building  provided  with  closets,  for  the  use  of  which  a  woman 
in  charge  might  collect  a  small  fee,  as  is  done  in  Paris.  The 
fourth  corner  of  the  garden  is  high,  being  part  of  the  terrace 
bank,  and  the  prospect  hence  over  the  river  marshes  is  love- 
lier than  that  from  the  projjosed  exedra  because  the  wooded 
hills  and  the  tower  of  Mt.  Auburn  are  included  in  the  scene. 
If  you  owned  more  of  the  high  land  at  this  point,  perhaps  this 
would  be  the  site  for  the  exedra  or  other  monument,  but 
your  boundary  line  on  the  Northeast  is  only  20  feet  from 
the  brink  of  the  bank,  and  on  the  East  it  is  still  closer  to 
the  finest  point  of  view.  I  propose,  however,  that  this  point 
be  made  accessible  for  the  sake  of  the  view  alone.  A  broad 
level  walk  will  lead  to  it  from  the  exedra,  and  at  its  tei-mina- 
tion  in  a  dwarf  terrace  of  boulders  a  flight  of  steps  will  de- 
scend to  the  lower  ground.  This  walk  will  be  nearly  100  feet 
long,  and  every  foot  of  it  will  have  command  of  the  river 
view.  It  will  be  immediately  overlooked  by  the  house  which 
will  some  day  rise  on  the  lot  of  land  just  behind,  but  the 
owner  of  the  latter  will  doubtless  see  the  advantage  to  him- 
self of  shutting  out  the  sight  (if  not  the  sound)  of  the  walk 
in  question,  and  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  do  so. 

My  plan  makes  no  provision  for  flower  gardening,  save  in 
the  bit  of  land  between  the  exedra  and  the  gate  which  opens 
on  the  green.  The  lower  garden,  as  I  at  present  conceive  it, 
would  l)e  spoilt  by  flower  beds.  It  is  to  be  a  very  quiet  and 
restful  little  scene.  Near  the  gate  back  of  the  exedra,  where 
the  path  branches  in  a  formal  manner,  there  is  opportunity 
for  flower  gardening  if  you  desire  it,  though  it  is  not  at  all 
required  there. 

This  scheme  commended  itself  to  the  President  and  Direc- 
tors ;  and  considerable  portions  of  the  work  were  executed 
before  winter  set  in.     Later  the  Directors  decided  to  build 


214         STARTING  IN  PRACTICE.    FIRST  WRITING      [1887 

at  the  descent  from  the  brink  of  the  terrace  to  the  garden 
below  a  more  considerable  structure  of  masonry  than  Charles 
had  imagined.  This  work  was  designed  by  Messrs.  Wallcer 
&  Best,  architects,  and  was  executed  under  their  direction. 
Some  of  the  details  of  Charles's  plan  for  the  low  garden 
have. never  been  carried  out  from  lack  of  money;  but  the 
principal  features  of  this  memorial  to  Longfellow  are  as  he 
designed  them. 

Charles  was  well  content  with  the  variety  of  his  work  dnr- 
ing  the  first  year  of  his  practice.  He  made  designs  and  gave 
advice  for  private  places  in  Bourne,  Cambridge,  Brookline, 
Winchester,  New  Bedford,  Gardner,  Lenox,  and  Waltham, 
and  for  public  grounds  in  Cambridge,  Newburyport,  and 
Concord,  N.  H.  On  the  23d  of  November  he  wrote  thus  to 
Miss  Mary  Yale  Pitkin,  the  young  lady  from  Philadelphia 
and  New  Hartford,  Conn.,  whom  he  had  met  with  great 
pleasure  a  few  times  in  Europe,  and  again  a  few  times  dur- 
ing the  recent  summer :  "  Professionally  speaking,  my  works 
of  this  season  are  about  done.  I  am  neither  disappointed 
nor  much  encouraged.  I  enjoy  the  work  and  it  suits  me,  — 
and  this  is  more  to  me  than  money-making.  Perhaps  this 
is  because  I  know  I  was  not  made  to  be  a  money-maker." 

The  year  had  been  one  of  some  family  and  social  perturba- 
tion and  excitement.  His  father  and  mother  were  travelling 
about  the  Mediterranean  from  January  till  September  ;  his 
brother  was  also  away  from  Cambridge  the  greater  part  of 
the  year,  but  announced  his  engagement  to  Miss  Frances 
Stone  Hopkinson  as  soon  as  the  family  was  reunited  in  Sep- 
tember ;  and  Charles  was  himself  keenly  on  the  watch  for 
opportunities  to  meet  Miss  Pitkin,  opportunities  which  came 
but  rarely  because  both  her  winter  and  her  summer  home 
were  at  a  distance  from  Boston,  and  the  families  had  few 
common  friends.  At  last,  in  January,  1888,  after  an  acquaint- 
ance of  more  than  two  years,  these  two  young  people  became 
engaged  to  each  other,  just  as  Miss  Pitkin  was  leaving  Phila- 
delphia to  spend  the  winter  in  California  for  the  benefit  of  an 
invalid  sister.  The  course  of  true  love  had  already  been 
much  impeded,  and  now  the  whole  wide  continent  was  to 
divide  the  lovers. 

Li  the  late  autumn  of  1887  and  the  winter  of  1888  Charles 
made  plans  for  laying  out  the  Norton  estate  in  Cambridge  in 
lots  suitable  for  a  good  class  of  houses.  It  was  a  fine  estate 
of  irregular  shape  and  varied  surface  containing  about  thirty- 
three  acres,  on  which  at  that  time  only  five  houses  stood.  He 
knew  it  by  heart.     The  problem  was  to  divide  it  into  salable 


^T.  28]  DIVIDING  THE   NORTON   ESTATE  215 

lots  of  moderate  size  and  with  desirable  exposures,  by  streets 
that  should  lead  well  towards  the  existing  lines  of  railway  and 
the  other  quarters  of  Cambridge.  Charles  rejected  the  ordi- 
nary American  method  of  dividing  unoccupied  land  into  rec- 
tangular lots  parallel  to  the  line  of  some  selected  highwaj',  and 
designed  the  three  principal  streets,  Irviug,  Scott,  and  Ever- 
ett, in  gentle  curves,  as  appears  in  the  accompanying  map. 
These  three  streets  give  natural  and  pleasing  means  of  com- 
munication with  the  steam  railway  in  Somerville,  the  street 
railways  of  Cambridge,  and  tlie  most  important  highways  in 
the  vicinity.  Professor  William  James,  the  psychologist, 
after  having  lived  some  years  at  the  junction  of  Irving  and 
Scott  streets,  said  that  the  daily  sight  of  the  curve  of  Scott 
Street  added  much  to  the  pleasure  of  living  in  his  house,  or 
indeed  in  the  neighborhood.  There  are  now  (1902)  twenty- 
one  houses  on  the  estate.  Charles  always  disliked  a  lay-out 
of  streets  in  squares  or  rectangles,  without  diagonals  or  curved 
intei-sectiug  avenues.  He  maintained  that  such  a  disposition 
yielded  no  sightly  positions  for  buildings  which  needed  to  be 
seen  from  a  distance,  and  inflicted  on  all  the  inhabitants  and 
their  animals  a  perpetual  w^aste  of  effort  in  passing  over  the 
two  sides  of  a  right  triangle  instead  of  the  hypothenuse.  He 
held  that  the  rectangular  layout,  made  without  regard  to  the 
natural  surface  of  the  ground,  was  responsible  for  the  per- 
manent disfigurement  of  several  important  cities  at  the  AVest. 
At  the  end  of  December,  1887,  Charles  wrote  the  following 
article  to  illustrate  and  enforce  an  idea  which  was  always  a 
favorite  one  with  him,  —  the  idea,  namely,  that  park  work 
should  conform  to  the  climatal  and  soil  conditions  of  the  place 
where  it  is  situated,  and  should  never  attempt  to  produce  an 
exotic  and  unnatural  beauty. 

ANGLOMANIA    IN   PARK    MAKING. 

Within  the  area  of  the  United  States  we  have  many  types 
of  scenery  and  many  climates,  but  in  designing  the  surround- 
ings of  dwellings,  in  working  upon  the  landscape,  we  too  often 
take  no  account  of  these  facts.  On  the  rocky  coast  of  Maine 
each  summer  sees  money  worse  than  wasted  in  endeavoring 
to  make  Newport  lawns  on  ground  which  naturally  bears 
countless  lichen-covered  rocks,  dwarf  Pines  and  Spruces,  and 
thickets  of  Sweet  Fern,  Bayberry,  and  wild  Rose.  The  own- 
ers of  this  particular  type  of  country  spend  thousands  in  de- 
stroying its  natural  beauty,  with  the  intention  of  attaining  to 


216         STARTING  IN  PRACTICE.     FIRST  WRITING      [1888 

a  foreio-n  beauty,  which,  in  point  of  fact,  is  unattainable  in 
anything  like  perfection  by  reason  of  the  shallow  soil  and 
the  frequent  droughts. 

I  know  too  many  of  these  unhappy  "  lawns."  Ledges  too 
large  to  be  buried  or  blasted  protrude  here  and  there.  They 
are  bare  and  bleached  now,  though  they  were  once  half 
smothered  in  all  manner  of  mixed  shrubbery ;  the  grass  is 
brown  and  poor  wherever  the  underlying  rock  is  near  the  sur- 
face, —  all  is  ugliness  where  once  was  only  beauty. 

Moreover,  if  the  lawn  were  perfect  and  "  truly  English," 
would  it  harmonize  with  the  Pitch  Pines  and  scrub  Birches 
and  dwarf  Junipers  which  clothe  the  lands  arovmd?  No. 
The  English  park,  with  its  great  trees  and  velvet  turf, 
is  supremely  beautiful  in  England,  where  it  is  simply  the 
natural  scenery  perfected ;  but  save  in  those  favored  parts  of 
North  America  where  the  natural  conditions  are  approxi- 
mately those  of  the  Old  Country,  the  beauty  of  it  cannot  be 
had  and  should  not  be  attempted. 

To  be  sure,  the  countries  of  the  continent  of  Europe  all 
have  their  so-called  English  parks,  but  the  best  of  these  pos- 
sess little  or  none  of  the  real  English  character  and  charm. 
The  really  beautiful  parks  of  Europe  are  those  which  have  a 
character  of  their  own,  derived  from  their  own  conditions  of 
climate  and  scene.  The  parks  of  Pavlovsk,  near  St.  Peters- 
burg, of  Muskau  in  Silesia,  of  the  Villa  Thuret  on  the  Cape 
of  Antibes  in  the  Mediterranean,  are  none  of  them  English, 
except  as  England  was  the  mother  of  the  natural  as  distin- 
guished from  the  architectural  in  gardening.  The  Thuret 
park,  if  I  may  cite  an  illustration  of  my  meaning,  is  a  wonder- 
land of  crowded  vegetation,  of  deep  ways  shaded  by  rich  and 
countless  evergreens,  and  of  steep  open  slopes  aglow  with  bright 
Anemones.  Between  high  masses  of  Eucalyptus  and  Acacia 
are  had  glimpses  of  the  sea,  and  of  the  purple  foothills  and 
gleaming  snow-peaks  of  the  Maritime  Alps.  In  the  thickets 
are  Laurels,  Pittosporums,  Gardenias,  etc.,  from  the  ends  of 
the  earth ;  but  Ilex,  Phillyrea,  and  Oleander  are  natives  of  the 
country,  and  Myrtle  and  Pistacia  are  the  common  shrubs  of 
the  seashore,  so  that  the  foreigners  are  only  additions  to  an 
original  wealth  of  evergreens.     The  garden  also  has  its  Palms 


^T.  28]  THE   LESSON   OF   PAVLOVSK  217 

of  many  species,  with  Cyeads,  Yuccas,  Aloes,  and  the  like ; 
but  the  Agaves  are  common  hedge-plants  of  the  country,  and 
strange  Euphorbias  grow  everywhere  about ;  moreover,  the 
more  monstrous  of  these  creatures  are  given  a  space  apart 
from  the  main  garden,  so  that  they  may  not  disturb  the  quiet 
of  the  scene.  M.  Thuret  saved  the  Olives  and  the  Ilexes  of 
the  original  hillside.  He  did  not  try  to  imitate  the  gardening 
of  another  and  different  country  or  climate,  but  simply  worked 
to  enhance  the  beauty  natural  to  the  region  of  his  choice. 

At  the  other  end  of  Europe  all  this  is  equally  true  of  Pav- 
lovsk.  Here,  at  the  edge  of  the  wet  and  dismal  plain  on 
which  St.  Petersburg  is  built,  is  a  stretch  of  uphand  naturally 
almost  featureless,  but  which,  thanks  to  a  careful  helping  of 
nature,  is  now  the  most  interesting  and  beautiful  bit  of  scen- 
ery the  neighborhood  of  the  Tsar's  capital  can  show.  A  con- 
siderable brook,  in  falling  from  the  plateau  to  the  plain,  has 
worn  in  the  gravel  of  the  country  a  crooked  and  steep-sided 
valley,  and  this,  the  only  natural  advantage  of  the  park-site, 
with  its  banks  darkly  wooded  and  the  stream  shining  out 
now  and  then  in  the  bottom,  is  the  chief  beauty  of  the  com- 
pleted park.  The  dead  level  of  the  plateau  itself  is  broken 
up  into  irregular  strips  and  spaces  given  to  water,  meadow, 
shrub-land,  or  woodland,  —  a  pleasing  intricacy.  The  grass 
is  only  roughly  cut,  the  edges  of  the  waterways  are  unkempt, 
the  woods  are  often  carelessly  beset  with  Cornus,  Caragana, 
or  Siberian  Spirsea.  In  the  woods  are  only  hai'dy  and  appro- 
priate trees  —  Oaks,  Alders,  Poplars,  Pines,  and  the  like  ;  — 
few  trees  are  handsome  enough  to  stand  alone,  but  there  are 
Spruces,  pushing  up  through  Scarlet  Oaks,  and  White  Bii'ches 
set  off  against  dark  Firs,  and  Prostrate  Junipers  spreading 
about  Birch-clumps,  and  no  end  to  the  variety  of  similar  thor- 
oughly native  and  appropriate  beauties.  Here  is  no  futile 
striving  after  the  loveliness  of  England  or  any  other  foreign 
land  ;  no  attempting  the  beauty  of  a  mountain  country,  or  a 
rocky  country,  or  a  warm  country,  or  any  other  country  than 
just  this  country  which  lies  about  St.  Petersburg ;  here  also 
is  no  planting  of  incongruous  specimens  and  no  out-of-place 
flower-bedding. 

The  park  of  Muskau  teaches  the  same  lesson,  and  under 


218         STARTING  IN   PRACTICE.     FIRST  WRITING       [1888 

conditions  closely  resembling  those  of  our  Middle  States.  In- 
deed, American  trees,  shrubs,  and  herbaceous  plants  are  very 
numerous  in  this  noble  park  ;  the  Tulip-tree,  Magnolia,  Wild 
Cherry,  Witch  Hazel,  Withe-rod,  Bush  Honeysuckle,  Golden- 
rods,  and  Asters  are  harmonized  with  native  plants  on  every 
hand.  It  would  be  next  to  im2)ossible  to  find  an  American 
park  in  which  these  things  have  been  planted  as  freely. 

Our  country  has  her  Russias,  her  Silesias,  her  Rivieras  ; 
and  many  types  of  scenery  which  are  all  her  own  besides. 
Are  we  to  attempt  to  bring  all  to  the  English  smoothness  ? 
Rather  let  us  try  to  perfect  each  type  in  its  own  place. 

This  article  illustrates  very  well  Charles's  method  of  con- 
tributing to  the  adoption  by  thinking  people  of  an  old  and 
sound,  but  to  them  unfamiliar  idea.  The  fundamental  idea 
is  well  expressed  in  the  following  passage  from  Fiirst  von 
Piickler-Muskau's  Andeutungen  iiber  Landschafts-giirtnerei, 
Stuttgart,  1834,  which  Charles  copied  into  his  commonplace- 
book  at  the  British  Museum  in  1886:  "In  the  park  I  make 
it  a  point  to  use  only  native  or  thoroughly  acclimated  trees 
and  shrubs,  and  avoid  entirely  all  foreign  decorative  plants. 
For  nature  beautified  must  still  preserve  the  character  of  the 
country  and  climate  in  which  the  park  is  situated ;  so  that  its 
beauty  may  seem  to  have  grown  spontaneously,  and  without 
betraying  the  pains  which  have  been  spent  on  it."  Charles 
first  cites  a  conspicuous  American  example  of  the  violation 
of  this  principle,  and  calls  this  wrong  method  Anglomania, 
and  then  describes  vividly  and  with  sufficient  detail  three 
examples  on  the  continent  of  Europe  of  happy  conformity  to 
the  true  principle.  The  reader  feels  as  if  he  had  himself 
seen  all  three  of  these  famous  parks,  and  is  much  disposed  to 
accept  forthwith  the  conclusion,  —  "  Rather  let  us  try  to  per- 
fect each  type  in  its  own  place."  In  the  same  sense  he  wrote 
to  a  gentleman  in  Michigan  for  whom  he  had  made  planting- 
plans  and  lists,  and  who  was  disappointed  that  the  plants 
ordered  were  not  larger,  showier,  and  less  common. 

I  cannot  possibly  prescribe  plantations  made  up  of  fancy 
trees.  My  plan  and  my  lists  suggested  backgrounds  of  massed 
and  harmonious  foliage  against  which  the  rarer  and  more 
striking  plants  of  the  list  should  stand.  Quicker  growing 
trees  were  suggested  for  these  masses.  Among  them  were 
many  natives  of  Michigan,  and  the  lists  were  sent  to  you 


^T.  28]       THE   BEGINNINGS   OF  LANDSCAPE   ART  219 

before  any  order  was  given  to  Temple  expressly  that  you 
might  strike  out  from  them  or  add  to  them  what  you  pleased. 
"When  you  wrote  me  to  order  the  whole  list  called  for  by  the 
plan,  I  gladly  did  so,  believing  as  I  do  that  "  natives  "  on  the 
whole  do  vastly  better  if  taken  not  from  the  woods  but  from 
a  nursery  row ;  and  by  "  do  better  "  I  mean  get  established 
quicker,  and  grow  quicker,  and  last  longer.  I  also  believe 
that  for  quick  effect  it  is  generally  far  wiser  to  plant  smallish 
trees  thickly  rather  than  large  trees  thinly  or  thickly.  Small 
trees  will  almost  surely  get  a  good  start  at  once,  and  will  con- 
tinue to  thrive,  while  trees  of  ten  feet  and  upwards  are  almost 
sure  to  remain  in  an  unhappy  state  for  a  long  time  before 
they  can  establish  themselves  to  grow.  Massed  shrubs  give 
quickest  effect  of  all. 

Nobody  was  better  aware  than  Charles  that  the  founders  of 
the  modern  landscape  art  from  Thomas  Whately  to  Hermann 
von  Piickler-Muskau  had  in  the  course  of  two  generations 
(1770-1834)  laid  down  all  its  fundamental  principles.  He 
knew  that  his  own  function  could  only  be  to  make  intelligent 
application  of  their  principles  under  the  new  and  various 
American  conditions,  and  to  persuade  some  of  his  country- 
men of  the  significance  and  value  of  those  principles.  Ac- 
cordingly in  December,  1887,  he  prepared  a  short  list  of 
books  nn:l  papers  by  the  founders  of  the  art,  and  introduced 
the  list  to  the  readers  of  "  Garden  and  Forest "  with  some 
observations  of  his  own. 

Sir,  —  I  send  you  a  short  list  of  books  and  papers  which 
influenced,  or  recorded,  the  beginnings  of  the  modern  art  of 
landscape  gardening. 

The  list  is  headed  by  Bacon's  familiar  Essay,  in  which 
some  directions  for  the  making  of  a  wild  garden  are  given ; 
but  long  before  Bacon  there  were  plain  signs  of  the  coming 
of  the  day  of  naturalistic  gardening.  The  poetry  of  Dante 
(1321)  is  full  of  sympathetic  feeling  for  the  beauty  of  the 
natural  world,  —  for  meadows,  woods,  streams,  and  flowers, 
even  for  the  sea  and  the  distant  mountains.  Petrarch,  Boc- 
caccio, Ariosto,  and  Tasso  betray  no  such  fresh  feeling  for 
Nature  as  does  their  great  predecessor.  Yet  in  Tasso's  "  Jeru- 
salem Delivered  "  (1595)  is  the  following  remarkable  descrip- 
tion of  a  garden  scene  :  — 


220         STARTING  IN   PRACTICE.     FIRST   WRITING       [1888 

"  Everything  that  could  be  desired  in  gardens  was  pre- 
sented to  their  eyes  in  one  landscape,  and  yet  without  contra- 
diction or  confusion  —  flowers,  fruits,  water,  sunny  hills, 
descending  woods,  retreats  into  corners  and  grottoes  —  and 
what  put  the  last  loveliness  upon  the  scene  was  that  the  art 
which  did  it  was  nowhere  discernible.  You  might  have  sup- 
posed (so  exquisitely  were  the  wild  and  the  cultivated  united) 
that  all  had  somehow  happened,  not  been  contrived.  It 
seemed  to  be  the  art  of  Nature  herself,  as  though  in  a  fit  of 
playfulness  she  had  imitated  her  imitator."  (Leigh  Hunt's 
translation.) 

But  it  was  in  England  that  the  love  of  Nature  took  firmest 
root.  Chaucer  (1400)  and  Spenser  (1599)  sang  of  the  things 
of  nature  with  a  very  fresh  delight ;  and  Milton,  in  the  fourth 
book  of  "  Paradise  Lost,"  imagined  a  garden  which  was  an 
Eden  indeed.  England  also  raised  up  Shakespeare,  whose 
love  embraced  the 

"daffodils 

That  come  before  the  swallow  dares,  and  take 
The  winds  of  March  with  beauty;" 

and  Cowley,  whose  delight  was  that  characteristic  one  for  an 
Englishman,  "  a  small  house  and  a  large  garden  ;  "  and,  later, 
Thomson,  Cowper,  Gray,  and  Wordsworth. 

Meanwhile  the  art  of  landscape  painting  had  been  growing 
up.  Titian,  its  founder,  composed  the  first  landscapes  upon 
canvas  in  the  days  when  Tasso  was  imagining  the  garden  of 
Armida ;  Claude  Lorraine,  Salvator  Rosa,  and  Poussin  were 
contemporaries  of  John  Milton.  Well  might  Wordsworth 
write  (1805)  to  Sir  George  Beaumont :  "  Painters  and  poets 
have  had  the  credit  of  being  reckoned  the  fathers  of  English 
gardening  ; "  and  he  adds,  "  they  will  also  have,  hereafter, 
the  better  praise  of  being  fathers  of  a  better  taste." 

"  Bacon  was  the  prophet,  Milton  the  herald,  of  modern 
gardening ;  and  Addison,  Pope,  and  Kent  the  champions  of 
true  taste,"  —  thus  the  Eev.  William  Mason  in  1772,  when 
the  sort  of  landscape  beauty  long  imagined  by  the  poets  was 
beginning  to  be  realized  in  the  English  parks.  Addison 
and  Pope,  each  in  his  few  acres,  practised  what  he  preached 
—  Addison  at  Bilton  near  Rugby,  Pope  at  Twickenham  near 


JET.  28]  BOOKS   ON  LANDSCAPE  ART  221 

London.  Bridgeman,  a  professional  gardener  of  the  period,  is 
said  to  have  been  converted  by  Pope's  paper  in  "The  Guard- 
ian," and  thenceforth  to  have  abandoned  the  clipping  of 
trees ;  while  Kent,  a  painter,  gave  up  his  art  to  become  the 
first  landscape  gardener. 

The  first  complete  treatise  on  the  new  art  was  Whately's 
still  indispensable  "  Observations,"  published  in  1770,  and 
immediately  translated  into  French  and  German.  A  few 
years  later  appeared  Girardin's  excellent  French  work,  and 
Ilirschfeld's  six  volumes  printed  in  German  and  French. 
Later  came  Gilpin's  delightful  accounts  of  his  English  tours, 
which  had  great  influence  in  waking  the  popular  interest  in 
natural  scenery,  and  Knight's  and  Price's  vigorous  attacks  on 
the  smooth  monotony  which  characterized  the  landscape  work 
of  Brown  and  his  imitators. 

Shenstone,  Whately,  Girardin,  Walpole,  Knight,  Price, 
and  Laborde,  all  worked  out  their  ideas  on  their  own  estates ; 
and  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  Rousseau,  the  contemporary 
of  Gray,  who  yet  was  the  first  modern  Continental  author  to 
write  feelingly  of  natural  scenery,  was  a  frequent  guest  of 
Girardin's  at  his  Ermenonville. 

To  close  the  list  we  have  the  writings  of  a  few  of  the  first 
landscape  gardeners  themselves,  —  Repton  and  Loudon  for 
England,  Viart  and  Tliouin  for  France,  Sckell  and  Piickler- 
Muskau  for  Germany. 

I  hope  to  see  printed  in  "  Garden  and  Forest "  numerous 
extracts  chosen  from  these  books.  1  am  sure  you  can  do  us 
Americans  no  better  service  than  thus  to  advance  "  the  bet- 
ter praise  "  of  the  founders  of  the  art  and  their  principles. 

Boston,  March  1,1888. 

A   LIST   OF   BOOKS   ON   LANDSCAPE   GARDENING.      . 

1625.    Francis   Bacon,  Lord  Vemlam.  —  "  On  Gardens,"   one  of  his  "  Es- 
aayes  or  Counsels  Civill  and  Morall." 

1712.  Joseph  Addison,  essayist,  Secretary  of  State.  —  "  On  the  Causes  of  the 

Pleasures  of  the  Imafrination  arising-  from  the  works  of  Nature,  and 
their  superiority  over  those  of  Art."  In  "The  Spectator,"  No.  414. — 
"A  Description  of  a  Garden  in  the  Natural  Style."  In  "  The  Spec- 
tator," No.  477. 

1713.  Alexander  Pope,  poet  and  essayist.  —  On  Verdant    Sculpture.     In 

"  The  Guardian,"  No.  173. 


222         STARTING  IN   PRACTICE,    FIRST  WRITING       [1888 

1731.  Alexander  Pope.  —  "  An  Epistle  to  the  Right  Honourable  Richard, 
Earl  of  Burlington."     London,  fol. 

1764.  William  IShenstone,  poet  and  essayist.  —  "  Unconnected  Thoughts  on 
Gardening."     In  his  collected  works.     London,  8vo. 

1768.  George  Mason,  "  a  classical  scholar  and  critic."  —  "  An  Essay  on  De- 
sign in  Gardening."  London,  8vo.  —  An  enlarged  edition,  1795.  Lon- 
don, 8vo. 

1770.  Thomas  Whately,  Secretary  to  the  Earl  of  Suffolk.  —  "  Observations 
on  Modern  Gardening,  illustrated  by  Descriptions."     London,  Svo. 

1772.  Rev.  William  Mason,  poet.  Canon  of  York.  —  "  The  English  Garden : 

A  Poem  in  four  books."     London,  4to.     A  new  edition,  1785.     Lon- 
don, Svo. 

1773.  Ch.  Cai.  L.  Hirschfeld,  "  Counselor  to  his  Danish  Majesty,  Professor 

of  the  Fine  Arts  at  Kiel."  —  "  Anmerkungen  iiber  Landhaiiser  und 
Gartenkunst."     Leipzig,  12mo. 

1774.  Claude  Henri  Watelet,  Receiver-General  of  Finance,  Member  of 

the  Academy  of  Sciences.  —  "  Essai  sur  les  Jardins."     Paris,  8to. 
1774.    Sir  William    Chambers,   F.   R.   S.,   architect.  — "  Dissertations    on 
Oriental  Gardening."      London,  4to. 

1776.  J.  M.  Morel,  architect.  —  "  Th^orie  des  Jardins,  ou  I'Art  des  Jardins 

de  la  Nature."     Paris. 

1777.  L.  R.  GiRARDiN,  Vicomte  d'Ermenonville.  —  "  La  Composition  des  Pay- 

sages  sur  le  terrain,  etc."     Geneva,  Svo. 
1777.     Ch.  Cai.  L.  Hirschfeld.  —  "  Theorie  der  Gartenkunst."     Leipzig,  6 

vols.,  4to. 
1780.    Horace  Walpole,  Earl  of  Orford.  —  "  On  Modern  Gardening."     In 

his  "  Anecdotes  of  Painting." 
1783.    Daniel  Malthus.  —  An   Introduction  to  a  Translation  of  Girardin's 

"  Essay  on  Landscape  "     London,  Svo. 
1783-1809.    Rev.  William  Gilpin,  M.  A.  —  "  Observations  relative  chiefly 

to  Picturesque  Beauty  in  many  parts  of  Great  Britain."     London,  8 

vols.,  Svo. 
1785.    William  Marshall,  estate  agent.  —  "  Planting  and  Rural  Ornament." 

London,  Svo.  —  A  second  edition  in  2  vols.,  1796.     London,  Svo. 
1791.    Rev.  William  Gilpin.  —  "  Remarks  on  Forest  Scenery,  etc."     London, 

2  vols.,  Svo. 
1792. .  "  Three  Essays :    On   Picturesque   Beauty,  On 

Picturesque  Travel,  On  Sketching  Landscape,  etc."     London,  Svo. 
1794.    Richard  Payne  Knight,  "  a  gentleman  of  great  classical  attainments." 

—  "  The  Landscape  :   A  didactic  poem."     London,  4to. 
1794.    Sir  Uvedale  Price,  "  a  gentleman  and  scholar  of  great  taste,  who  has 

greatly  improved  and  beautified  his  own  estate."  —  "  An  Essay  on  the 

Picturesque,  etc."     London,  Svo. 
1794.    Humphrey  Repton,  landscape  gardener.  —  "  Letter  to  Uvedale  Price, 

Esq.,  on  Landscape  Gardening."     London,  4to. 
1795. .   "  Sketches  and   Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening, 

etc."     London,  fol. 
1803. .   "  Observations   on   the    Theory  and   Practice  of 

Landscape  Gardening,  etc."     London,  4to. 
1803.    John  Claudius  Loudon,  landscape  gardener.  —  "  Observations  on  Lay- 
ing out  the  Public  Squares  of  London."     In  "  The  Literary  Journal." 


iET.  28] 


BOOKS  ON  LANDSCAPE  ART 


1804.  John  Claudius  Loudon.  "  Observiitions  on  the  Theory  and  Practice  of 
Landscape  Gardening,  etc."     Edinburg-h,  8vo. 

1806. .  "  A  Treatise  on  forming,  improving,  and  man- 
aging Country  Residences."     London,  2  vols.,  4to. 

ISOS.  Alexandre  Louis  Joseph,  Comte  de  Laborde.  —  "  Descriptions  des 
Nouveaux  Jardins  de  la  France."     Paris,  folio. 

1812.  John  Claudius  Loudon.  —  "  Hints  on  the  Formation  of  Gardens  and 
Pleasure  Grounds."     London,  4to. 

1818.  F.  L.   VON  SCKELL,  Landschafts-giirtner.  —  "  Beitrage  zur  bildenden 

Gartenkunst."     Munich,  8vo. 

1819.  Gabkiel  Thouin,  architeete-paysagiste.  —  "  Plans  raisonn^s  de  toutes 

les  Esp^ces  de  Jardins."     Paris,  folio. 
1819.    ViART,  architeete-paysagiste.  —  "  Le  Jardiniste  Moderne,  etc." 

Paris,  12mo. 
1822.    John  Claudius  Loudon.  —  "  An   Encyclopaedia  of  Gardening,  etc." 

London,  8vo. 
1832.    William  S.  Gilpin.  —  "  Practical  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening." 
1834.    FuK.ST  Hermann  LuDWKj  Heinrich  von  PUckler-Muskau.     "An- 

deutungen  iiber  Landschafts-gartnerei."     Stuttgart,  folio. 


'^"i^^vOo/^, 


1 


CHAPTER  XII 

THREE    CONGENIAL    UNDERTAKINGS.    TWO    PARKS  AND 
A   CHURCH   SITE 

Laying  out  grounds,  as  it  is  called,  may  be  considered  as  a  liberal 
art,  in  some  sort  like  poetry  and  painting' :  and  its  object,  like  that  of 
all  the  liberal  arts,  is,  or  ought  to  be,  to  move  the  affections  under  the 
control  of  good  sense  ;  that  is,  of  the  best  and  wisest.  ...  No  liberal 
art  aims  merely  at  the  gratification  of  an  individual  or  a  class  ;  the 
painter  or  poet  is  degraded  in  proportion  as  he  does  so  :  the  true  ser- 
vants of  the  Arts  pay  homage  to  the  human  kind  as  impersonated  in 
unwarped  and  enlightened  minds.  —  Wordsworth. 

In  September,  1887,  Charles  prepared  a  plan  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  ancient  Common  at  Newburyport,  the  town 
from  which  came  his  great-grandmother,  Catherine  Atkins, 
the  second  wife  of  Samuel  Eliot  of  Boston.  This  Common 
included  a  deep  pond  of  variable  level,  sunk  between  steej) 
banks.  On  one  side  of  it,  at  the  top  of  the  bunk,  was  the 
Bartlet  Mall,  dating  from  1800,  and  this  Mall  was  adorned 
with  two  rows  of  trees,  still  handsome,  though  much  injured 
by  ice  storms.  In  general,  the  pond  and  its  surroundings 
had  been  defaced  and  neglected ;  so  that  the  wlaole  Common 
was  an  eyesore.  An  association,  called  the  Mall  Improve- 
ment Association,  was  organized  to  reform  the  place  ;  and 
this  association  procured  plans  from  Charles,  His  general 
scheme  was  to  contract  the  pond  somewhat  by  filling  parts 
of  its  lowest  shoi-es ;  to  leave  about  it  a  broad,  clean,  gravel 
beach,  because  the  changing  level  of  the  pond  made  any  other 
shore  impracticable  ;  to  provide  an  adequate  number  of  flights 
of  steps  down  the  steep  banks,  and  two  sloping  approaches 
to  the  beach,  one  a  footpath,  the  other  a  driveway ;  to  repair 
an  1  protect  the  grass-banks ;  and  to  plant  out  the  ugly  rear 
of  the  Court  House,  which  rose  directly  from  the  beach  on 
the  side  of  the  Mall.  The.se  changes  involved  a  good  deal  of 
gravel  cutting  and  filling,  and  the  regrading  of  considerable 
areas,  some  with  loam  and  some  with  gravel.  The  plans 
made  in  September,  1887,  were  accepted,  and  were  but 
slightly  modified  in  1888  ;  the  work  was  actually  begun  in 
1889,  and  was  finished,  in  its  main  features,  during  that  sea- 


^T.  28]  SITE   OF  THE   WESTON  CHURCH  225 

son.  There  was  not  money  enough  to  make  all  the  improve- 
ments which  Charles  had  suggested  ;  but  enough  work  was 
done  to  effect  a  conspicuous  reformation.  The  city  has 
added  to  the  area  of  the  park  on  the  southern  side,  but  is  as 
yet  unable  to  make  an  adequate  appropriation  for  care  and 
maintenance,  and  the  water  of  the  pond  cannot  be  renewed 
as  frequently  as  is  desirable  ;  but  the  reservation  as  a  whole, 
from  being  an  eyesore  and  a  nuisance,  has  become  a  beautiful 
object,  and  a  healthful  resort  for  the  people  of  the  city.  The 
Association  spent  about  -$3500  on  the  improvements,  and 
Charles  received  for  his  advice  and  plans  the  modest  sum 
of  'f88.  The  first  of  the  following  illustrations  represents 
the  design,  the  second  depicts  imperfectly  a  portion  of  the 
agreeable  result. 

Until  April,  1888,  Charles  had  no  assistant  in  his  office. 
He  made  all  drawings  and  tracings  himself,  and  wrote  and 
copied  all  letters  and  order  lists.  At  that  date  he  procured 
an  assistant  whom  he  taught  to  draw  and  letter  somewhat  in 
his  own  rapid  and  effective  style.  The  spring  months  this 
year  were  very  busy  ;  and  thereafter  he  had  so  much  strictly 
professional  work  that  he  had  difficulty  in  carrying  out  his 
purpose  of  writing  for  the  press.  Two  jobs  on  which  he 
entered  at  this  time  gave  him  much  pleasure  from  the  begin- 
ning, —  one  was  the  grading  and  planting  of  the  grounds 
about  the  village  church  at  Weston,  and  the  other  the  laying 
out  of  the  new  White  Park  at  Concord,  N.  H.  The  first 
letters  be  wrote  on  these  two  congenial  undertakings  are  here 
given  in  full ;  because  the  principles  he  enunciates  in  them 
are  characteristic,  and  are  of  general  application. 


26  April,  '88. 

The  following  should  be  the  order  of  work  at  the  church. 
All  of  it  is  work  quite  necessary  to  the  proper  finishing  of 
what  has  so  far  been  accomplished  with  such  marked  suc- 
cess: 

1st.  Slopes  to  be  so  corrected  that  water  will  flow  away 
from  the  building  at  all  points. 

2d.  Slopes  to  be  brought  down  to  stakes  set  to  mark  the 
curved  lines  dividing  the  church  land  from  the  surrounding 
roadways,  and  to  grades  to  be  marked  on  said  stakes. 

3d.  Paths  to  be  graded  to  correspond  with  the  slopes  of 
the  adjacent  plots  and  to  unite  with  the  roadways.  Paths  to 
be  surfaced  with  6  inches  of  good  binding  gravel. 


226  A  VILLAGE  CHURCH  [1888 

4th.  After  the  rough  grading,  all  the  grass-plots  to  be 
ploughed  or  otherwise  broken  up,  and  4  inches  of  fine  loam 
to  be  spread  on  the  surface. 

5th.  Pits  4  feet  in  diameter  and  3  feet  deep  to  be  dug  at 
points  marked  for  trees  [perhaps  3] ,  and  loam  to  be  prepared 
for  the  filling  of  the  same.  A  depth  of  2  feet  of  loam  to  be 
provided  at  points  marked  for  shrubs. 

6th.  After  the  planting  of  the  trees  and  shrubs,  all  the 
grass-plots  to  be  raked  off  smooth,  and  to  be  sown  thickly 
with  a  mixture  of  blue  grass  and  red-top. 

If  you  can  make  any  arrangement  for  the  handling  of  the 
job  as  above  outlined,  I  will  give  all  verbal  directions,  will 
set  all  necessary  stakes,  will  supply  you  with  a  sketch  plan, 
will  select  for  you  the  necessary  plants,  and  will  personally 
superintend  their  planting,  —  my  fee  to  be  $25  plus  i2  an 
hour  for  time  spent  on  the  ground. 

I  think  the  plants  might  cost  you  delivered  $40  to  150. 
They  will  greatly  set  off  the  building,  and  will  practically 
take  care  of  themselves. 

The  cost  of  the  grading  work  it  is  hard  to  foresee,  but  it 
could  not  be  much. 

In  the  following  September  he  wrote  a  short  article  enti- 
tled "  A  Village  Church,"  and  illustrated  it  by  a  plan  and 
a  sketch.  The  article  and  plan  are  here  reproduced,  and  a 
photograph  of  the  church  and  grounds  approximately  in  their 
present  (1902)  state  is  given  instead  of  the  sketch. 

A  VILLAGE   CHURCH. 

Sept.  18,  '88. 
In  the  heart  of  the  township  of  Weston,  Massachusetts, 
four  country  roads  meet  at  the  town  flagstaff.  Beside  the 
flagstaff  stands  the  village  church,  and  just  across  the  way 
are  the  town  hall,  and  a  country  store,  and  the  sheds  for  the 
vehicles  which  bring  the  townsmen  to  Sunday  and  town  meet- 
ing. The  accompanying  plan  shows  the  irregular  arrange- 
ment of  the  buildings,  the  curves  of  the  roadways  as  they 
were  determined  by  "  the  lay  of  the  land,"  the  bounding  field 
walls,  the  grassy  spaces  at  the  roadsides,  and  the  trees  and 
shrubberies  which  break  and  partly  hide  the  stiffness  of  the 


fix.  28]  THE   WHITE  PARK  227 

buildings.  The  new  church,  built  of  rough  field  stone,  is  only 
recently  completed,  and  the  gentle  slopes  about  it  are  as  yet 
only  grassed,  but  the  next  planting  season  will  see  masses  of 
Mountain  Laurel,  and  of  wild  Roses,  Sumacs,  and  Barberries, 
set  about  the  foot  of  the  walls,  —  native  plants  beside  the 
native  boulders.  Our  sketch  and  plan,  taken  together,  well 
show  what  happy  results  can  be  attained  when  wise  design 
woi-ks  to  complete  what  chance  and  nature  have  well  begun. 
The  latter  fixed  here  the  cross-roads  and  fixed  them  thus  and 
so  ;  but  design  placed  the  church  upon  the  rise  of  ground  and 
built  it  of  the  rough  stones  of  the  New  England  fields.  Many 
a  village,  both  within  and  without  this  New  England,  might 
draw  a  useful  lesson  from  Weston. 

THE   WHITE    PAKK. 

10  May,  '88. 
Dear  Sir,  —  At  your  suggestion  I  have  looked  over  the 
White  land,  and  I  find  I  shall  have  to  congratulate  Concord 
on  her  new  possession.  For  the  uses  and  purposes  to  which 
Concord  must  wish  to  dedicate  this  gift  from  Mrs.  White,  a 
more  attractive  piece  of  ground  it  would  be  hard  to  find. 
AVhat  are  these  uses  and  purposes  ?  or,  first,  what  are  they 
not? 

Your  city  is  not  so  large  but  that  all  who  take  pleasure  in 
driving  or  tramping  in  the  open  country  may  easily  get  out 
of  the  town  and  into  the  woods  and  fields.  You  have  nothing 
of  the  great  city's  need  of  large  country  parks.  Again, 
because  your  city  is  not  large,  she  would  be  foolishly  extrava- 
gant if  she  desired  to  make  her  park  a  costly  flower  garden. 
Public  spaces  in  the  style  of  the  Boston  Public  Garden  can 
only  pay  for  themselves  in  the  largest  cities,  and  even  there 
I  should  maintain  that  the  large  sums  spent  upon  them  were 
wrongly  spent  unless  ample  playgrounds  and  country  parks 
were  already  provided. 

A  small  park  for  Concord,  then,  should  have  in  it  no  car- 
riage drives,  and  no  decorative  gardening.  So  far,  so  good ; 
for  drives  or  carpet-beds  upon  the  White  land,  because  of  the 
steep  slopes,  would  be  expensive  to  arrange  and  construct, 
and  altogether  inappropriate. 


228  A  TYPICAL  NEW   ENGLAND   SCENE  [1888 

The  park  for  Concord  should  be  a  place  of  quiet  resort  for 
people  who  cannot  take  the  time,  or  who  have  not  the 
strength,  to  go  often  to  find  refreshment  in  the  open  country. 
The  tired  workers  of  the  city  should  be  able  to  reach  it 
easily.  Women  and  children  should  find  it  near  their  homes, 
a  pleasant  place  in  which  to  spend  the  afternoon  or  the  day 
in  rest  or  play.  Within  it  there  should  be  all  possible  quiet, 
together  with  everything  which  may  call  to  mind  the  happy 
peace  of  the  country,  and  make  us  forget  the  town.  To  this 
end  the  ground  should  possess  as  much  natural  charm  as  may 
be,  —  some  pleasant  variety  of  surface,  with  both  wood  and 
open  ground,  some  water  if  possible,  and  perhaps  some  one 
point  from  which  to  view  the  world  around  and  outside. 

In  short,  such  a  park  should  be  a  bit  of  New  England 
country,  as  beautiful  and  typical  as  may  be,  set  aside  to  be 
preserved  as  such,  close  to  the  city  for  the  enjoyment  of  all 
orderly  townspeople. 

Looked  at  with  this  reasonable  end  and  purpose  in  view,  I 
am  sure  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  piece  of  land  so  near 
the  town  which  presents  so  many  natural  advantages  as  does 
the  White  land.  Here  is  a  steep  ridge,  the  summit  of  which 
commands  (through  the  trees)  broad  views  of  the  Merrimac 
valley  ;  here  is  a  flourishing  natural  wood  containing  many 
trees  of  considerable  size  and  dignity,  and  many  wild  flowers 
from  Mayflower  to  Golden-rod;  here,  in  fact,  is  that  very 
bit  of  typical  New  England  scenery  which  Concord  should 
preserve  for  her  stay-at-home  citizens,  —  which  50  years  from 
now  she  will  pride  herself  upon  exceedingly,  provided  that 
meanwhile  she  does  not  forget  herself,  and  allow  incongruous 
"  gardening  "  to  get  a  foothold  in  the  reservation.  Every 
city  of  the  new  West  may  have  its  carpet-bed  park,  —  the 
capital  of  old  New  Hampshire  should  make  good  use  of  this 
present  opportunity  to  provide  for  her  children  something 
better  far. 

Park-work  is  commonly  supposed  to  be  extravagantly  ex- 
pensive ;  and  it  is  so,  when  (as  is  too  often  the  case)  it  con- 
sists in  destroying  nature's  scenery  to  make  place  for  formal 
lawns  and  carpet-beds.  Not  that  it  will  not  cost  something 
to  make  White  Park  safely  usable,  and  to  enhance,  as  we 


ET.  28]  DEVELOPING  A  PARK  229 

may,  its  natural  character  and  beauty.  To  make  the  land 
serve  the  purposes  indicated  above,  you  w^ill  have  to  make 
paths  through  it,  else  the  trampling  of  people  crossing  it  and 
wandering  in  it  will  wear  away  too  rnuch  of  the  surface 
foliage.  You  will  also  have  to  drain  parts  of  it,  and  change 
the  grades  here  and  there.  To  add  to  its  beauty,  you  will 
make  a  pond  in  the  hollow,  which  too  will  in  winter  give  a 
chance  for  good  skating.  To  bring  out  new  beauty,  you  will 
cut  some  few  parts  of  the  wood,  in  order  to  lead  greensward 
into  it  in  places,  and  you  will  introduce  and  plant  many 
trees,  shrubs,  and  herbs  not  now  upon  the  ground. 

To  properly  set  out  upon  the  development  of  the  park  in 
accordance  with  the  purposes  dwelt  upon  above,  the  first 
thing  required  is  a  survey  upon  which  to  base  a  scheme  of 
draining,  path-building,  etc.  A  wise  general  plan  once 
adopted,  work  can  proceed  year  by  year  as  money  may  be 
appropriated,  —  the  plan  being  thus  worked  out  part  by  part. 
This,  of  course,  is  the  only  way  to  make  sure  of  a  harmonious 
result  in  the  end. 

The  survey  should  be  drawn  out  as  a  contour-line  plan  on 
a  scale  of  50  feet  to  an  inch,  —  contours  at  every  2  feet  dif- 
ference of  level.  The  adjacent  streets  and  their  established 
grades  should  be  shown.  Now,  before  the  leaves  open,  is  the 
time  to  make  this  survey. 

7  March,  '90. 

My  Dear  Sir,  —  I  have  your  check,  —  very  prompt  pay- 
ment, indeed.^ 

I  do  recommend  a  fence.  It  prevents  much  destructive 
cross-cutting,  and  saves  woods  and  lawns  from  damage.  In 
every  possible  way  the  people  should  be  taught  that  the  park 
is  a  bit  of  New  England  scenery  which  is  held,  close  to  their 
homes,  in  trust  for  the  enjoyment  not  only  of  themselves  but 
of  all  future  generations.  It  can  be  so  preserved  only  by  a 
public  opinion  which  will  condemn  all  injurious  practices  like 
peeling  bark,  breaking  trees,  and  trampling  grass. 

The  paths  offer  a  means  of  enjoying  the  scene  without  in- 
juring it,  —  this  is  the  reason  they  are  made.  I  would  have 
a  plain  fence  of  stout  pickets,  or  better  of  strong  boards  of 

1  Charles's  entire  charge  for  his  own  work  on  White  Park  was  .$300. 


230  A  PLAIN  PARK  FENCE  [1890 

even  width,  and  spaced  evenly,  and  sawed  off  to  give  a  flowing 
upper  line.     The  "flows"  of   this  line    should    be   long, — 


30-50  feet  each.     Then  I  would  post  a  notice  to  the  follow- 
ing effect,  though  not  necessarily  in  these  words  :  — 

City  of  Concord.     Park  Commission,  White  Park. 

Notice. 

This  Woodland  —  the  gift  of  Armenia  S.  White  —  is  held 
in  trust  for  the  enjoymeut  of  the  citizens  of  Concord  in  their 
successive  generations.  All  who  enter  here  will  bear  in  mind 
that  they  are  fellow-trustees  in  this  trust,  and  they  will  con- 
sequently avoid,  and,  if  necessary,  prevent  any  injury  to  the 
banks,  lawns,  trees,  shrubs,  or  flowering  plants. 

Here  might  follow  in  smaller  type  whatever  ordinance  you 
may  frame  to  cover  offences  of  this  sort. 

I  hope  your  interesting  undertaking  may  move  on  pros- 
perously. 

In  August,  1890,  when  the  work  on  White  Park  was  well 
advanced,  he  wrote  for  "  Garden  and  Forest "  the  following 
description  of  the  Park,  taking  the  opportunity  to  urge  that 
every  American  city  and  town  preserve  for  its  citizens'  enjoy- 
ment some  characteristic  portion  of  its  neighboring  countiy :  — 

WHITE   PARK,    CONCORD,   NEW   HAMPSHIRE. 

The  capital  of  New  Hampshire  is  a  pleasant  city  of  some 
15,000  inhabitants.  Its  main  street  lies  near  the  bank  of 
the  River  Merrimac,  and  its  residence  streets  stretch  along 
the  slopes  of  hills  which  rise  irregularly  west  of  the  stream. 
Beyond  the  older  streets,  but  surrounded  by  modern  ways,  is 


^T.30]  WHITE   PARK— GENERAL  PLAN  231 

a  small  tract  of  land  which  is  in  part  so  precipitous  and  in 
part  so  swampy  that  all  the  new  roads  have  avoided  it.  On 
this  rough  land  is  a  fine  growth  of  large  trees  of  many  sorts, 
and  although  it  lies  only  half  a  mile  from  the  centre  of  the 
town,  many  of  the  most  interesting  New  England  wild  flowers 
bloom  in  the  shelter  of  its  woods  and  hollows. 

This  tract  of  about  twenty-five  acres  has  been  presented  to 
the  city  of  Concord,  and  is  named  AA'^hite  Park  for  the  donor. 
A  commission  of  well-known  citizens  has  been  placed  in 
charge  of  the  work  of  fitting  the  ground  for  the  use  and  enjoy- 
ment of  the  people,  and  they  have  wisely  begun  their  labors 
by  devising  and  adopting  the  general  plan  which  is  repro- 
duced herewith. 

The  Commission  intends  to  make  the  park  a  place  of  quiet 
resort  for  people  who  cannot  take  the  time,  or  who  have  not 
the  strength,  to  go  often  to  find  refreshment  in  the  open  coun- 
try. No  carriages  are  to  be  admitted ;  not  only  because  the 
acreage  is  small  and  the  slopes  steep,  but  also  because  it 
seems  unfair  to  injure  the  park  for  the  use  of  children  and 
pedestrians  while  innumerable  pleasant  country-drives  are 
close  at  hand.  No  elaborate  gardening  will  be  admitted,  not 
only  because  it  is  costly,  but  also  because  it  would  be  in- 
congruous. Every  city  of  the  new  West  may  have  its  carpet- 
bed  "park"  if  it  so  wishes,  but  Concord  proposes  to  seize  her 
opportunity  to  jirovide  for  her  citizens  and  their  posterity 
something  very  much  more  valuable.  She  will  set  aside  and 
preserve,  for  the  enjoyment  of  all  orderly  townspeople,  a 
typical,  strikingly  beautiful,  and  very  easily  accessible  bit  of 
New  England  landscape.  Would  that  every  American  city 
and  town  might  thus  save  for  its  citizens  some  charactei'istic 
portion  of  its  neighboring  country !  We  should  then  possess 
public  places  which  would  exhibit  something  more  refresh- 
ing than  a  monotony  of  clipped  grass  and  scattered  flower 
beds. 

The  plan  adopted  by  the  Commission  provides  for  the 
enhancement  of  the  natural  beauty  of  the  park  by  spreading 
water  in  the  lowland  where  nature  made  a  marsh,  by  making 
grassy  glades  in  two  or  three  hollow  parts  where  nature  grew 
Alders  and  Birches,  by  planting  a  thicket  of  Mountain  Laurel 


232  THE   VARIETY  OF  ITS   SCENERY  [1890 

here  and  opening  a  vista  to  the  Merrimac  there ;  and  then 
the  plan  leads  paths  in  such  directions  and  by  such  routes  as 
will  best  display  the  beauty  of  the  place  while  injuring  it 
least.  In  the  opinion  of  the  Concord  Commission,  a  path, 
far  from  being  a  chief  beauty  of  a  park,  is  only  an  instru- 
ment by  means  of  which  it  is  possible  for  large  numbers  of 
people  to  pass  through  the  midst  of  beautiful  landscape  with- 
out seriously  injuring  it. 

The  variety  of  limited  scenery  which  White  Park  will  pre- 
sent when  it  is  finished  is  great.  Just  within  the  main  gate 
(at  the  end  of  the  plan  on  the  left)  will  be  a  level  of  green- 
sward, bounded  on  three  sides  by  rising  banks,  from  which 
hang  thick  woods  of  deciduous  trees.  At  one  end  the  banks 
draw  close  together,  and  here  is  a  deeply  shaded  dell,  from 
the  head  of  which  a  path  climbs  by  steps  to  the  street.  Two 
other  paths  lead  up  from  the  green,  by  little  hollows  in  the 
skirting  bank,  to  a  plateau  where  Pitch  Pines  stand  in  open 
order,  and  the  ground  is  carpeted  with  their  needles.  A 
steep-sided,  curved,  and  densely  wooded  ridge  in  turn  bounds 
this  plateau,  and  beyond  it,  and  nestled  in  the  curve  at  its 
base,  is  a  tiny  pond,  fed  by  strong  springs,  and  overhung  by 
tall  White  Pines.  Its  waters  overflow,  by  way  of  a  steep 
and  stony  channel,  into  a  much  larger  pond,  with  shores  but 
little  raised  above  the  water,  which  occupies  the  southern 
third  of  a  long  level,  through  which  a  slow  brook  meanders. 
The  shore  of  this  pond  and  all  the  flat  land  near  the  brook 
are  scatteringly  wooded  with  large  deciduous  trees.  Paths 
reach  little  beaches  on  the  shore  at  several  points.  Beyond 
the  head  of  the  pond  a  path  leads  to  a  "  shelter  "  on  a  knoll 
in  the  midst  of  deep  woods,  and  thence  by  a  sharp  ascent  to 
a  high  point  on  the  very  edge  of  the  park,  whence  a  pretty 
view  will  be  had  of  the  pond  at  one's  feet  and  the  Merrimac 
Valley  beyond,  with  the  state-house  dome  in  the  middle  dis- 
tance and  near  the  middle  of  the  picture.  All  things  con- 
sidered, Concord  is  in  a  fair  way  to  possess  one  of  the  most 
charming  small  parks  in  America. 

Why  are  gifts  like  this  of  Mrs.  White  to  Concord  not  more 
common  ?  Can  any  more  valuable  present  to  posterity  be 
imagined  ?     Perhaps  they  may  be  commoner  when  it  comes 


GENERAL  PLAN  OF 


CONCORD  N.H 


JET.  30] 


FIT  AND   DISTINCTIVE  BEAUTY 


233 


to  be  known  that  there  are  now  several  park  commissioners 
in  this  country  who  do  not  consider  it  their  first  duty  to 
destroy  the  beauty  which  nature  provides.  Real  landscape 
art  is  nothing  if  it  is  not  broad,  simple,  and  conservative  of 
natural  beauty.  It  is  elaborate  and  gardenesque  only  in 
special  circumstances.  Its  old  name  of  "•  landscape  garden- 
ing" must  be  discarded  at  once,  if  the  definition  in  the  new 
Century  Dictionary  is  correct.  Landscape  art  does  not  con- 
sist in  arranging  trees,  shrubs,  borders,  lawns,  ponds,  bridges, 
fountains,  paths,  or  any  other  things  "  so  as  to  produce  a 
picturesque  effect."  It  is  rather  the  fitting  of  landscape  to 
human  use  and  enjoyment  in  such  manner  as  may  be  most 
appropriate  and  most  beautiful  in  any  given  spot  or  region. 
AVhen  this  is  generally  understood  by  the  public  and  prac- 
tised by  the  profession,  parks  and  country-seats  will  be  so 
designed  as  to  be  not  only  well  arranged  and  beautiful,  but 
beautiful  in  some  distinctive  and  characteristic  way,  as  is 
White  Park  at  Concord. 


A  very  low  Stone  Bridge. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

TWO   SCENERY   PROBLEMS  —  MARRIAGE 

With  regard  to  improving',  that  alone  I  should  call  art  in  a  good 
sense  which  was  employed  in  collecting  from  the  infinite  varieties  of 
accident  (which  is  commonly  called  nature  in  opposition  to  what  is 
called  art)  such  circumstances  as  may  hajjpily  be  introduced,  accord- 
ing to  the  real  capabilities  of  the  place  to  be  improved.  This  is  what 
painters  have  done  in  their  art.  lie  therefore,  in  my  mind,  will  show 
most  art  in  improving,  who  leaves  (a  very  material  point)  or  who  cre- 
ates the  greatest  variety  of  pictures,  of  such  different  compositions  as 
painters  would  least  like  to  alter.  —  Price. 

To  illustrate  Charles's  way  of  dealing  with  some  of  the 
practical  problems  which  owners  of  New  England  country- 
places  may  bring  to  a  landscape  architect,  two  actual  cases 
are  here  given,  taken  from  his  letter-book  for  1888.  The  first 
case  is  an  avenue  entrance  in  stone ;  and  the  second  a  new 
approach-road  to  the  house  on  a  large  estate,  with  a  new  lawn 
and  an  improvement  of  the  prospect  from  the  house. 

The  following  letter  to  Mr.  Thomas  M.  Stetson  of  New 
Bedford  relates  to  the  avenue  entrance  in  stone.  The  sim- 
plicity of  the  design  is  noticeable,  and  its  reliance  on  plantings 
rather  than  on  masonry.  After  thirteen  years,  the  result  is  in- 
teresting and  handsome,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  illustrations  (see 
below,  pp.  278,  279)  made  from  photographs  taken  in  1901. 

31  May:  '88. 

I  send  you  a  sketch  of  an  entrance  way  —  with  apologies 
for  my  delay.  I  think  the  sketch  explains  itself  pretty  well. 
Of  course  the  perspective  is  guess-work,  and  only  intended  to 
help  show  my  idea. 

The  curved  walls  should  swell  a  little  and  attain  extra 
height  (without  becoming  "  piers ")  at  the  point  where  the 
chain  is  fastened  :  then  the  wall  should  break  away  in  height 
by  degrees  and  according  to  the  stones  that  come  to  hand, 
till  it  is  finally  lost  in  the  grass.     Grass  should  be  carried 


^T.  28]  IMPROVEMENTS  AT  OAKWOODS  235 

round  between  the  gravel  and  the  wall  as  far  as  may  be,  and 
creeping  evergreens  and  such-like  plants  should  here  clamber 
up  the  stones. 

For  the  wall  in  general  I  think  of  no  instructions  save 
that  I  would  set  the  stones  in  "  stable  equilibrium  "  (^not  on 
end),  and  would  have  no  long-continued  horizontal  joints :  no 
"  courses." 

The  map  opposite  p.  23G  shows  on  a  small  scale  the  new 
approach-road  made  to  the  main  house  on  Mr.  Rowland 
Hazard's  estate,  called  Oakwoods,  at  Peace  Dale,  R.  I.,  the 
new  lawn,  and  the  improvement  wrought  in  the  view  over  the 
South  Field  from  the  house,  by  abolishing  the  old  approach- 
road,  and  cutting  back  the  woods  on  the  left  of  the  prospect. 
For  the  former  avenue  Charles  substituted  the  winding  road 
marked  "  The  Water  Way  "  on  the  plan ;  and  this  new  ave- 
nue is  now  a  great  ornament  of  the  estate  —  almost  its  chief 
beauty.  It  was  Mrs.  Hazard  who  imagined  it,  and  Charles 
who  showed  how  to  do  it.  The  Water  Way  passes  with 
pleasing  grades  and  curves  through  and  under  fine  Oaks, 
and  gives  charming  glimpses  of  the  sluice-way  and  cove  on 
the  left  and  one  full  view  up  the  mill-pond.  As  it  nears  the 
house,  it  has  on  the  left  the  new  westerly  lawn,  and  on  the 
right  the  broad,  open  South  Field.  If  a  landscape  artist  had 
been  inventing  good  features  for  an  avenue  to  the  mansion 
on  a  great  estate,  he  could  hardly  have  devised  more  interest- 
ing features  than  Charles  utilized  in  the  Water  Way  to  Oak- 
woods. 

The  trees  which  had  to  be  removed  in  order  to  widen  the 
South  Field  on  the  east  were  forest  trees,  and  many  of  them 
had  probably  stood  there  since  the  early  part  of  the  18th 
century.  When  Charles  first  proposed  to  sacrifice  them, 
in  order  to  broaden  the  southerly  view  from  the  house,  the 
family  felt  that  such  a  course  was  out  of  the  question.  They 
began,  however,  with  much  circumspection  to  remove  a  few 
trees  at  a  time ;  and  since  each  cutting  resulted  in  a  manifest 
improvement  of  the  prospect  from  the  house,  they  gradually 
carried  the  edge  of  the  woods  back  to  the  line  which  Charles 
had  originally  indicated  on  his  drawing. 

The  two  letters  to  Mrs.  Hazard  which  follow  are  early 
letters  in  a  series  written  to  her  between  1888  and  1891: 
concerning  improvements  she  contemplated  on  this  noble 
estate. 


236  THE   WATER  WAY  AT  OAKWOODS  [1888 

Nov.  '88. 

Dear  Mrs.  Hazard,  —  I  write  to  you  because  I  have  pre- 
viously done  so. 

My  enclosed  sketch  shows  what  you  can  have  in  the  way 
of  a  new  aj^proach.  Your  old  way  from  your  house  to  the 
bridge  near  the  mills  is  about  2300  feet  long.  This  new 
way  measures  only  about  1550  feet,  and  at  the  same  time  is 
fully  75  per  cent,  handsomer.  It  also  brings  you  to  your 
door  without  throwing  dust  upon  the  Acorns !  and  it  might 
draw  the  driving  public  away  from  the  same  as  well. 

You  will  see  I  have  imagined  that  all  the  land  between  the 
new  Hall  and  the  old  house  will  become  part  of  Peace  Park, 
and  that  the  pond-shore,  up  at  least  as  far  as  the  brook 
which  enters  the  cove,  will  be  included.  I  have  also  sug- 
gested the  removal  of  the  barn  behind  the  old  house,  and  the 
making  of  a  terrace-like  point  of  view  or  place  for  seats,  on 
the  brink  of  the  high  bank  near  said  barn-site. 

At  two  points  only  will  there  be  any  difficulty  in  building 
your  new  approach  —  at  the  head  of  the  pond  cove,  where 
some  filling  should  be  done,  and  at  the  high  bank  by  the  cove- 
side  near  the  mill-dam  —  which  bank  the  road  should  pass  on 
a  level  about  half-way  up  from  the  water  level  and  wholly 
below  and  on  the  water-side  of  two  Oaks  which  adorn  the 
high  place. 

The  way  up  to  the  lawn  from  the  crossing  of  the  brook  is 
intended  to  pass  between  two  considerable  trees  which  there 
stand  behind  the  Rhododendrons. 

Would  it  not  be  well  to  get  the  surveyor  to  set  some  stakes 
to  represent  the  centre  line  of  the  road-curves  I  have  sketched 
—  he  can  find  it  by  measuring  from  the  various  buildings  and 
the  tennis  court  —  and  then  we  can  see  what  modifications,  if 
any,  it  will  be  best  to  make. 

27  Aug.  '88. 
Dear  Mrs.  Hazard,  —  I  send  you  a  rough  sketch  show- 
ing what  I  would  do  for  the  improvement  of  the  prospect  from 
your  new  drawing-room.  The  changes  suggested  will  give 
you  a  fair  sweep  of  house-lawn  and  a  look  westward  through 
the  Oak  trunks  to  the  water  —  two  things  you  have  not  com- 
manded before.     The  rear  approach-road  will  be  removed  to 


^T.  28]  NEW  HARTFORD  — MT.   DESERT  237 

a  safe  distance,  and  will  serve  to  define  the  kept  lawn.  Not 
all  of  the  old  hedge  need  go.  A  new  piece  should  be  set  for 
the  screening  of  the  kitchen  yard. 

At  the  edges  of  the  new  lawn  put  some  massed  bushes  ;  at 
the  corners  of  the  new  wing  some  dwarf  shrubs  ;  in  the  edge 
of  the  Oak  wood  open  and  thicken  the  Rhododendrons  here 
and  there ;  through  the  Oaks  get  some  glimpses  of  the  water. 

When  you  come  to  start  upon  your  delightful  scheme  of  a 
village  park  in  connection  with  the  ^Memorial  building,  you 
will  be  sure  to  feel  the  need  of  a  plan  of  the  neighborhood.  A 
plan  would  also  help  to  solve  many  problems  on  your  several 
adjoining  estates.  I  should  like  to  urge  Mr.  Hazard  to  pro- 
cure a  thorough  survey.  An  excellent  engineer  in  Newport 
—  Cotton  by  name  —  does  such  work  at  very  low  rates. 

The  first  step  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  scheme  shown  by 
the  sketch  might  be  the  building  of  the  new  road  —  suppos- 
ing you  should  prefer  to  keep  the  hedge,  for  this  season.  It 
will  take  some  courage  to  remove  the  hedge,  and  you  will 
choose  between  seeing  it  done  or  having  it  done  in  your 
absence.  In  one  case  we  would  plant  this  Fall,  in  the  other 
next  Spring. 

All  through  the  year  1888  a  new  flood  of  happiness  was 
pouring  into  Charles's  heart.  For  the  first  six  months  there 
flowed  between  the  separated  lovers  a  stream  of  intimate  let- 
ters, Charles  writing  every  two  or  three  days  and  sometimes 
oftener.  In  early  July  Miss  Pitkin  returned  with  her  father 
to  Philadelphia  ;  and  on  the  13th  the  lovers  met  at  Jersey 
City  and  went  together  to  New  Hartford,  Conn.,  where  her 
maternal  grandfather.  Rev.  Cyrus  Yale,  had  been  the  minis- 
ter of  a  hill-top  church  1100  feet  above  the  sea  for  forty 
years  (with  the  exception  of  an  excursion  of  about  two  years 
to  Ware,  Mass.).  He  was  the  first  scholar  in  the  class  which 
graduated  at  Williams  College  in  1811,  and  spent  his  life  in 
the  Congregational  ministry.  At  his  death  in  1854,  he  left 
to  his  children  his  pleasant  house  and  farm  near  the  top  of 
the  hill ;  and  they  continued  to  make  it  the  family  summer 
resort.  Here  Mary  Pitkin  had  always  passed  her  summers 
with  delight ;  and  this  was  the  first  place  she  visited  in  the 
company  of  her  lover.  After  four  days  in  this  dear  home 
they  went  to  Boston,  and  sailed  thence  in  company  with  one 
of  Charles's  aunts  to  Mt.  Desert,  where  they  spent  a  month  at 


238  MARRIAGE  [1888 

Northeast  Harbor  with  Charles's  family.  The  large  Eliot 
connection  chanced  to  be  rather  numerously  represented  on 
the  island  that  summer,  and  they  were  all  glad  to  be  intro- 
duced at  the  same  time  to  Miss  Pitkin,  and  to  Miss  Hopkin- 
son,  Samuel's  fiancee.  In  passing  through  Boston,  Charles 
managed  to  write  one  business  letter  at  his  office  —  the  only 
one  in  his  letter-book  between  July  10th  and  August  27th. 
It  was  a  delight  to  Charles  to  show  Maiy  the  scenes  at  Mt. 
Desert  that  he  most  loved,  and  to  take  her  driving  and  sail- 
ing through  and  about  the  beautiful  island.  Great  was  the 
joy  of  such  companionship  amid  such  scenes. 

Mr.  Pitkin  spent  a  few  days  at  Northeast  Harbor  at  the 
close  of  his  daughter's  visit ;  and  on  the  20th  of  August 
Mary,  Charles,  and  Mr.  Pitkin  sailed  for  Boston,  where  on 
the  22d  the  lovers  parted,  Mary  going  with  her  father  to  New 
Hartford.  Twice  they  were  together  again  for  three  days  at 
New  Hartford  ;  but  on  the  10th  of  September  Mary  returned 
to  Colorado  Springs,  where  her  sister  had  spent  the  summer 
in  the  company  of  their  brother. 

By  October  plans  for  marriage  were  being  actively  dis- 
cussed by  mail,  Charles  meanwhile  doing  a  large  amount  of 
ptx>fessional  work  and  some  writing  for  the  press.  He  found 
time  enough,  however,  to  invent  and  advocate  a  plan  of  going 
himself  to  Colorado  near  the  end  of  November ;  so  that  the 
marriage  might  take  place  there  about  Thanksgiving  Day  in 
the  presence  of  Mary's  immediate  family.  This  plan  ulti- 
mately commended  itself  to  all  those  most  nearly  concerned ; 
and  Mary's  dear  "  Aunt  Ruth "  (Mrs.  Beadle,  the  matron 
of  the  interesting  party  in  Europe  in  1885-86)  also  went  to 
Colorado  to  attend  the  wedding.  Charles  met  with  two  rail- 
road accidents  on  the  way  to  Colorado  Springs,  one  somewhat 
east  of  Chicago  which  only  delayed  him,  the  second  a  serious 
collision  on  the  road  from  Denver  to  Colorado  Springs,  in 
which  several  persons  were  injured,  and  the  baggage  car  was 
burnt.  He  arrived  at  the  Antlers,  Colorado  Springs,  several 
hours  late,  and  with  no  clothing  except  the  travelling  suit 
he  was  wearing.  Two  days  later,  on  Wednesday,  November 
28th,  the  simple,  happy  wedding  took  place  at  the  house  of 
Miss  Price,  where  the  JPitkins  had  been  living. 

Before  Christmas  the  pair  arrived  at  President  Eliot's 
house  in  Cambridge,  where  they  were  to  pass  the  winter. 
There  were  rejoicings  and  congratulations  at  Christmas  and 
at  the  bride's  receptions  on  Tuesdays  in  January,  and  festivi- 
ties through  the  winter,  in  which  the  Eliot,  Peabody,  and  Hop- 
kinson  families  took  active  part. 


^T.  29]  SIX  OLD  COUNTRY-SEATS  239 

Charles's  first  work  on  returning  to  his  office  was  tlie  pre- 
paration of  some  articles  on  "  Old  American  Country-seats," 
for  "  Garden  and  Forest."  The  seats  he  selected  for  descrip- 
tion were  all  eighty  years  old  or  more,  —  that  is,  they  were 
old  enough  to  have  developed  completely  their  original  designs, 
and  to  have  been  enriched  by  the  care  of  successive  owners  in 
at  least  three  generations.  They  showed  what  was  lastingly 
desirable  in  landscape  design.  They  had  dignity,  harmony, 
and  loveliness.  To  commemorate  them  was  for  Charles  a  labor 
of  love.  He  visited  each  place  he  described,  and  procured 
at  least  one  picture  of  each,  and  drew  a  sketch  plan  of  each. 
With  the  first  three  of  the  six  he  had  been  long  familiar. 
These  articles  constitute  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

SIX  OLD  AMERICAN  COUNTRY-SEATS 

Any  hard  fist  can  draw  iron  railings  ;  a  hedge  is  a  task  for  the  great- 
est. Those  therefore  who  want  their  gardens  or  grounds  or  any  place 
beautiful  must  get  that  greatest  of  geniuses,  Nature,  to  help  them.  — 
Richard  Jeffries. 

I. — THE   GORE   PLACE. 

John  Winthrop,  first  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  had 
his  country-place.  It  lay  upon  Mystic  River,  and  was  called 
Ten  Hills.  The  pleasures  of  life  there  were  certainly  pecul- 
iar, wolves  and  prowling  Indians  being  frequent  visitors ;  but 
now  that  several  of  the  ten  hills  even  have  been  destroyed, 
Winthrop's  frontier  "  paradise "  can  only  be  imagined,  not 
described.  Unfortunately  the  same  must  now  be  said  of 
almost  all  the  mansions  and  gardens  of  the  later  aristocratic 
time  which  preceded  the  Revolution.  The  rising  tide  of  pop- 
ulation has  swallowed  up  the  handsome  establishments  of 
Tories  and  patriots  alike.  The  Craigie  house,  which  the 
Longfellow  family  preserves  in  Cambridge,  is  now  almost  the 
sole  surviving  representative  of  the  terraced  and  high-walled 
stateliness  of  the  colonial  days. 

Boston  and  her  surrounding  sister  cities  grow  continually. 
Farm  after  farm  and  garden  after  garden  are  invaded  by 
streets,  sewers,  and  water-pipes,  owners  being  fairly  compelled 
to  sell  lands  which  are  taxed  more  and  more  heavily.  Before 
destruction  overtakes  the  few  old  seats  now  remaining,  it  will 
be  well  to  make  some  sort  of  record  of  their  character  and 
beauty. 

About  eight  miles  from  the  State  House,  one  of  the  roads 
of  the  Charles  River  valley,  after  passing  through  a  somewhat 
squalid  manufacturing  district,  suddenly  becomes  a  rural  lane, 
which  winds  its  shady  way  first  past  the  low-roofed  farmhouse 


iET.  29] 


THE  GORE  PLACE  AT  WALTHAII 


241« 


and  then  past  the  lawn  and  mansion  of  what  is  plainly  an  old 
estate.  .  .  .  [The  accompanying  plan  shows  the  general  ar- 
rangement of  the  estate.]     The  grass  sweeps  up  to  the  walls 


The  Gore  Place,  Waltham,  Mass. 


of  this  long  south  front.  No  line  of  any  sort  breaks  the  flow- 
ing breadth  of  the  lawn,  for  the  approach-road,  which  leaves 
the  lane  near  the  farmhouse,  goes  around  through  the  trees 
to  the  door  in  the  north  front  of  the  house.  The  simple  but 
well-proportioned  building  is  set  off  against  a  background  of 
foliage,  and  the  ends  of  the  low  wings  are  shadowed  by  tall 
Pines  and  Chestnuts,  whose  brothers,  forming  noble  masses 
at  the  sides  of  the  lawn,  support  and  frame  the  house,  and, 


242  SIX  OLD  AMERICAN  COUNTRY-SEATS  [1889 

joined  with  it,  compose  one  satisfying  picture.  On  the  further 
side  of  the  lane  is  an  open  field  and  a  winding  pond,  whose 
distant  further  end  is  lost  in  the  shadow  of  a  Pine  wood,  from 
out  the  edge  of  which  a  White  Birch  leans  over  the  water. 
Larches,  too,  and  small  Beeches  grow  in  the  edge  of  this  dis- 
tant wood,  and  enliven  the  darkness  of  the  Pines  in  spring  and 
autumn,  while  here  and  there  above  the  tops  of  the  trees 
appear  the  crests  of  low  hills,  a  mile  or  two  away  beyond  the 
river. 

This  strikingly  peaceful  and  lovely  scene,  so  religiously 
preserved  by  its  present  owner  that  he  can  say  that  only  the 
gales  have  harmed  it  since  he  came  into  possession  more  than 
thirty  years  ago,  impresses  the  most  casual  passer-by,  and 
teaches  owners  of  country-seats  a  lesson  of  first  importance. 
Here  is  not  one  rare  tree,  not  a  single  vegetable  or  architec- 
tural wonder,  not  one  flower  bed  or  ribbon-border ;  only 
common  trees,  grass,  and  water,  smooth  ground,  and  a  plain 
building.  The  scene  is  interesting,  impressive,  and  lovable, 
and  it  is  this  solely  by  reason  of  the  simplicity,  breadth,  and 
harmony  of  its  composition.  This  is  real  landscape  architec- 
ture of  the  purest  type,  in  comparison  with  which  all  modern 
arrangements  of  specimen  fancy  trees  must  always  appear 
ineffective  as  well  as  inappropriate. 

The  lands  about  this  mansion,  once  a  part  of  the  so-called 
Beaver  Brook  Plowlands,  were  first  owned  by  the  beloved 
first  minister  of  the  colonial  church  of  Watertown,  the  Rev- 
erend George  Phillips.  After  his  death,  in  1644,  certain  of 
the  Garfield  family  became  the  owners,  and  when  Mr.  Chris- 
topher Gore  bought  "the  fortj^-acre  lot,"  about  1791,  he 
entered  upon  lands  which  had  been  the  home  of  excellent 
people  during  a  full  century  and  a  half.  Mr.  Gore  was  sent 
to  England  in  1796  as  one  of  the  Commissioners  under  Jay's 
treaty,  and  one  wing  of  his  house  having  been  burned  in  his 
absence,  he  caused  the  present  mansion  to  be  built  of  brick 
and  made  ready  for  his  return  in  1804.  It  is  said  that  he 
brought  with  him  an  English  landscape  gardener ;  and  cer- 
tainly the  old  place  bears  every  mark  of  the  distinctive  style 
of  Humphrey  Repton,  whose  book  on  landscape  gardening 
was  published  just  before  Gore's  visit  to  Europe.     The  brick 


^T.  29]  THE   LYMAN   PLACE   AT  WALTHAM  243 

house,  which  is  painted  white,  contains  many  finely  propor- 
tioned rooms.  Two  doorways  open  upon  a  long  platform  on 
the  north  front.  Between  these  doors  stretches  a  hall  dining- 
room,  with  a  marble  floor,  and  fireplaces  at  each  end.  The 
large  bay  in  the  south  front  contains  an  oval  drawing-room ; 
on  one  side  of  this  room  is  a  breakfast-room,  and  on  the 
other  a  parlor ;  the  east  wing  contains  a  billiard-room,  the 
west  the  kitchen  and  offices. 

The  carriage-turn,  and  the  whole  north  side  of  the  house,  is 
crowded  with  large  trees ;  many  Hemlocks,  whose  soft  boughs 
sweep  the  ground  at  the  edge  of  the  drive,  sevei-al  Umbrella 
Magnolias  among  the  Hemlocks,  some  large  Lindens,  and 
many  very  tall  White  Pines.  Just  beyond  is  the  flower 
garden,  carefully  sheltered  and  quaintly  laid  out  in  geometric 
fashion,  with  great  banks  of  shrubs  at  the  sides,  plenty  of 
smooth  grass,  and  large  beds  crowded  with  perennials  in  rich, 
old-fashioned  array.  A  small  enclosure  for  deer  adjoins  the 
garden ;  two  smooth  and  open  hay-fields  are  close  at  hand, 
and  around  all  this  forty-acre  home-lot  stands  a  dense  belt  of 
forest  trees,  shutting  out  the  commonplace  world  and  afford- 
ing a  pleasantly  shady  walk  of  something  like  a  mile  in 
length. 

Mr.  Gore  lived  to  be  Governor  of  Massachusetts  and 
United  States  Senator.  One  of  the  later  owners  of  the  place, 
Mr.  Theodore  Lyman,  2d,  made  the  pond  beyond  the  lane, 
and  built  the  present  approach-road,  and  both  he  and  the 
present  owner  planted  many  trees  ;  but  every  proprietor  since 
Mr.  Gore's  time  has  respected  the  character  which  was  im- 
pressed upon  the  scene  in  the  beginning;  nothing  to-day 
appears  incongruous  or  out  of  place.  If  Governor  Gore  him- 
self could  walk  about  this  country-seat  to-morrow,  he  would 
certainly  be  very  proud  to  own  it  his. 

II.  —  THE   LYMAN   PLACE 

Beyond  Cambridge  and  Somerville  and  about  seven  miles 
from  Boston  Common  rises  a  range  of  irregular  and  some- 
times rocky  hills,  from  whose  summits  one  may  see  on  the 
west  Wachusett  and  on  the  east  the  ocean.  At  the  southern 
end  of  this  highland  two  considerable  brooks  issue  from  the 


244  SIX   OLD    AMERICAN  COUNTRY-SEATS  [1889 

hills  and,  joining  their  waters,  flow  as  one  stream  across 
about  a  mile  of  smoother  country  to  Charles  River.  Between 
the  western  brook  and  the  foot  of  the  rocks  is  a  warm  slope 
having  a  southern  exposure,  and  here  one  of  the  colonists  of 
1634,  by  name  John  Livermore,  built  his  house  and  cleared 
the  land  for  a  farm.  Other  Livermores  —  Nathaniel,  Samuel, 
and  Elijah  —  in  turn  succeeded  to  the  property  ;  of  whom 
Samuel  came  to  most  honor,  for  he  married  four  times,  and 
served  his  fellow-townsmen  as  their  clerk,  assessor,  and  cap- 
tain of  the  company,  and  also  as  deacon  of  the  church,  which 
was  built  about  1722  "  within  twenty  rods  of  Nathaniel  Liver- 
more's  dwelling."  Elijah  Livermore  became  the  founder  of  a 
town  in  Maine,  and  sold  the  farm  to  Mr.  Jonas  Dix,  of  the 
class  of  1769  at  Harvard  College,  who  brought  his  bride  to 
the  Livermore  homestead,  and  there  lived  the  quiet  life  of  a 
schoolmaster  and  selectman  until  his  death  in  1796. 

It  would  be  very  interesting  to  know  what  was  the  condi- 
tion of  the  neighborhood  at  this  time,  whether  the  sheltering 
hills  behind  the  farm  were  wooded  or  no,  and  what  sort  of  a 
channel  the  Chester  brook  ran  in.  The  place  must  have  been 
decidedly  attractive  in  some  way ;  for  its  next  owner,  Theo- 
dore Lyman,  a  merchant  of  Boston,  bought  it  with  the  express 
intention  of  making  it  a  country-seat,  and  forthwith  built 
a  mansion  which  was  valued  by  the  assessors  of  1798  at  the 
vast  sum  of  eight  thousand  dollars !  This  substantial  house 
he  placed  not  upon  the  highland,  where  the  popular  taste  of 
to-day  would  set  it,  but  upon  the  flat,  and  from  one  to  two 
hundred  feet  south  of  the  southernmost  rocks.  Here  it  was 
sufficiently  high  above  the  brook,  which  flowed  in  front  about 
400  feet  away,  while  behind  it  space  was  obtained  for  a  well- 
sheltered  garden.  The  east  wing  was  built  close  to  a  little 
knoll,  which,  with  the  trees  upon  it,  helped  to  make  the  house 
appear  firmly  and  comfortably  planted.  The  west  wing  also 
had  its  supporting  trees.  The  smooth  lawn  before  the  house 
was  made  with  material  dug  from  beside  the  brook,  which  was 
then  induced,  by  the  help  of  a  low  dam,  to  flow  more  quietly 
and  broadly.  Plainly,  English  books  on  landscape  gardening, 
like  Repton's  or  Whately's,  had  made  part  of  this  American 
gentleman's  reading  —  the  low  setting  of  the  house  and  the 


t    <t.   u    "    Z    z 


.5  ;5  ^  i;  .i  .5  .,*  J  ..*  2  ? 


oi  -i  vi  vS  »;  o6 


^T.29]  ITS   PLAN  — REMARKABLE  TREES  245 

serpentine  curves  given  to  the  grass-edged  shore  of  the  stream 
furnish  proof  of  this. 

At  first,  the  approach-road  entered  the  estate  from  the 
southeast  and  crossed  the  brook  on  a  stone  bridge  of  three 
arches,  but  in  after  years  a  new  entrance  was  made  in  the 
position  shown  upon  our  plan,  and  then  the  okler  way  was 
discontinued,  with  the  unfortunate  effect  of  bringing  the 
driveway  to  a  sudden  ending  at  the  house  door.  No  other 
important  alterations  of  the  original  plan  have  been  attempted 
since  the  designer  himself  made  this  change.  To  be  sure,  the 
second  Lyman,  probably  in  haste  to  provide  shade  in  certain 
parts,  planted  many  Norway  spruces ;  but  these  his  son  is 
now  gradually  removing,  to  the  great  improvement  of  the  gen- 
eral scene ;  for  the  deciduous  forest  trees  which  these  quick- 
growing  conifers  hid  from  sight  have  now  attained  a  hand- 
some stature  and,  leaning  forward  or  hanging  from  the  steep 
banks  behind  the  house  and  from  the  knolls,  compose  a  har- 
monious and  striking  scene,  which  the  cone-shaped  Spruces 
at  present  confuse  and  obscure.  A  few  of  the  native  trees 
are  uncommonly  large ;  for  instance,  an  Oak  and  an  Elm, 
which  stand  alone  in  the  grass-field  east  of  the  pleasure- 
ground  ;  and,  just  before  the  house,  a  fine  swamp  White  Oak, 
which  was,  doubtless,  an  aboriginal  inhabitant  of  the  Chester 
Brook  valley  —  its  horizontal  branches  spread  100  feet. 
Here,  too,  is  an  English  Elm  of  uncommonly  widespread 
habit,  its  many  large  limbs  supported  by  a  trunk  which  mea- 
sures fifteen  and  a  quarter  feet  in  circumference. 

But  the  most  remarkable  tree  upon  the  place  —  a  Purple 
Beech  —  stands  in  the  garden  behind  the  house.  This  little 
level  space  is  curiously  irregular  in  ground  plan.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  a  short  range  of  glass-houses  and  by 
a  high  brick  wall,  which  curves  in  and  out  in  order  to  avoid 
the  ledges  of  the  rocky  bank  behind  it.  Peach  and  Pear 
trees  are  trained  all  over  this  old  wall;  an  ancient  hedge 
of  Box  accompanies  it  at  some  six  feet  from  its  base ;  and 
many  forest  trees  rise  behind  it.  The  garden  ground  is  all 
one  slightly  varied  level  of  soft  grass,  with  a  few  trees  of 
chosen  kinds  near  the  edges,  a  few  Rhododendrons  and  Roses, 
and  one  giant  White  Pine,  which  seems  to  guard  the  open  end 


246  SIX  OLD   AMERICAN   COUNTRY-SEATS  [1889 

of  the  ground  where  the  simple  but  picturesque  enclosure 
expands  into  the  still  simpler  ground  outside.  With  its  soft 
shadows  at  all  hours  of  the  day,  its  sheltered  quietness,  its 
intricacy  in  one  part,  and  its  open  outlook  in  another  part, 
this  is  a  charming  spot  —  a  scene  which  would  be  lovely 
enough  without  its  crowning  glory,  the  gnarled  Purple  Beech. 
The  tree  stands  close  against  the  brick  wall ;  the  circumfer- 
ence of  its  embossed  and  tortuous  trunk  is  more  than  thirteen 
feet,  and  its  branches  extend  eighty-five  feet.  This  is  a  large 
Beech  to  be  only  ninety  years  old,  and  it  is  just  possible  that 
Mr.  Dix  may  have  planted  it  and  the  great  Elm  before  the 
house  ;  but  their  stature  is  more  probably  to  be  accounted  for 
by  the  good  soil  and  shelter. 

Many  photographs  .  .  .  could  only  partially  illustrate  the 
beauty  and  variety  of  the  larger  scenery  of  the  estate  —  the 
gentle  slopes  of  grass-land,  in  the  hollow  of  which  lie  the  ponds, 
the  wide  stretches  of  moist  meadow,  the  occasional  passages 
along  the  stream  where  Elms  or  Willows  overhang  the  water, 
the  sheltering  banks  and  knolls  clothed  with  dense  woods,  or 
dotted,  as  in  the  remote  parts,  with  dark  Junipers  and  out- 
crops of  rock.  The  landscape  is  more  appropriate  to  human 
use  and  occupation,  and  at  the  same  time  it  is  more  beautiful 
than  was  the  original  natural  scene.  The  meadows  are  more 
meadow-like  than  they  were,  the  stream  reflects  more  sky,  the 
trees  are  nobler  trees,  and  they  stand  in  ordered  masses,  not 
in  uniformly  dense  array.  Here  is  abundant  proof  that  if 
Nature  is  helped  and  not  forced,  she  will  make  for  us  scenery 
which  shall  grow  to  more  and  more  loveliness  and  character 
as  the  years  pass. 

III.  —  BELMONT. 

Beyond  Fresh  Pond  the  road  from  Cambridge  to  Waverley 
ascends  a  gentle  swell  of  smoothly  surfaced  upland,  enters  the 
shade  of  arching  Elms,  and  presently  discloses  on  the  right 
hand  a  green  lawn  of  an  extent  that  is  uncommon  near  Boston. 
The  ground  has  a  beautiful  form.  It  descends  a  little  from 
the  road  towards  a  gentle  hollow  which  holds  a  small  pond, 
and  thence  it  rises  veiy  gradually,  and  with  many  slight 
irregularities  of  slope,  to  the  wood  which  bounds  the  scene  at 


iET.  29]      THE   CUSHING-PAYSON   PLACE  — BELMONT       247 

the  north,  and  to  the  house  at  the  northwest.  The  western 
border  of  the  open  ground  is  a  wood  of  native,  deciduous 
trees  through  which  the  approach-road  goes  to  the  house.  In 
many  phices  the  grass  runs  in  between  the  surrounding  groves, 
so  that  only  the  lower  or  eastern  boundary  of  the  lawn  appears 
in  the  least  degree  formal  or  stiff.  A  few  Hickories  rise  in 
the  midst  of  the  grass.  They  are  quite  in  keeping  with  their 
surroundings  ;  but  this  cannot  be  said  for  the  group  of  White 
Pines,  or  the  two  or  three  Norway  Spruces,  or  the  big  Larch 
encircled  by  old  plants  of  Arbor  Vitse,  which  are  the  compan- 
ions of  the  Hickories  in  the  open  ground.  Our  picture  [not 
reproduced  here],  taken  from  a  point  near  the  little  pond, 
shows  only  the  upper  half  of  the  lawn  and  but  one  of  these 
incongruous  trees — the  Spruce,  which  appears  behind  the 
two  Hickories  —  in  the  foreground.  This  Norway  is  a  fine 
specimen  of  its  kind.  Its  lower  limbs  rest  upon  the  ground 
on  all  sides  ;  but  it  should  never  have  been  planted  where  it 
is,  for  its  formal  shape  is  quite  the  opposite  of  every  shape 
around  it,  and  attracts  the  eye  to  itself  at  once  in  a  way 
which  confuses  the  effect  of  the  otherwise  harmonious  scene. 
The  stiffly  circular  clump  of  Arbor  Vitae  is  a  still  more 
obtrusive  object.  Thoughtless  planting  like  this  has  too 
often  injured  scenes  which  Nature  made  harmoniously  beau- 
tiful, and  to  which  Nature  would  gladly  add  more  and  more 
of  character  and  beauty,  if  she  were  helped  and  not  thwarted 
by  man. 

The  house  is  approached  through   a  wood  of  trees  which 
arch  overhead  to  form  a  handsome  informal  avenue  within 
which  the  road  curves  very  gently  ;  but  as  the  whole  length 
of  the  road  is  visible  at  once  from  the  beginning,  it  had  better 
have   been  made   straight.      [See   the   accompanying  plan.] 
At  the  house  is  a  wide  gravel  space  for  the  accommodatio- 
of  waiting  carriages,  and  here  a  junction   is  made  with  tl 
service  road,  a  branch  of  which  leads  to  the  stable.     Thus  • 
the  necessary  gravel  spaces  are  provided  at  this  one  side 
the  house,  so  that  the  grass  is  free  to  sweep  up  to  the  very 
walls  on  two  sides,  —  a  point  of  great  merit  in  the  plan.    The 
fourth,  or  north,  side  is  occupied  by  a  walled  kitchen-court 
and  a  laundry-yard. 


248  SIX  OLD   AMERICAN   COUNTRY-SEATS  [1889 

The  house  is  a  substantial  structure  of  brick,  with  verau- 
das  built  of  stone.  Its  rooms  command  a  view  of  the  ten 
acres  of  lawn,  on  one  hand,  and  of  the  interior  of  the  wood, 
on  the  other.  Over  the  tops  of  the  trees  at  the  foot  of  the 
lawn  appears  the  shining  dome  of  the  State  House  on  Beacon 
Hill,  five  miles  away. 

A  broad  walk  leads  eastward  from  the  house  to  a  point  of 
view  which  commands  Fresh  Pond  and  the  intervening  di- 
versified farms.  Six  Purple  Beeches  stand  in  a  row  beside 
this  path  near  the  house,  but  formality  ceases  at  the  view 
point,  and  the  walk  wanders  off  along  the  brink  of  the  gentle 
eastward  slope,  passes  among  scattered  Oaks  of  large  size 
and  around  the  small  deer-park,  and  after  sending  off  a 
branch  to  a  knoll  wliich  offers  a  yet  wider  prospect  over  the 
Mystic  River  basin,  returns  to  the  rear  of  the  garden.  .  .  . 

The  garden  behind  the  house  is  an  enclosed  square  mea- 
suring 300  feet  each  way,  level,  and  formally  divided  by 
broad  gravel  paths,  as  shown  upon  the  plan.  A  conserva- 
tory and  two  long  graperies,  behind  which  are  the  potting- 
sheds  and  plant-houses,  front  upon  the  northern  side  of  the 
garden,  while  two  Peach-houses  and  many  well-trained  Pear- 
trees  occupy  the  east  and  west  walls.  Most  of  the  ground  is 
smoothly  grassed.  There  are  two  large  masses  of  Rhododen- 
drons mixed  with  similar  shrubs  ;  at  the  sides  are  long  beds 
of  perennials  and  foliage  plants,  and  grouped  upon  the  grass 
near  the  angles  of  the  walks  are  specimens  of  such  trees  as 
ithe  Flowering  Magnolias,  the  Red-flowering  Horse-chestnut, 
'^the  Weeping  Elm,  the  Swamp  Cypress,  the  Ginkgo,  the 
Oriental  Spruce,  the  Swiss  Stone  Pine,  and  the  Mountain 
Fine  (P.  Mughus).  Such  specimen  plants  are  certainly  quite 
;ia  place  in  a  formal  garden  intended  to  be  decorative.  They 
should,  however,  be  chosen  for  their  appropriateness,  and 
gr<OTiped  with  due  regard  to  the  effect  upon  their  neighbors. 
The  Mountain  Pine  just  mentioned  is  too  roughly  pictur- 
esque to  appear  in  a  garden  like  this  where  elegance  is  the 
end  and  aim. 

A  glance  at  the  sketch  plan  will  explain  the  arrangement 
of  the  numerous  minor  buildings  and  enclosures  of  the  estate. 
The  completeness  of  the  equipment  is  remarkable.     There 


^T.  29]  ITS   COMPLETENESS  249 

are  buildings  for  all  purposes,  —  they  are  not  all  named 
upon  the  plan,  —  and  elaborate  facilities  for  the  growing  of 
everything  from  the  Parsnip  and  the  Potato  to  the  Chrysan- 


The  Cuslung-Payson  Place,  Belmont. 


themum  and  the  Orchid.  The  land  company  which  is  now 
in  possession  has  cut  off  the  farm-lands,  but  offers  the  re- 
maining parts  for  sale  quite   intact.     These  lands  made  a 


250  SIX  OLD  AMERICAN   COUNTRY-SEATS  [1889 

couutry-seat,  at  least  as  long  ago  as  1800,  when  the  owner 
was  a  brother  of  Commodore  Preble.  One  of  the  daughters 
of  the  house  married  Mr.  Nathaniel  Amory,  who  became  the 
next  owner,  and  he  sold  the  property  to  Mr.  R.  D.  Shepherd, 
and  he  to  Mr.  J.  P.  Gushing.  Mr.  Gushing  spent  many  thou- 
sand dollars  every  year  upon  the  place,  and  made  it,  thirty- 
six  years  ago,  the  most  famous  seat  near  Boston.  Mr.  S.  R. 
Payson,  the  last  owner,  maintained  and  increased  this  fame. 

To-day  the  place  possesses  something  of  that  priceless 
and  poetic  charm  which  so  distinguishes  the  Gore  Place  and 
the  Lyman  Place  ;  it  is  felt  in  the  deer-park  and  among  the 
Oaks,  but  the  spell  is  not  so  potent,  nor  does  it  pervade  the 
whole  scene  as  at  Waltham.  To  define  the  difference  is  a 
little  difficult;  but  it  is  in  part  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  a  certain  unavoidable  suspicion  of  display  attaches  to 
this  place,  —  to  the  great  expanse  of  clipped  lawn,  the  sjjeci- 
men  trees,  and  the  elaborate  gardening.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  gardening  and  the  specimen  planting  are  generally  good 
in  their  way,  and  are  placed  where  they  belong,  namely,  in 
the  garden,  and  not  in  the  landscape. 

IV.  —  CLERMONT. 

New  England,  in  the  old  days  before  the  growing  up  of 
the  great  cities,  possessed  many  towns  in  and  near  which 
dwelt  people  of  polite  cultivation  and  polished  manners, 
whose  sober,  but  often  stately,  mansions  yet  remain.  In  the 
seaboard  towns  especially,  such  as  Portsmouth,  Newburyport, 
Salem,  and  New  Bedford,  still  stand  numerous  examples  of 
this  appropriate  urban  architecture,  substantial  buildings, 
with  light  and  some  space  about  them,  and  sometimes  a  court- 
yard enclosed  by  a  high  wall  in  the  English  fashion.  At 
Kittery,  at  New  Bedford,  and  elsewhere,  not  to  speak  of 
numerous,  but  fast  disappearing  examples  near  Boston,  man- 
sions of  this  character  may  be  seen  standing  well  out  of  town 
in  small  parks  of  their  own.  It  should  be  noted  that  the 
three  old  Bostonian  country-seats,  already  described  in  this 
series  of  brief  papers,  have  been  chosen  only  because  of  their 
exhibiting  more  than  usual  breadth  of  landscape  setting, 
combined  with  more,  than  usual  excellence  of  general  design. 


^T.  29]  CLERMONT  ON  THE  HUDSON  251 

Passing  now  from  New  England  to  New  York,  from  the 
region  of  small  hills,  ponds,  and  streams  which  surrounds 
Boston  to  the  prospect-commanding  banks  of  the  broad  Hud- 
sou,  and  again  selecting  ancient  country-seats  which  excel  in 
point  of  design,  we  come  first  to  Montgomery  Place,  at 
Barrytown. 

Barrytown  is  itself  but  a  very  small  village,  about  ninety 
miles  from  New  York  and  some  fifty  from  Albany ;  and  it  is 
so  surprising  to  find  here  an  old  seat  of  the  first  class,  that 
this  number  of  the  series  must  be  devoted  to  an  explanation 
of  the  fact.  The  Hudson  River  naturally  attracted  settlers 
very  early.  The  Dutch  established  a  trading-post  at  Beaver- 
wyck  even  before  they  built  their  fort  at  New  Amsterdam  ; 
and  here  the  Van  Rensselaers  held  sway  as  Patroons  during 
many  years.  After  the  English  gained  possession  of  the 
"country,  and  renamed  the  chief  towns  New  York  and  Albany, 
the  river  lands  began  to  be  parcelled  out  among  such  persons 
as  applied  for  them,  and  could  persuade  the  Indians  to  sell 
their  hunting-grounds  for  coats,  hatchets,  or  beads.  Among 
others  who  thus  obtained  a  manor  was  Robert  Livingston,  an 
immigrant  of  1G74,  son  of  a  clergyman  who  had  been  exiled 
to  Holland  for  non-conformity.  This  gentleman  married  the 
widow  of  the  Patroon,  and  was  made  lord  of  the  manor  of 
Livingston  in  1685  by  Governor  Dongan,  who  granted  him 
title  to  150,000  acres  with  a  frontage  of  about  fifteen  miles 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  Hudson  River,  opposite  the  Catskill 
Mountains.  After  a  younger  son  of  his,  also  named  Robert, 
had  distinguished  himself  by  frustrating  an  Indian  plot,  he 
set  off  the  southern  part  of  his  ample  domain  beside  the  river, 
and  gave  it  to  his  son,  making  him  lord  of  a  new  manor, 
which  he  named  Clermont.  The  Clermont  manor-house 
stands  intact,  its  stout  walls  having  survived  the  fire  set  by 
British  raidei's  just  before  Burgoyne  surrendered  in  1777.  It 
is  approached  by  a  long  winding  road,  which  descends  from 
the  highway  through  a  wild  woodland.  Near  the  house  the 
road  divides  to  send  a  branch  to  the  kitchen  door  and  to  the 
stable,  and  the  main  road  ends  with  a  turn  placed  most  un- 
fortunately between  the  house  and  the  river.  The  house  is  a 
square  building  with  two  low  wings,  and  stands  on  a  natural 


252  SIX  OLD  AMERICAN  COUNTRY-SEATS  [1889 

terrace  within  half  a  stone's  throw  of  the  low  bluff  which  here 
makes  the  river's  shore.  Immediately  behind  it  rises  a  bank 
of  forest  trees,  the  edge  of  Clermont  Woods,  and  before  it,  in 
an  irregular  row  on  the  brink  of  the  bluff,  stand  a  dozen 
huge  Locust-trees,  doubtless  the  ancestors  of  many  others 
which  adorn  the  numerous  Livingston  properties  along  the 
river.  One  of  these  great  trunks  measures  six  yards  in  cir- 
cumference, and  shows  to  this  day  the  marks  of  British  can- 
non-shot. 

From  Clermont  a  short  walk  southward  through  an  avenue 
of  tall  and  crowded  Locusts  brings  one  to  another  and  more 
elaborate  mansion,  situated  upon  the  same  natural  terrace, 
backed  by  the  same  hanging  woods,  and  commanding  the 
same  view  of  the  river  and  the  Catskills.  This  house  was 
built  by  that  Robert  R.  Livingston  who  was  a  delegate  from 
New  York  to  the  Congress  of  1776,  and  became  first  Chan- ' 
cellor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  Minister  to  France,  and  a 
patron  of  Robert  Fulton.  The  ground  plan  of  his  house  is 
in  the  form  of  an  H.  The  central  hall  in  the  middle  of  the 
H  is  entered  from  either  court ;  and  a  long  corridor,  which 
looks  on  the  river  court,  and  is  hung  with  family  portraits, 
connects  the  drawing-room  in  one  wing  with  the  dining-room 
in  the  other.  The  external  walls  of  the  house  are  white,  the 
great  rooms  in  the  low  wings  have  long  windows  opening 
nearly  to  the  ground,  and  the  two  stories  of  the  central  block 
are  crowned  by  an  elaborate  white  railing.  Across  the  ends 
of  the  wings  and  the  river  court  extends  a  platform  at  which 
carriages  may  draw  up,  and  a  carriage-road  makes  a  rectan- 
gle about  the  whole  house.  A  more  interesting  example 
of  domestic  architecture  in  the  formal  style  does  not  exist 
in  America.  Its  owners,  men  who  were  conspicuous  in  the 
political  struggles  of  the  young  Republic,  were  often  com- 
pelled to  make  the  long  journey  to  New  York  ;  but  they 
always  returned  to  Clermont  as  to  their  one  permanent  home, 
—  so  strong,  even  after  manorial  privileges  had  been  aban- 
doned, was  their  old  English  liking  for  country  life  and 
country  leisure.  Montgomery  Place,  at  Barry  town,  was  an 
offshoot  of  these  manorial  seats  at  Clermont.  Like  several 
other  old  seats  upon  the  Hudson,  it  would  never  have  been 


^T.  29]  MONTGOMERY  PLACE  253 

created  had  not  Governor  Dongan  and  his  superiors  in  Eng- 
land attempted  to  plant  in  America  the  English  manorial 
system. 

V.  —  MONTGOMERY   PLACE. 

Janet  Livingston,  a  sister-  of  the  Chancellor,  grew  up  in 
the  quiet  elegance  of  Clermont ;  but  after  her  gallant  yomig 
husband,  General  Kichard  Montgomery,  was  killed  at  Quebec, 
she  chose  and  purchased  for  her  home  a  tract  of  three  hun- 
dred acres  lying  upon  the  river  by  the  mouth  of  the  Saw  Kill 
and  a  few  miles  south  of  the  southern  limits  of  Clermont 
Manor.  Here,  with  the  help  of  plans  which  are  said  to  have 
been  sent  from  Ireland  by  Montgomery's  sister,  a  Lady  Rane- 
lagh,  a  mansion  remarkable  for  its  simple  but  elegant  archi- 
tecture was  built,  and  the  new  seat  was  named  Montgomery 
Place.  Here  in  later  years  the  eminent  jurist,  Edward  Liv- 
ingston, was  wont  to  retire  from  the  cares  of  office  to  enjoy 
the  beauties  of  nature. 

Approaching  tlie  estate  to-day  from  Rhinebeck  or  from 
Red  Hook,  the  way  lies  through  a  charming  farming  country 
crossed  by  numerous  lane-like  roads  and  by  the  one  highway 
which  leads  to  Albany.  The  approach  to  the  house  at  Mont- 
gomery Place  parts  from  the  high-road  at  right  angles,  and 
leads,  at  first  straight,  toward  the  river  through  an  avenue  of 
noble  trees  of  various  sorts,  planted  in  rows,  yet  not  in  pairs. 
Indeed,  not  only  is  there  no  precise  symmetry,  but  a  giant 
Locust  may  here  be  seen  standing  opjiosite  a  Linden,  or  a 
great  Horse-chestnut  opposite  a  Beech  ;  and  in  one  place, 
where  the  road  is  carried  on  a  stone-walled  causeway  over  a 
little  gully,  great  Willows  throw  large  limbs  across  the  vista. 
Beyond  the  rows  of  trees,  on  either  hand,  lie  gently  undulat- 
ing pasture-lands,  bounded  in  the  distance  by  woods.  Draw- 
ing nearer  now  to  the  house,  the  straight  avenue  ends  just 
as  the  roadway  passes  through  a  tall  hedge  into  the  inner 
park.  Here  is  a  wood  of  fine  forest  trees  standing  well 
apart,  and,  as  the  road  curves  gently  to  the  right  between 
the  ti'ees,  a  little  valley  on  the  left  begins  to  fall  away  quite 
rapidl}-^  toward  the  Hudson.  The  sides  of  this  valley  are 
richly  wooded,  and  serve  to  frame  a  first  glimpse  of  the  rivei-, 


254  SIX  OLD  AMERICAN  COUNTRY-SEATS  [1889 

where  it  Is  disclosed  by  the  broadening  of  the  valley's  mouth. 
As  the  road  swings  still  farther  to  the  right,  the  house  comes 
into  view  ahead,  and  branch  roads  lead  on  the  left  to  the 
stable,  and  to  the  kitchen-yard,  which  is  concealed  by  shrub- 
bery and  by  being  sunk  to  the  basement  level  at  the  southern 
end  of  the  house.  The  main  road  ends  with  an  ample  turn, 
placed  symmetrically  before  the  semicircular  portico  which 
marks  the  entrance.  The  guest  of  the  house  who  turns  here 
looks  eastward  back  toward  the  Albany  road  across  a  gently 
rising  lawn  bounded,  on  one  hand,  by  the  same  dense  wood 
which  he  before  saw  limiting  the  northern  pasture,  and,  on 
the  other,  by  the  more  open  groves  through  which  he  has  just 
travelled.  Formerly  this  sheltered  open  ground  contained  the 
flower  garden  and  an  elaborate  conservatory  ;  and,  on  the  gen- 
tle rise  behind  this  structure,  a  considerable  arboretum  once 
existed,  where  now  only  a  few  scattered  specimens  are  to  be 
seen ;  but  from  the  point  of  view  of  design  and  general  effect 
the  substitution  of  the  existing  simple  but  well-framed  lawn 
in  place  of  the  old  garden  and  conservatory  is  by  no  means 
to  be  regretted.  The  entrance  front  of  the  house,  as  it  now 
appears,  when  viewed  from  the  site  of  the  conservatory,  may 
be  seen  in  the  accompanying  picture  ;  but  though  the  build- 
ing and  the  great  Locusts  near  the  porch  are  well  shown,  the 
picture  gives  no  hint  of  the  blue  distance  of  hills  and  moun- 
tains which  in  reality  appears  through  the  tree-trunks  just 
north  of  the  house. 

If,  tempted  by  this  glimpse  of  distance,  the  visitor  turns 
the  corner  of  the  building  and  steps  into  the  round-arched 
pavilion  which  is  attached  to  the  north  side  of  the  house,  the 
whole  broad  panorama  of  the  river  and  the  Catskills  is  spread 
before  him  to  the  westward  ;  but  even  here  the  wide  prospect 
is  broken  into  scenes  and  framed  by  the  solid  piers  and  arches 
of  the  pavilion  itself,  and  by  the  trunks  and  branches  of  great 
trees,  chiefly  Locusts,  standing  on  the  brink  of  the  irregular 
grassy  slope  which  falls  steeply  to  a  narrow  wood  on  the  bluff 
at  the  river's  edge.  "  To  attempt  to  describe  the  scenery 
which  bewitches  the  eye  as  it  wanders  over  the  wide  expanse 
to  the  west  from  this  pavilion  would  be  an  idle  effort,"  wrote 
Mr.  Downing  in  1847.     "  As  a  foreground,  imagine  a  large 


^T.  29]  THE  KAATSKILLS  FROM  MONTGOMERY  PLACE  255 

lawn  waving  in  undulations  of  soft  verdure,  varied  with  fine 
groups,  and  margined  with  rich  belts  of  foliage.  Its  base  is 
washed  by  the  river,  which  is  here  a  broad  sheet  of  water, 
lying  like  a  long  lake  beneath  the  eye.  .  .  .  On  the  opposite 
shores,  more  than  a  mile  distant,  is  seen  a  rich  mingling  of 
woods  and  corn-fields.  But  the  crowning  glory  of  the  land- 
scape is  the  background  of  mountains.  Tlie  Kaatskills,  as 
seen  from  this  part  of  the  Hudson,  are,  it  seems  to  us,  more 
beautiful  than  any  mountain  scenery  in  the  Middle  States. 
It  is  not  merely  that  their  outline  is  bold,  and  that  the  sum- 
mit of  Roundtop,  rising  three  thousand  feet  above  the  sur- 
rounding country,  gives  an  air  of  more  grandeur  than  is  usu- 
ally seen  even  in  the  Highlands ;  but  it  is  the  color  which 
renders  the  Kaatskills  so  captivating  a  feature  in  the  land- 
scape here.  .  .  .  Morning  and  noon  the  shade  only  varies 
from  softer  to  deeper  blue.  But  the  hour  of  sunset  is  the 
magical  time  for  the  fantasies  of  the  color-genii  of  these 
mountains.  Seen  at  this  period,  from  the  terrace  of  the  pavil- 
ion of  Montgomery  Place,  the  eye  is  filled  with  wonder  at 
the  various  dyes  that  bathe  the  receding  hills  —  the  most  dis- 
tant of  which  are  twenty  or  thirty  miles  away.  ...  It  is  a 
spectacle  of  rare  beauty,  and  he  who  loves  tones  of  color,  soft 
and  dreamy  as  one  of  the  mystical  airs  of  a  German  maestro, 
should  see  the  sunset  fade  into  twilight  from  the  seats  on  this 
part  of  the  Hudson." 

Mr.  Downing  did  well  to  sing  the  praises  of  the  Catskill 
sunsets,  and  he  might  have  added  that  this  favored  pavilion 
of  Montgomery  Place  spreads  its  prospefets  before  the  visitor 
to  the  delightful  accompaniment  of  the  music  of  waterfalls 
sounding  from  the  depths  of  the  wood  near  by.  Upon  enter- 
ing  this  wood  it  is  seen  to  occupy  a  large  and  long  valley  curi- 
ously broken  into  lesser  ravines  and  hollows.  Numerous  paths 
lead  through  the  dark  shadows  of  the  wood  to  all  the  finest 
parts,  and  to  the  falls,  —  one  of  them  forty  feet  high  —  by 
which  the  Saw  Kill  jdunges  down  to  join  the  Hudson.  Here 
are  wildness  and  extreme  picturesqueness  in  sharp  contrast 
with  the  stately  breadth  and  quietness  of  the  lawns  and  groves 
about  the  house,  and  the  majestic  panorama  of  the  river. 
Well  may  Mr.  Downing  have  called  Montgomery  Place  see- 


2o6  SIX   OLD   AMERICAN   COUNTRY-SEATS  [1889 

oud  to  no  seat  in  America  for  its  coinbinatiou  of  attractious ; 
and  it  may  be  added  that  its  makers  and  owners  —  all  of 
them  Livingstons,  or  close  connections  of  the  family  —  have 
been  second  to  none  in  the  taste  and  skill  which  took  advan- 
tag-e  of  glorious  opportunities,  and  in  the  care  which  has  pre- 
served the  essential  features  of  the  original  design  until  this 
day. 

VI. HYDE   PARK. 

In  the  days  of  the  Revolution,  Dr.  Samuel  Bard  was  a  lead- 
ing physician  of  New  York.  He  was  a  decided  Tory  in  feel- 
ing, yet  he  was  a  friend  of  Washington,  and  when  the  war 
was  over,  instead  of  migrating,  he  retired  to  a  country-house 
by  the  Hudson.  He  purchased  his  lands  of  the  famous  "  nine 
partners,"  and  named  his  seat  in  honor  of  Sir  Edward  Hyde, 
one  of  the  Colonial  governors  of  New  York. 

Hyde  Park  is  to-day  the  name  of  a  station  on  the  Hudson 
Eiver  Railroad,  the  first  stoj)  above  Poughkeepsie.  The  trav- 
eller who  alights  here  looks  in  vain  for  any  village,  and  after 
following  the  one  road  a  little  way,  he  finds  himself  beside  a 
foaming  waterfall,  and  sees  beyond  the  stream  a  widespread 
and  apparently  unoccupied  country-side,  composed  of  woods, 
grass-lands,  hills,  and  vales,  which  he  rightly  conjectures  to 
))e  Hyde  Park  proper.  If  the  public  road  be  followed  as  it 
winds  up  the  valley  to  its  junction  with  the  old  Albany  post- 
road  at  Hyde  Park  Corner,  and  then  the  post-road  be  taken 
northward,  the  main  gate  of  the  park  will  be  reached  ;  but 
the  pai'k  may  also  be  entered  from  the  river-side  below  the 
waterfall  in  Crown  Elbow  Creek.  A  bridge,  wliich  leads  to 
a  landing  on  the  bank  of  the  Hudson,  here  spans  the  creek, 
and  a  narrow  road  enters  the  park  in  very  modest  fashion 
just  beyond  the  bridge.  Beginning  at  this  gate,  a  belt  of 
woodland  stretches  northward  for  perhaps  a  mile  along  the 
bank  of  the  river,  occupying  the  summits  of  the  little  crags 
and  knolls  which  here  make  the  rocky  shore,  and  enclosing 
many  charming  bits  of  rocky  woodland  scenery.  Parallel 
with  the  river,  and  just  east  of  the  wood,  lies  a  gently  hol- 
lowed valley  of  smooth  grass-land,  beautifully  fringed  by  the 
waving  edge  of  the  dense  wood,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the 


^T.  29]  HYDE   PARK  ON  THE   HUDSON  257 

other  rising  with  concave  lines  to  meet  the  sharply  ascending 
curves  of  a  high,  steep,  and  grassy  bank,  which,  with  the  great 
trees  near  its  summit,  bounds  the  scene  on  the  east. 

The  little  road  which  enters  by  the  bridge  commands  one 
or  two  views  of  this  bank  and  the  long,  green  glade  at  its 
foot,  and  then  it  turns  to  follow  the  windings  of  the  stream 
which  comes  dashing  down  over  rough  ledges  and  under 
shadowy  Hemlocks  on  the  right.  The  valley  nari-ows  until 
there  is  only  just  room  enough  for  the  stream  and  the  road  ; 
and  here  a  footpath  breaks  off  to  the  left,  and  taking  a  rap- 
idly rising  open  ridge,  plainly  indicates  its  intention  to  gain 
the  summit  of  the  high  bank  with  the  great  trees  which  was 
lately  in  view.  The  road  continues  up  the  winding  glen, 
l^assing  by  several  pretty  waterfalls  ;  and,  by  and  by,  w^here 
the  valley  broadens  and  the  sti'eam  is  held  back  by  a  low 
dam,  it  joins  the  main  a})proach-road,  which  here  bridges  the 
creek  on  its  way  from  the  Albany  highway  to  the  house. 
The  united  roads  next  ascend  by  one  easy  zigzag  to  a  broad 
jjlateau  of  grass-land,  set  with  numerous  and  variously  grouped 
and  scattered  trees  of  noble  age  and  statui'c,  between  the 
trunks  of  which  the  house  soon  appears  in  the  distance.  This 
level  ground  is  both  wide  and  long,  and  its  strikingly  simple, 
open,  and  stately  effect  is  greatly  lieightened  by  the  fact  that 
from  every  part  of  it  is  visible  in  the  west,  beyond  and  behind 
all  the  massive  tree-trunks,  an  indefinite  expanse  of  blue 
distance.  (See  the  accompanying  illustration).  When  the 
house  is  reached,  by  the  road  just  described,  or  by  the  foot- 
path before  mentioned,  it  is  seen  to  stand  close  to  the  brink 
of  the  plateau;  in  other  words,  upon  the  verge  of  the  irreg- 
ular, mile-long  grassy  bank  the  visitor  saw  first  from  below. 
The  descent  of  this  bank  is  sudden,  and  some  of  the  largest 
trees  upon  it  —  chiefly  Chestnuts  and  Oaks  —  lean  outwaj'd 
from  the  bank,  and  most  of  them  grip  the  ground  witli  a 
vigor  befitting  veterans  that  have  long  wrestled  with  tho 
gales. 

The  view  from  the  bftiik  near  the  house  embx-aces  perlmps 
ten  miles  up  and  down  tho  mighty  river,  with  the  varied 
opposite  bank,  and  the  wooded  promontories  near  Staats- 
burg,  and,  in  the  far  distance,  the  blue  ridges  of  the  high- 


258  SIX  OLD   AMERICAN   COUNTRY-SEATS  [1889 

lands  below  Newburgh,  the  dark  outlines  of  the  Shawangunks 
in  the  west,  and  the  pale  summits  of  the  Catskills  in  the 
north.  Foreground,  middle  distance,  and  distance  are  pre- 
sented here  with  sharp  definition.  This  is  a  scene  not  sur- 
passed on  the  upper  Pludson,  unless  the  better  composition 
of  the  river  view  from  Ellerslie  should  place  that  wonderful 
picture  first. 

As  the  illustration  shows,  the  house  at  Hyde  Park  is  of  a 
somewhat  stiff  and  cold  type ;  but  it  is  simple  and  dignified, 
and  in  this  respect  is  well  fitted  to  its  imposing  site.  Its 
south  and  west  sides  meet  the  grass  of  the  park,  its  east  side 
is  the  entrance  front,  and  to  its  northeast  corner  is  attached 
an  ample  kitchen  and  laundry  yard,  reached  by  a  special  road 
from  the  Albany  highway,  which,  abreast  of  the  house,  has 
gained  the  level  of  the  upland.  The  stables  stand  apart  a 
little  to  the  north,  and  the  gi-eenhouses,  with  an  enclosed 
garden  attached  to  them,  lie  in  a  similar  position  on  the 
plateau  to  the  south.  Both  are  entirely  surrounded  by  the 
open  groves  of  the  park. 

According  to  Mr.  Downing,  Andre  Parmentier  of  Long 
Island  —  the  first  landscape  architect  who  practised  in  Amer- 
ica —  arranged  the  roads,  buildings,  and  plantations  of  the 
estate,  under  the  patronage  of  Dr.  Hosack,  who  succeeded 
Dr.  Bard  as  proprietor.  No  man  ever  undertook  a  more 
responsible  service  in  the  realm  of  taste  applied  to  landscape, 
nor  one  in  which  it  would  have  been  easier  to  fail  by  spoiling 
what  Nature  had  so  magnificently  provided.  What  a  contrast 
is  his  work  to  the  usual  practice  of  the  modern  amateur,  who, 
being  a  cultivated  gentleman,  considers  himself  quite  able  to 
lay  out  his  own  place.  With  the  help  of  a  jobbing  gardener, 
he  too  often  first  despoils  the  natural  scene  of  much  that 
makes  its  character  and  beauty,  for  the  sake  of  introducing 
supposedly  decorative  elements,  such  as  strange  trees  and  the 
short-lived  brilliancy  of  flower  beds.  Montgomery  Place  and 
Hyde  Park  should  teach  us  better.  The  soft  and  tranquil 
beauty  of  the  gentle  landscape  of  the  first  named,  and  the 
broad  stateliness  of  the  upland  scenery  of  the  second,  must 
impress  all  sensitive  minds,  as  no  splendor  of  embellishment 
can.     Decorative  gardening,  as  it  is  often  introduced  in  mod- 


^T.  29]  ADAPTING   LANDSCAPE  TO   USE  259 

ern  country-seats,  —  that  is,  in  patches  scattered  here  and 
there,  —  would  at  once  kill  the  effectiveness  of  these  old  seats. 
Their  power  over  the  mind  and  heart  consists  cliiefly  in  the 
unity  of  the  impression  which  they  make.  Their  scenery  is 
artificial  in  the  sense  that  Nature,  working-  alone,  would  never 
have  produced  it ;  but  the  art  which  has  here  "  mended  na- 
ture," to  use  Shakespeare's  phrase,  has  worked  with  Nature 
and  not  against  her.  It  has,  by  judicious  thinning,  helped 
Nature  to  grow  great  trees  ;  it  has  spread  wide  carpets  of 
green  where  Nature  hinted  she  was  willing  grass  should  grow ; 
it  has  in  one  place  induced  a  screen  of  foliage  to  grow  thickly, 
and  in  another  place  it  has  disclosed  a  hidden  vision  of  blue 
distance ;  and  so,  while  it  has  adapted  Nature's  landscape  to 
human  use,  it  has  also,  as  it  were,  concentrated  and  intensi- 
fied the  expression  of  each  scene.  "  Almost  all  natural  land- 
scapes are  redundant  sources  of  more  or  less  confused  beauty, 
out  of  which  the  human  instinct  of  invention  can  by  just 
choice  arrange,  not  a  better  treasure,  but  one  infinitely  more 
fitted  to  human  sight  and  emotion,  infinitely  narrower,  in- 
finitely less  lovely  in  detail,  but  having  this  great  virtue,  that 
there  shall  be  nothing  which  does  not  contribute  to  the  effect 
of  the  whole."  Montgomery  Place  and  Hyde  Park  on  the 
Hudson  may  serve  as  illustrations  of  these  good  words  of  Mr. 
Ruskin. 

Two  other  excellencies  of  these  old  seats  remain  to  be  men- 
tioned, so  that  they  may  perhaps  be  imitated.  First,  the  roads 
and  paths,  instead  of  displaying  themselves  and  their  curves 
as  if  they  were  the  chief  elements  of  beauty  in  park  scenery, 
are  rightly  made  subordinate  and  inconspicuous,  as  befits  the 
mere  instruments  of  convenience  they  really  are.  When  they 
run  straight  across  level  country  they  are  shaded  by  trees  in 
rows ;  when  they  curve,  as  they  do  only  for  good  reason, 
formality  of  planting  instantly  stops.  They  lead  to  their 
objective  points  with  directness  and  without  superfluous  flour- 
ish. Secondly,  the  makers  of  these  old  seats  were  wise  in 
their  generation  in  that  they  chose  sites  for  their  houses  where 
ample  space  was  obtainable,  and  where  fine  trees  already 
existed.  Prevailing  custom  places  fine  houses  on  lots  of  land 
much  too  small  for  them,  and  many  a  mansion,  architecturally 


260  SIX  OLD   AMERICAN   COUNTRY-SEATS  [1889 

excellent,  is  foredoomed  to  rise  in  some  bare  field  where  it 
must  stand  naked  during  many  years.  And  yet,  New  Eng- 
land,  not  to  speak  of  other  parts  of  the  country,  abounds  in 
accessible  park-sites,  crying  to  be  occupied,  where,  if  there  is 
no  such  mighty  river  as  the  Hudson,  there  is  great  variety  of 
lake,  hill,  and  mountain  scenery  adorned  by  fine  trees  and 
woods. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  FUNCTION  OF  THE  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECT 

It  seems  to  be  universally  allowed  that  the  habitation  of  man  should 
be  distinct  from  that  of  the  cattle  that  graze  around  him.  We  see  this 
principle  acted  upon  from  the  palace  to  the  cottage,  which  with  its 
dwarf  wall  or  garden  pales,  broken  and  enriched  with  the  simple 
creepers  of  honeysuckle,  ivy,  etc.,  is  an  object  pleasing  to  every  eye  as 
well  as  to  that  of  the  painter.  ..."  What  such  rustic  embellishments 
are  to  the  cottage,"  says  Sir  Uvedale  Price,  "  terraces,  urns,  vases, 
statues,  and  fountains  are  to  the  palace  and  palace-like  mansion."  — 
Gilpin. 

Charles  was  always  trying,  both  in  public  and  in  private, 
to  explain  and  illustrate  the  objects  of  his  profession,  and  its 
appropriate  services  to  the  community  ;  and  he  was  especially 
anxious  to  set  forth  the  relations  of  the  work  of  the  landscape 
artist  to  that  of  the  engineer,  the  architect,  and  the  gardener. 
Tliis  chapter  contains  a  selection  from  his  writings  on  these 
subjects. 

"WHEN   TO    EMPLOY   THE   LANDSCAPE   GARDENER." 

To  TPiE  Editor  of  "  Garden  and  Forest  : " 

Sh\  —  May  I  add  a  postscript  to  your  recent  editorial  ?  It 
is  not  long  since  the  American  public  first  began  to  give 
thought  and  money  to  securing  well-designed  houses.  We 
had  first  to  realize  that  our  dwellings  were  not  what  they 
might  be ;  and,  secondly,  to  learn  that  if  we  would  do  better, 
w'e  must  ask  the  help  of  men  specially  trained  to  design  hap- 
pily and  to  build  well.  As  respects  the  surroundings  of  our 
houses,  even  most  of  us  who  have  employed  architects  are 
still  in  the  first  or  unawakened  stage.  We  simply  have  not 
perceived  that  our  surroundings  might  be  pleasanter  or  more 
in  keeping  with  our  abode.  While  we  spend  freely  to  fill  the 
house  with  things  of  beauty,  we  probably  leave  the  spaces 
round  about  it  wholly  bare,  or  if  we  attempt  something  better 
than  nakedness,  we  do  so  without  thought  of  general  effect  — 


262  THE  LANDSCAPE  GARDENER  [1889 

without  regard  to  any  such  principles  of  design  as  guided  the 
architect  in  his  shaping  of  the  house.  Not  until  we  come  to 
see  that  the  surroundings  of  the  house  as  well  as  the  house 
itself  should  be  designed  —  that  house,  approaches,  and  sur- 
roundings should  be  planned  together  —  shall  we  be  likely  to 
call  upon  the  landscape-gardener. 
February  6,  1889. 

THE   LANDSCAPE    GAEDENER. 

Irresistible  forces  are  drawing  vast  i:)opulations  into  the 
cities.  Plere,  in  the  busy  centres  of  the  great  towns,  life  is 
lived  at  high  pressure  —  at  such  pressure  that  men  are  con- 
tinually compelled  to  seek  rest  and  refreshment,  either  in 
suburban  home  life,  or  in  frequent  flights  to  the  country,  the 
mountains,  or  the  sea.  It  is  to  meet  this  want  that  millions 
of  dollars  are  spent  upon  public  country  parks,  and  other 
millions  upon  country-seats  and  seaside-seats,  summer  hotels, 
and  summer  cottage  neighborhoods ;  while,  near  the  cities, 
the  same  want  causes  the  region  of  detached  and  gardened 
houses  to  continually  expand.  This  modern  crowding  into 
cities  results  in  a  counter  invasion  of  the  country ;  and  it  is 
just  here  that  the  special  modern  need  of  an  art  and  profes- 
sion of  landscape  gardening  is  first  felt.  How  can  we  add 
roads,  and  many  or  largo  buildings,  to  natural  landscape, 
without  destroying  the  very  thing  in  search  of  which  we  left 
the  city  ?  How  shall  we  establish  ourselves  as  conveniently 
as  may  be,  and  at  the  same  time  preserve  all  the  charms  of 
the  scene  we  have  chosen  to  dwell  in  ?  How  may  we  rightly 
work  to  bring  more  and  more  beauty  into  that  scene  ? 

Questions  like  these  are  not  easily  answered,  and  many 
other  problems  arise  equally  difficult  of  solution.  How  shall 
we  arrange  the  roads  and  buildings  of  a  new  suburb  so  as  to 
make  it  a  thoroughly  pleasant  place  to  live  in  ?  How  shall 
we  secure  all  possible  convenience  and  beauty  in  the  door- 
yards  and  gardens  of  a  neighborhood  ?  How  shall  the  rail- 
road station-yard  and  the  church-yard,  the  public  school-yard 
and  the  public  square,  be  made  as  pleasant  as  possible  to  look 
at,  to  linger  in,  or  to  play  in  ?  How  shall  the  public  park, 
to  which  many  hundreds  or  thousands  will  resort  at  one  time, 


^T.  29]    DESIGN  IN  THE  SURROUNDINGS  OF  HOUSES     263 

be  so  made  and  preserved  as  to  be  to  all  city  dwellers  a  reve- 
lation of  iiatui-e's  beauty  aud  peace  ? 

Only  special  study  and  long  observation  will  fit  a  man 
to  solve  successfully  these  probleuis  of  landscape  garden- 
ing. Says  Mr.  Ruskin  :  "  Art,  properly  so  called,  cannot  be 
learned  in  spare  moments  nor  pursued  wdien  we  have  nothing 
better  to  do.  To  advance  it  men's  lives  must  be  given,  and 
to  receive  it,  their  hearts."  To  the  art  of  preserving,  en- 
hancing, or  creating  out-of-doors  beauty,  whether  natural  or 
formal,  the  landscape  gardener  gives  his  days.  One  week 
will  find  him  plotting  the  half-formal  ways  and  plantings  of 
a  city  square,  and  the  next  may  see  him  working  to  bring  out 
and  to  emphasize  all  the  beauty  a  piece  of  park  land  can  be 
induced  to  yield.  One  day  he  is  designing  a  garden  terrace 
for  a  stately  country-seat ;  another  day  finds  him  suggesting 
ways  of  perfecting  the  charm  of  a  rocky  ^vilderness  by  the 
seashore,  or  the  beauty  of  a  meadow  or  pondside  or  woodside 
in  the  country ;  while  a  third  day  may  be  given  to  the  plan- 
ning of  the  plantations  which  are  to  make  some  ugly,  wind- 
swept field  a  pleasant  place.  He  shares  with  the  architect 
the  designing  of  homesteads  —  fits  the  part  called  the  house 
to  the  surrounding  parts,  plans  the  necessary  approaches,  and 
works  out  such  appropriate  changes  in  the  surrounding  scene 
as  trained  taste  and  experience  suggest.  He  plans,  with  care, 
the  roadways  and  the  footpaths  by  means  of  which  the  peo- 
})le  shall  enjoy  their  country  park  without  harming  it ;  he 
studies  sites  and  surveys,  preparatory  to  laying  out  new  sub- 
urbs or  new  neighborhoods  of  summer  cottages ;  he  devises 
the  surroundings  of  hotels,  hospitals,  and  public  buildings  — 
everywhere  endeavoring  to  supply  every  convenience  of  ar- 
rangement, and,  at  the  same  time,  to  preserve  or  to  create  as 
much  as  possible  of  beauty,  be  it  picturesque  or  formal. 
[Garden  and  Forest,  February  13,  1889.] 

HORTICULTURE  AND   DESIGN   IN   THE   SURROUNDINGS   OF 
HOUSES. 

The  recent  enormous  increase  in  the  variety  of  the  products 
of  the  plant  nursery  has  supplied  the  designer  of  house  sur- 
roundings with  much  new  material,  but  has  not  affected  the 


264  THE  DEMAND   FOR  NURSERY  PLANTS  [1889 

main  principles  of  his  art.  Without  counting  fruit  trees,  an 
ordinary  American  nursery  catalogue  now  offers  for  sale  some 
five  hundred  sorts  of  trees  and  shrubs  and  an  equal  number 
of  herbaceous  perennials.  The  demand  for  nursery-grown 
plants  —  that  is  for  plants  trained  to  bear  moving  —  is  great 
and  growing. 

Possibly  the  time  may  come  when  thousands  of  trees  will 
be  wanted  for  timber  plantations  ;  but  at  present  in  America 
the  first  and  foremost  use  for  nursery-grown  trees  is  the  pro- 
vision of  shelter  from  cold  wind,  or  hot  sun,  for  men's  houses 
and  crops.  Almost  two  thirds  of  our  country  must  plant  trees 
for  this  purpose,  and  Western  nurserymen  will  be  called  upon 
to  grow  vast  numbers  of  quick  and  hardy  sorts.  To  shade 
and  adorn  streets  trees  must  also  be  wanted.  In  the  more 
or  less  arid  West  they  are  particularly  needed,  and  there  they 
will  be  planted  even  though  irrigation  must  be  introduced  to 
support  them.  In  moister  climates  trees  which  do  not  shade 
a  road  too  darkly  will  prove  best. 

A  second  source  of  the  demand  upon  the  nurseryman  is  the 
desire  for  table  fruits.  In  spite  of  adverse  climates,  black 
rot,  and  curculio,  men  will  doubtless  continue  to  grow  apples, 
pears,  peaches,  and  berries  of  ever  better  sorts  and  in  ever 
larger  quantities.  In  the  West  experiment  nmst  go  on  for 
many  years,  before  the  kinds  best  adapted  to  the  various 
climates  can  be  discovered  and  proved  ;  and  in  the  East  the 
limit  of  improvement  is  by  no  means  reached. 

A  third  great  source  of  the  demand  for  plants  springs 
neither  from  the  need  of  shelter  nor  the  desire  for  pleasant 
food,  but  from  the  love  of  plants  as  beautiful  or  curious  ob- 
jects. Beginning  in  this  country  with  the  introduction  of 
Lombardy  Poplars,  Lilacs,  a  few  Roses,  and  a  few  perennials, 
the  desire  for  beautiful  or  striking  plants  has  grown  continu- 
ously and  prodigiously,  encouraging  nurserymen  to  discover 
and  grow  trees,  shrubs,  and  herbs  from  every  temperate  cli- 
mate of  the  earth,  and  prompting  them,  as  each  new  thing 
becomes  in  its  turn  common  or  well  known,  to  offer  some  yet 
more  striking  novelty,  derived  perhaps  from  Asia  or  Japan, 
or  else  developed  from  a  rare  form  of  some  old  friend.  Fine 
bloom  has  been  most  desired  ;  accordingly  sorts  which  pro- 


^T.  29]         BLOOM  — FOLIAGE  — UNUSUAL  FORM  265 

duce  striking  flowers  have  been  introduced  from  abroad  in 
great  numbers,  and  these  have  then  been  improved  by  zeal- 
ous cultivators,  until  the  parent  species  has  come  to  seem 
commonplace.  Fine  flowering  perennials  are  now  offered  in 
innumerable  varieties,  and  the  number  of  conspicuously  bloom- 
ing trees  and  shrubs  exceeds  one  hundred.  Remarkable  foli- 
age has  also  been  sought  out  and  developed.  Fifty  or  more 
sorts  of  cut-leafed  and  colored-leafed  ti-ees  and  shrubs  aj^pear 
in  the  catalogues ;  many  coniferous  evergreens  are  grown  for 
their  colors ;  and  the  foliage  plants  of  the  herbaceous  tribes 
number  hundreds.  Uncommon  form  or  habit  too  has  its 
admirers.  The  so-called  weeping  and  fastigiate  trees  now 
number  more  than  thirty,  and  some  of  these  add  fine  bloom 
and  pretty  foliage  to  their  more  or  less  graceful  or  graceless 
shape. 

I  must  leave  the  horticultural  journals  and  the  catalogues 
themselves  to  describe,  as  best  they  may,  the  marvellous 
wealth  of  beautiful  forms  and  colors  which  a  great  plant 
nursery  now  contains.  Progress  in  arboriculture  and  horti- 
culture has  become  amazingly  rapid  ;  and  if  just  now  the 
growing  of  the  familiar  but  handsome  native  trees,  shrubs, 
and  herbs  is  sadly  neglected,  this  is  the  one  regrettable 
tendency  to  be  noted.  I  know  it  is  often  maintained  that  the 
growing  of  "  dwarfs,"  "  fastigiates,"  "  weepers,"  and  purple 
leafed  and  colored  trees  is  itself  a  regrettable,  not  to  say  a 
shocking  violation  of  good  taste  and  of  nature.  It  would 
seem,  however,  as  if  these  critics  of  the  nurserymen  must  be 
ignorant  of  the  fact  that  all  these  so-called  monstrous  forms 
were  somewhere  originated  by  Nature  herself,  and  that  it  is 
in  the  use  which  is  made  of  them,  and  not  in  the  art  of  pro- 
pagating them,  that  the  possibility  of  gross  sin  against  good 
taste  is  to  be  found. 

Turn  now  to  the  scenes  which  the  treasures  of  the  plant 
nursery  are  to  shelter  or  adorn.  Late  years  have  witnessed 
great  movements  of  city  population  to  the  suburbs  and  the 
country.  An  out-of-town  house  may  be  surrounded  by  some- 
thing of  that  country  quiet  which  the  tired  workers  of  tlie 
cities  find  so  refreshing.  It  may,  moreover,  have  light  and 
air  on  all  its  sides.    Once  so-called  rapid  transit  is  provided,  it 


266  THE   HOUSE   SCENE  [1889 

is  no  wonder  that  thousands  make  their  homes  in  the  suburbs ; 
and  it  is  equally  natural  that  those  who  can  afford  it  should 
spend  the  hot  summers  in  the  open  country  or  by  the  sea. 
To  the  architect  the  country  house  and  the  suburban  house 
present  problems  very  different  from  those  he  is  called  upon 
to  grapple  with  in  the  city.  Out  of  town  he  meets  with  end- 
lessly differing  conditions  of  situation,  of  exposure,  of  pros- 
pect, and  of  aspect ;  and  he  finds  almost  unlimited  opportu- 
nities for  the  exercise  of  ingenuity  and  taste.  That  American 
citizens  and  architects  are  taking  advantage  of  these  oppor- 
tunities does  not  need  to  be  said.  One  well-designed  house 
built  in  a  given  neighborhood  becomes  ihe  forerunner  of  a 
dozen  others.  Such  a  new  birth  of  interest  in  architecture 
and  in  the  principles  of  architectural  design  as  has  been 
witnessed  in  America  in  the  last  few  years,  the  world  has 
seen  only  once  or  twice  before. 

The  out-of-town  house  has  more  or  less  land  about  it,  — 
land  which  the  city  man  buys  presumably  not  only  in  order 
to  keep  other  houses  at  a  distance,  but  also  for  the  purpose 
of  providing  something  pleasant  for  his  eyes  to  look  upon. 
This  ground  about  the  house,  whatever  be  its  character  or 
area,  must  necessarily  be  more  or  less  altered  from  its  natural 
state  as  soon  as  the  house  is  set  upon  it.  At  the  very  least, 
its  undulations  must  be  brought  to  meet  the  rigid  ground  line 
of  the  architectural  structure,  and  its  surface  must  be  crossed 
by  the  path  to  the  house  door.  Generally  the  natural  scene 
must  undergo  other  and  more  considerable  changes.  Trees 
must  be  felled  to  make  a  way  for  the  approach-road  or  to 
admit  sunlight  to  the  house ;  slopes  must  be  cut  into  to  allow 
the  road  to  pass  along  them  and  hollows  filled  so  as  to  remove 
standing  waters ;  grounds  must  be  made  smootli  for  the  grow- 
ing of  fruits  and  vegetables,  and  so  forth. 

If,  now,  a  man  desires  that  his  surroundings,  after  suffering 
these  necessary  changes  from  their  natural  state,  should  be, 
like  his  house,  convenient  and  at  the  same  time  beautiful  as 
possible,  he  has  upon  his  hands,  whether  he  knows  it  or  not, 
a  problem  of  very  considerable  difficulty.  When  his  house  is 
finished,  his  house  scene  is  by  no  means  complete  ;  and  imless 
his  house  has  been  designed  as  a  part  of  the  house  scene,  — 


^T.  29]  HOUSE  AND  SURROUNDINGS  ONE  COMPOSITION  267 

that  is,  with  careful  reference  to  the  parts  surrounding  it,  — 
the  final  effect  is  almost  sure  to  be  disappointingly  fragmen- 
tary and  ineffective.  Few  architects  and  fewer  house-owners 
yet  realize  this.  Indeed,  the  ordinary  practice  is  to  design  and 
build  suburban  and  country  houses  without  much  thought  of 
the  surrounding  scene,  —  often  without  consideration  of  so 
practical  a  matter  as  the  grade  of  the  way  of  approach. 
Commonly  such  necessary  appendages  as  the  laundry-yard 
and  the  carriage-turn  are  not  tlwughtof  until  the  house  is  up  ; 
when  it  is  likely  that  they  cannot  be  so  conveniently  arranged 
as  they  might  have  been,  had  they  been  thought  of  earlier. 
As  for  the  beauty  of  the  house  scene,  although  it  is  so  gener- 
ally desired,  it  is  very  seldom  planned  or  arranged  for.  It 
seems  commonly  to  be  regarded  as  something  to  be  added  to 
the  scene,  after  the  house  and  roads  or  paths  are  built,  —  prob- 
ably by  making  a  lawn  and  inserting  flower  beds  and  specimen 
plants,  no  matter  what  may  be  the  nature  of  the  ground. 

The  growing  appreciation  of  design  in  architecture  must 
work  a  reform  here  in  time  ;  meanwhile  it  will  be  well  to  insist 
upon  two  fundamental  facts,  —  first,  that  real  beauty  of  scene 
is  never  derived  from  added  decorations,  but  must  spring 
directly  from  the  shape  and  character  of  the  scene  itself  ;  and 
secondly,  that  this  true  beauty  can  be  attained  only  when 
the  house  and  its  appendages  and  its  surroundings  are  studied 
and  thought  out  together  as  one  design  — one  composition. 

Both  the  country-seat  and  the  suburban  lot  may  illustrate 
the  truth  of  these  propositions.  A  suburb  is  a  district  in 
which  roads  and  houses  dominate  the  landscape.  In  the 
typical  case  the  ground  is  smooth  and  flat,  the  streets  and 
boundaries  straight,  the  separate  ownerships  by  no  means 
large.  In  such  neighborhoods  the  architect's  share  in  the 
making  of  the  scene  is  so  predominant  that  an  error  in  the 
choice  of  the  style  of  the  house  is  almost  necessarily  fatal  to 
the  effect  of  the  house  scene.  Where  the  surroundings  are 
mostly  formal,  much  irregularity  either  of  building  or  of 
ground  always  seems  out  of  place  and  affected  ;  unless,  indeed, 
nature  has  by  chance  supplied  a  site  which  by  its  steep  slopes 
or  its  rockiness  conquers  the  surrounding  formality  and  com- 
pels to  the  picturesque.     A  many  angled  and  many  gabled 


268  THE   SUBURBAN   HOUSE   SCENE  [1889 

building  on  a  smooth  site  in  a  straight-bounded  enclosure  is 
out  of  keeping  ;  and  so  also,  in  the  same  situation,  are  a  tangle 
of  bushes  and  boulders,  and  a  sharply  curved  approach-road. 
This  does  not  mean  that  where  the  streets  are  curved,  or  for 
any  reason  a  house  door  is  easiest  reached  by  a  curved  line, 
the  curve  must  be  forbidden  and  the  path  or  road  made 
straight  ;  but  it  does  mean  the  shunning  of  all  purposeless 
curvature,  such  as  is  often  to  be  seen  in  most  suburbs.  Awk- 
ward and  breadth-destroying  lines  of  approach  are  the  rule  in 
the  suburbs,  and  the  architect  is  often  responsible  for  them ; 
for  he  frequently  places  the  house  door  in  such  a  position  that 
the  path  or  road  leading  to  it  must  necessarily  cut  the  ground 
before  the  house  into  lamentably  small  pieces,  and  he  does 
this,  too,  when  a  little  thought  might  perhaps  have  brought 
about  that  happiest  of  all  arrangements,  in  which  a  stretch  of 
grass  as  long  or  longer  than  the  building  is  brought  without 
a  break  up  to  the  house  wall  itself.  No  subsequent  planting 
can  obliterate  mistakes  in  these  controlling  elements  of  the 
suburban  house  scene,  —  the  house  and  the  approach ;  and 
no  planting  can  accomplish  what  it  otherAvise  might,  if  by 
reason  of  unmindf ulness  of  the  effect  of  the  house  scene  as  a 
whole,  the  framework  of  the  scene  is  wrongly  put  together. 

It  is  seldom  that  a  suburban  lot,  after  the  house  and 
approaches  are  built,  retains  much  of  its  former  vegetation. 
A  few  large  trees  may  survive  the  necessary  gradings,  but  the 
natural  ground  covering  is  generally  killed  out.  On  the  com- 
pletion of  the  grading  grass  is  sown,  and  from  the  resulting 
sheet  of  green  the  house  walls  and  the  boundary  walls  or 
fences  rise  abruptly.  It  is  exceedingly  surprising  to  see,  as 
one  may  everywhere,  well-designed  houses,  adorned  within 
with  much  rich  ornament  and  probably  inhabited  by  people 
who  appreciate  art  and  nature,  standing  thus  naked  in  naked 
enclosures.  The  contrast  between  fi  handsome  building  and 
bare  surroundings  is  sufficiently  obvious  in  summer,  but  in 
winter,  in  this  New  England  climate,  it  becomes  positively 
startling ;  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  educated 
people  can  fail  to  be  impressed  by  it,  and  how  they  can  longer 
refuse  to  comprehend  that  the  house  and  the  house  grounds 
should  be  treated  in  the  same  spirit. 


^T.  29]        THE  INAPPROPRIATE  HOUSE  SETTING  269 

From  another  point  of  view  this  miserable  nakedness  is 
equally  surprising.  Here  in  the  suburbs  is  an  opportunity 
for  adding  to  all  the  usual  advantages  and  ornaments  of  city 
life  the  new  and  delightful  pleasantness  of  verdure,  fragrance, 
and  bloom.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  an  appreciation  of  this 
opportunity  that  causes  the  first  plantings  in  most  suburban 
grounds.  Trees  and  shrubs,  selected  for  their  profuse  flow- 
ering or  their  striking  habit,  are  set  out  here  and  there,  and 
brilliant  beds  of  flowei's  are  perhaps  added.  Desire  for  orna- 
ment of  this  sort,  like  some  other  desires,  grows  by  what  it 
feeds  on,  and  causes  the  pressing  demand  on  the  nurseryman 
for  plants  of  the  marked  aj^pearance  of  which  I  spoke  before. 
The  effect  upon  house  grounds  resulting  from  planting  under- 
taken in  this  spirit  is  everywhere  to  be  seen,  and  is  generally 
unfortunate.  Specimens  of  many  sorts  planted  promiscuously 
on  a  lawn  compose  an  interesting  though  ill-arranged  museum, 
but  not  an  appi'opriate  setting  for  a  house.  They  wholly 
destroy  all  that  breadth  of  effect  which  it  is  so  difficult  but 
so  important  to  preserve  in  small  grounds ;  if  they  grow  large 
they  interfere  with  the  prospect  and  the  aspect  of  the  house, 
and  whatever  their  size,  they  give  the  scene  the  appearance 
of  having  been  adorned  to  make  a  show,  and  remind  one  of 
the  saying  of  the  Greek  sculptor,  who  charged  his  pupil  with 
having  richly  ornamented  a  statue,  because  he  knew  not  how 
to  make  it  beautiful. 

An  ambition  to  possess  a  collection  of  handsome,  curious, 
and  rare  plants,  like  the  similar  passions  for  shells,  or  min- 
erals, or  precious  stones,  is  entirely  praisewoi-thy  and  honor- 
able, and  may  well  be  indulged  ad  libitum,  provided  a  place 
can  be  set  apart  and  fittingly  arranged  for  the  purpose,  as 
cabinets  are  prepared  indoors  for  collections  of  curios  of  all 
sorts.  Out  of  doors,  a  flower  garden  is  such  a  cabinet,  and 
there  is  no  reason  that  tree  and  shrub  gardens  should  not  be 
similarly  arranged  by  those  who  desire  to  grow  many  striking 
sorts.  In  formal  and  highly  decorated  pleasure  grounds 
specimen  trees  are  already  used  in  this  way,  and  with  good 
effect.  Before  stately  buildings  and  in  connection  with  ter- 
races and  formal  avenues,  appropriate  specimens  are  always 
iu  keeping ;  but  in  New  England  house  scenes,  not  especially 


270  PLANTING   ABOUT  A   SUBURBAN   HOUSE         [1889 

arranged  to  receive  them,  they  destroy  the  last  hope  of  good 
general  effect. 

With  what  object,  then,  should  the  planting  of  the  sub- 
urban house  ground  be  planned  ? 

I  answer,  with  the  object  of  helping  the  building  and  the 
other  controlling  parts  of  the  scene  to  form  an  appropriate 
and  pleasing  whole.  In  the  very  smallest  front  yards  one 
thing,  which  should  seldom  or  never  be  omitted,  can  be  accom- 
plished just  as  well  as  it  can  be  in  grounds  of  larger  area 
—  that  is  the  connecting  of  the  house  walls  with  the  ground 
by  means  of  some  sort  of  massing  of  verdure.  Shrubs  planted 
near  the  base  of  the  house  wall  remove  at  once  all  appearance 
of  isolation  and  nakedness,  and  nothing  can  heljj  a  building 
more  than  this.  There,  if  nowhere  else,  some  evergreens 
should  be  used  ;  and  it  is  fortunate  that  in  a  climate  in  which 
hardy  evergreens  are  few,  the  stiff  sorts  like  the  Box,  the  Arbor 
Vitaes,  and  the  Junipers  are  all  entirely  appropriate  in  close 
connection  with  a  building.  The  more  irregular  the  struc- 
ture, the  more  varied  in  detail  may  be  these  wall  plantings, 
but  if  the  house  is  of  formal  design,  a  hedge-like  row  of 
bushes  may  be  best.  The  older  houses  in  many  New  England 
villages  often  have  bushes  set  thus  along  their  walls ;  and  at 
the  Longfellow  mansion  in  Cambridge  the  same  purpose  is 
accomplished  by  a  low  terrace  balustrade,  half  covered  by 
creepers. 

In  grounds  a  little  larger  tha^  the  smallest,  the  securing  of 
some  breadth  of  effect  by  means  of  grass  should  be  attended 
to  next  after  the  wall  plantings.  V  If  there  is  space  enough  to 
get  this  openness,  and  at  the  same  time  to  have  some  bushes 
near  the  street  line  as  well  as  next  the  house,  so  much  the 
better.  Plant  nothing  which  will  grow  to  a  size  dispropor- 
tionate to  the  scene.  Large  trees  on  small  lots  are  not  only 
inappropriate,  but  they  shade  the  ground  excessively  and 
make  it  difficult  to  grow  the  indispensable  ground-covering  of 
shrubs.  Maintaining  sufficient  openness,  plant  shrubs  against 
the  naked  fences,  or  grow  climbers  on  them  if  space  does  not 
permit  of  anything  more.  In  larger  grounds  give  the  house 
a  setting  or  background  of  appropriate  trees.  Where,  as  in 
New  England,  climate  keeps  deciduous  plants  leafless  half  the 


iET.29]        THE  HOUSE  SCENE  IN  THE  COUNTRY  271 

year,  plant  for  effect  in  winter  as  carefully  as  for  the  summer  ; 
use  all  possible  broad-leafed  evergreens  and  all  the  cheerful 
fruit-bearing  and  colored  stemmed  shrubs,  and  for  summer 
add  various  sorts  of  foliage  and  bloom,  but  keep  the  whole 
scene  to  its  own  appropriate  style,  admitting  brilliant  decora- 
tion only  in  detail,  and  conspicuous  single  objects  only  rarely, 
if  at  all.  If  many  flowers  are  desired,  they  should  be  grown 
in  a  garden,  or  in  formal  beds  close  beside  the  formal  build- 
ing. The  permanent  scene  can  be  helped  only  in  its  details 
by  the  temporary  beauty  of  bulbs  and  herbs. 

To  appreciate  that  a  house  scene  depends  for  real  effective- 
ness upon  its  general  design  and  not  upon  decoration,  one  need 
only  look  upon  some  such  ground  as  that  of  the  Longfellow 
place  before  mentioned,  where  the  planting  consists  of  two 
Elms  supporting  the  sides  of  the  house,  creepers  covering  the 
balustrade  at  its  base,  and  Lilacs  flanking  the  balustrade  and 
forming  a  hedge  along  the  street  wall.  The  open  space  of 
grass  is  well  proportioned,  and  the  whole  scene  is  one  which 
—  in  its  formal,  symmetrical  style  —  is  not  surpassed  for 
effectiveness  in  all  New  England.  Suitable  general  design 
is  just  as  effective  in  any  other  conceivable  style. 

Space  forbids  further  dwelling  upon  the  suburban  lot,  and 
I  must  close  with  a  few  words  about  the  country-seat.  All 
that  has  been  said  of  the  importance  of  care  for  the  house 
scene  on  the  part  of  the  architect  is  just  as  applicable  here  as 
in  the  suburbs.  Approach-roads  may  be  rightly  or  wrongly 
placed,  and  much  depends  upon  this.  The  house,  if  it  stands 
in  wild  scenery,  should  either  be  made  to  harmonize  with 
the  scenery,  or  it  should  distinctly  contrast  with  surrounding 
nature.  In  this  latter  case  it  should  be  given  a  setting  of 
its  own,  divided  by  terrace,  wall,  or  hedge  from  the  scenery 
around.  Within  this  setting  the  rarest  and  strangest  speci- 
mens may  be  handsomely  and  fittingly  displayed,  even  though 
the  neighborhood  be  extremely  wild  and  rough.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  specimen  planting  generally  works  mischief  in  the 
suburbs,  it  is  absolutely  monstrous  in  a  broader  landscape. 
Small  or  large  scenery  can  be  "  improved  "  by  one  method 
only :  it  may  be  induced  to  take  on  more  and  more  of  appro- 
priate beauty  and  character.     What  Nature  hints  at  she  may 


272  THE   DEFINITION   OF  ARCHITECTURE  [1890 

be  led  to  express  fully ;  and,  if  the  genius  of  the  place  be 
continually  consulted,  there  is  no  scene  the  natural  beauties 
of  which  may  not  be  heightened  by  landscape  art.  [Proceed- 
ings of  the  Massachusetts  Horticultural  Society,  March  23, 
1889.] 

The  following  letter  was  written  to  Mrs.  Schuyler  Van 
Rennselaer,  whose  writings  in  the  public  press  on  various 
topics  connected  with  landscape  art  Charles  found  unusually 
discriminating  and  attractive. 

3  Dec.  '90. 

I  have  just  heard  that  you  are  writing  on  "Landscape 
Gardening  and  Architecture,"  and  I  write  because  I  think 
you  may  perhaps  like  to  think  over  certain  notions  of  mine 
on  your  subject,  which  notions  I  proceed  to  lay  before  you  — 
without  ceremony  :  —  you  will  treat  them  accordingly ! 

The  scope  and  breadth  of  my  profession  is  not  often  recog- 
nized —  it  is  not  comprehended  even  by  architects,  much  less 
by  the  public. 

As  I  understand  it,  all  conscious  arranging  of  visible  things 
for  man's  convenience  and  for  man's  delight  is  architecture. 
"  A  great  subject  truly,  for  it  embraces  the  consideration  of 
the  whole  of  the  external  surroundings  of  the  life  of  man : 
we  cannot  escape  from  it  if  we  would,  for  it  means  the  mould- 
ing and  altering  to  human  needs  of  the  very  face  of  the  earth 
itself."     Morris. 

The  building  of  convenient  and  beautiful  structures  is  thus 
but  a  part  of  the  art  of  architecture.  The  arranging  of  these 
structures  in  streets,  i^j  neighborhoods,  on  sea-coasts,  in  the 
valleys  of  the  hills,  the  careful  adjustment  of  the  structure  to 
its  site  and  its  landscape,  the  devising  of  ways  and  roads  so 
that  they  may  be  either  impressive  through  order  and  formal- 
ity, or  charming  through  their  subordination  to  natural  condi- 
tions, the  development  of  appropriate  beauty  in  the  surround- 
ings of  buildings,  whether  by  adding  terraces  and  avenues  or 
by  enhancing  natural  beauty  —  all  this  is,  or  ought  to  be,  at 
least  one  half  of  the  art  and  profession  of  architecture.  This 
is  the  landscape  architect's  part :  for  the  field  is  so  wide  that 
it  can  hardly  be  comprehended  by  one  man,  and  two  profes- 
sions seem  necessary,  each  approaching  and  helping  the  other. 


^T.  31]  THE   FUNCTION  OF  THE  LANDSCAPE   ARTIST    273 

Landscape  gardening  is  that  part  of  the  landscape  architect's 
labor  which  is  directed  to  the  development  of  formal  or 
natural  beauty  by  means  of  removing  or  setting  out  plants. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  find  it  but  a  secondary  part  of  the  pro- 
fession :  the  devising  of  general  schemes  which  shall  combine 
convenience  with  preserved,  increased,  or  created  beauty  is 
the  most  important  part  of  our  work.  I  know  that  jVIr. 
Olmsted  would  agree  to  this.  Felling  or  planting  is  generally 
necessary  to  the  completion  of  such  schemes  ;  but  neither  can 
ever  cure  the  defects  resulting  from  ill-considered  fundamen- 
tal arrangements. 

Many  architects  have  never  conceived  of  their  art  in  its 
real  breadth  and  height.  Many  still  build  houses  in  the 
abstract,  with  little  regard  to  site  and  aspect.  Many  set  doors 
where  the  necessary  approaches  must  greatly  mar  the  fore- 
ground of  the  prospect  —  and  so  on.  They  "  wash  in  "  sup- 
porting foliage  in  their  drawings,  which  they  take  no  pains  to 
secure  in  practice.  They  seldom  conceive  of  the  house  and 
its  surroundings  as  a  whole  —  their  education  has  fixed  their 
attention  too  exclusively  upon  the  structure  alone. 

Ou  the  other  hand,  the  broader  minded  among  them  are 
the  men  who  will  lead  the  way  to  a  better  general  apprecia- 
tion of  Mr.  Olmsted's  profession.  As  the  value  of  design 
applied  to  structures  comes  to  be  understood,  the  appreciation 
of  design  applied  to  the  inter-arrangement  and  the  surround- 
ings of  structures  must  follow.  The  architects  ought  to  be 
the  chief  missionaries  of  this  cause. 

In  a  letter  written  December  2,  1896,  to  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Rob- 
bins,  who  had  just  contributed  to  "  The  Atlantic  "  an  excellent 
article  on  the  function  of  the  landscape  artist,  but  had  con- 
founded landscape  architecture  with  landscape  gardening, 
Charles  said  :  — 

Landscape  architecture  includes  and  covers  landscape  engi- 
neering, landscape  gardening,  and  landscape  forestry.  A 
formal  avenue  or  parkway  is  a  work  of  landscape  architec- 
ture ;  so  is  a  well-designed  picturesque  park.  The  engineer 
and  the  gardener  will  each  have  his  share  in  both  pieces  of 
work ;  but  each  must  labor  for  the  perfecting  of  the  general 
design,  if  a  successful  result  is  to  be  achieved. 


274  AMERICAN  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTURE         [1890 

In  some  undated  notes  for  an  article  or  essay  on  American 
landscape  architecture,  Charles  defines  landscape  architecture 
to  be  the  art  of  arranging  land  and  landscape  for  human  use, 
convenience,  and  enjoyment ;  and  then  proceeds  to  indicate 
the  conditions  under  which  landscape  is  evolved.  These  con- 
ditions are  first,  geological  or  physiographical  —  mountains, 
narrow  valleys,  wide  plains,  river-banks,  coasts,  gaps,  notches, 
canons  ;  secondly,  climatal  —  arctic,  temperate,  tropical,  wet, 
dry,  windy,  cyclonic  ;  thirdly,  vegetal,  following  climate  — 
forests,  prairies,  arable  and  pasture  lands,  and  deserts ;  and 
fourthly,  human  —  effects  of  land  tenures,  building'  habits, 
social  customs,  and  prevailing  industries.  For  him,  there- 
fore, landscape  architecture  included  the  designing  of  a  farm- 
stead, plantation,  or  ranch,  of  a  country-seat  or  seaside-seat, 
of  a  suburban  colony,  of  the  grounds  about  a  railway  station 
or  a  factory,  of  a  city,  or  of  city  squares,  playgrounds,  parks, 
and  parkways  ;  and  American  landscape  architecture  would 
include  all  these  ari*angements  of  land  for  human  use  and 
enjoyment  through  a  wide  range  of  climate,  and  under  a  great 
variety  of  physiographical  conditions. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SELECTED!  LETTERS  TO  PRIVATE   OWNERS,  TRUSTEES, 
OR  CORPORATIONS 

To  range  the  shrubs  and  small  trees  so  that  they  may  mutually  set 
off  the  beauties  and  conceal  the  blemishes  of  each  —  to  aim  at  no 
effects  which  depend  on  nicety  for  success  and  which  the  soil,  the 
exposure,  or  the  season  may  destroy  —  to  attend  more  to  the  groups 
than  to  the  individuals  —  and  to  consider  the  whole  as  a  plantation, 
not  as  a  collection  of  plants,  are  the  best  general  rules  that  can  be 
given.  —  Whately. 

A  Planting-plan  for  House  Grounds.  —  The  planting- 
plan  described  in  the  next  two  letters  was  made  for  an  area 
about  600  feet  square,  on  which  stood  a  large  house  and  a 
stable.  About  sixty  kinds  of  trees  and  shrubs  were  used  in 
the  design,  all  of  them  being  native  or  thoroughly  flomes- 
ticated  varieties.  They  yielded  a  delightful  succession  of 
bloom  and  fruitage,  and  a  pleasing  variety  of  foliage  ;  and 
they  were  expected  to  require  much  less  care  and  annual 
expenditure  than  the  beds  of  exotics,  which  at  that  time  were 
commonly  used  for  the  decoration  of  house  grounds.  These 
plantations  were  all  successful,  and  have  been  and  are  much 
enjoyed  by  the  family.  The  accompanying  photographic  illus- 
trations represent  in  an  imperfect  way  some  of  their  present 
(1901)  aspects.  The  accompanying  plan  is  a  reduced  copy 
of  Charles's  design  for  the  shrubberies,  the  original  having 
been  all  made  by  his  o\vn  hand. 

Prior  to  the  plantings  of  1889  there  was  little  or  no  grass 
on  these  grounds.  The  surface  was  covered  with  Alders, 
Catbriars,  wild  Cherries,  Tupelos,  and  Maple  coppice  with  a 
liberal  admixture  of  stones  and  rocks.  There  were,  however, 
a  few  large  Oaks.  Round  each  Maple  stump  stood  from  four 
to  eight  sprouts  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  high.     These  unsightly 

1  The  selection  of  letters  is  perforce  a  limited  one.  As  a  rule,  many 
letters  were  written  concerning  each  undertaking  ;  from  such  a  series 
only  one  or  two  can  ordinarily  be  given.  It  has  been  necessary  to  choose 
among  many  pieces  of  work  a  few  which  seemed  to  be  types,  or  which 
represented  the  variety  of  a  landscape  architect's  labors. 


KEY  TO  THE  PLAN  OPPOSITE 

1.  Pinns  sylvestris  5.     Betula  alba  2.     Caragana.     Comus. 

2.,    [Populus  BoUeana  3.]     Comus.     Corylus.     Sambueus  aurea. 

3.  [Pinus  Strobus   3.]     Pinus    sylvestria    10.     Piniis   Mugho  2.     Tsuga  10. 

Caragana.     Cotoneaster.     Colutea.     Corniis.     kSalix.     Ligiistrum. 

4.  Betula  alba  1.     Pinus  Mugho  3.     Berberis.     Eleagnus. 

5.  Betula  alba  1.     Forsythia. 

6.  [Populus  BoUeana  3.]     Colutea.     Forsythia. 

7.  Pinus  Mugho  3.     Cornus  Mas.     Comus. 

8.  Ligustrum.     Cydonia.     Calycanthus.     Berberis  purpurea. 

9.  [Tsnga  3.]     Tsuga  15.     Kalmia  10.     Ligustmm.     Forsythia.     Ehus. 

10.  [Pinus  iStrobus  3.]     Pinus   Mugho  2.     Pinus   Sylvestris    10.      Tsuga  10. 

Ligustrum.     Salix.     Chionanthus.     Calycanthus. 

11.  Spiraea  van  Houttei.     Rhus.     Berberis. 

12.  [Pinus  Austriaca  3.]    Pinus  Sylvestris  10.     Rhododendron  10.    Ligustrum. 

Chionanthus.     Cornus.     Calycanthus. 

13.  [Picea  alba  3].     Tsuga  15.     Cotoneaster.     Comus  Mas.     Caragana.    H»- 

lesia. 

14.  [Crataegus  coccinea.]     Corylus.     Haraamelis.     Forsythia. 

15.  [Liriodendron  3.]     Kalmia  10.     Chionanthus.     Azalea.     Calycanthus. 

16.  Berberis.     Berberis  piirpurea.     Colutea. 

17.  Salix.     Ligustrum.     Forsythia. 

18.  Leucothoe  20.     Euonymus  10. 

19.  Mahonia  20.     Euonymus  10. 

20.  Salix.     Cotoneaster.     Forsythia. 

21.  Ligustrum.     Hamamelis.     Chionanthus.     Spiraea  sorbLfolia. 

22.  Sambueus.     Sambueus  aurea.     Rhus.     Rhus  typhina. 

23.  Hamamelis.     Corylus.     Cydonia. 

24.  Cotoneaster.     Cydonia.     Spiraea  Thunbergii. 

25.  Ligustrum.     Berberis.     Ribes.     Spiraea  Thunbergii.     [Sophora  2.] 

26.  Pyrus  aucuparia.     Spirsea  sorbifolia.     Zanthoceras.     [Koelreuteria  2.] 

27.  Crataegus.      Crataegus    pyracantha.       Ligustrum.      Berberis.      Eleagnus. 

Berberis  purpurea.     Colutea.     Rhus. 

28.  Tsuga  5.     Betula.     Cornus.     Rhus. 

29.  Kalmia  10.     Azalea. 

30.  Tsuga  5.     Rhododendron  10.     Comus  florida.     Cercls. 

31.  Tsuga  5.     Betula.     Cornus.     Forsythia. 

32.  Cotoneaster.     Berberis.     Berberis  purpurea.     Eleagnus. 

33.  [Comus  florida.]     Caragana.     Colutea.     Calycanthus. 

34.  [Prunus  Pissardi.]     Prunus.     Ligustrum.     Forsythia. 

35.  Ligustrum.     Cornus.     Cornus  Mas.     Caragana.     Berberis. 

36.  [Populus  Bolleana  3.]     Salix.     Cornus.     Thuja  Wareana  10. 

37.  Thuja   Wareana  3.     Thuja   pyramidalis  2.     Thuja  Hoveyi    5.     Berberis 

purpurea  5.     Forsythia  5.     Deutzia  gracilis  10. 

38.  Thuja  Wareana  1.     Kerria  Japonica  5. 

39.  Thuja  Wareana  1.    RhodotyposS.    Thuja  pyramidalis  2.    Thuja  Hoveyi  5. 

Berberis  purpurea.     Berberis  Thunbergii.    Spiraea  Thunbergii.     Aralia 
spinosa. 

40.  Thuja  pyramidalis  1.    Buxus  5.     Mahonia.    Spiraea  Thunbergii.    Cydonia. 

Aralia. 

41.  Rhododendron.     Kalmia.     Azalea. 

42.  Kerria.     Spiraea  van  Houttei.     Spirjea  Thunbergii. 

43.  Thuja  Wareana,  pyramidalis,  and  Hoveyi.     Tsuga.     Bnxus.     Cornus. 

44.  Berberis  Thunbergii  2. 

45.  Caragana.     Berberis. 

46.  Berberis.     Berberis  Thunbergii. 

47.  Picea  excelsa.     Populus  Bolleana.    Salix,     Cornus.     Caragana. 

[Plots  1  and  2  are  not  on  the  accompanying  plan :   they  lay  to  the  left  of  3 
and  6.] 


PLANTING-PLAN    FOR 
THOMAS  M.  STETSON,   ESQ. 

NEW  BEDFORD,  MASS.,  1889 


Scale  of  Feet 
o    20  100 


V, 


^|£2 


278  A  PLANTING-PLAN  [1889 

rings  were  reduced  gradually,  that  is  in  three  or  four  years, 
to  one  surviving  stem.  The  soil  was  fairly  good,  for  addi- 
tional loam  was  carted  in  to  perfect  grades,  and  take  the 
place  of  stones  and  rocks  removed.  On  the  whole,  the  pre- 
sent aspect  of  the  estate,  though  apparently  natural  in  the 
best  sense,  is  really  the  result  of  artistic  design  in  the  begin- 
ning, and  intelligent  maintenance  for  twelve  years. 

21  Feb.  '89. 

I  send  a  planting-plan  [for  shrubs]  and  a  price  list.  The 
dotted  lines  outline  the  proposed  shrubberies  —  the  ground 
within  the  lines  is  to  be  made  ready.  The  black  dots  show 
some  of  the  trees  of  my  tree-plan,  the  crossed  dots  [not 
legible  on  the  reduced  plan]  denote  such  of  the  trees  as  are 
evergreen.  In  the  list  upon  the  plan  these  trees  are  named 
in  brackets.     The  evergreens  in  the  list  are  underlined. 

I  keep  the  shrubs  back  from  the  street  wall  because  you 
have  plenty  of  room,  and  they  will  look  so  much  better  from 
the  street.  The  plantations  are  arranged  to  make  a  pleasing 
rather  than  a  very  picturesque  or  striking  scene,  and  the 
plants  are  chosen  accordingly.  The  small  trees  are  mostly 
fine  flowering  sorts.  The  large  shrubs  are  mostly  for  foliage. 
Among  them  the  Privets  (Ligustrura)  and  the  Coloneasters 
are  partly  evergreen.  I  can  get  Laurels  (Kalmia)  dug  from 
the  woods  for  f3.50  per  hundred,  and  Rhododendrons  for 
$4,  and  I  should  much  like  to  try  to  use  them.  It  would 
be  an  experiment  —  they  are  not  easy  plants  to  handle  — 
shall  we  try  it  ?  You  could  not  possibly  wish  for  better  ever- 
green shelter  than  they  furnish,  where  they  succeed. 

The  smaller  shrubs  are  mostly  for  bloom  and  fine  foliage, 
and  they  will  go  in  the  fronts  of  the  shrubberies.  They  are 
not  always  mentioned  in  the  plan  list  —  neither  are  the 
"  small  trees  "  —  they  will  be  planted  as  seems  best  after  the 
main  masses  are  set  out. 

The  Pines  and  Hemlocks  are  for  shelter  and  screening. 
They  will  generally  occupy  the  centres  of  the  masses  near  the 
coniferous  trees  of  last  year's  tree-plan.  They  are  intended 
to  be  removed  as  may  seem  best  after  a  few  years. 

About  the  terrace  walls  the  plantations  are  to  be  low,  with 
an  occasional  upright  shaft  of  green.     Something  is  needed 


3  .y 


::  s 

<«   7 
*   ^ 


£T.  29]  MANAGING  THE   PLANTING  279 

here  to  connect  the  house  with  the  ground.  The  somewhat 
formal  Thujas  and  the  Tree  Box  are  quite  in  place  in  such 
situations. 

I  shall  answer  any  inquiries  you  may  wish  to  make  and 
hear  any  suggestions  —  both  with  pleasure.  The  prices  I 
quote  are  for  small  plants  —  only  such  can  be  obtained  at 
such  low  figures  —  but  shrubs  grow  fast.  The  lists  in  Scott's 
"  Suburban  Grounds  "  and  Long's  "  Ornamental  Gardening  " 
contain  some  information  about  shrubs.  I  am  sorry  I  can 
name  nothing  better. 

25  Feb.  '89. 

I  answer  your  questions  in  order. 

The  dotted  line  indicates  a  pi'oposed  limit  of  the  cut  lawn. 
The  plantations  are  arranged  in  part  to  make  this  right.  It 
is  usually  an  awkward  line  —  we  must  not  allow  it  to  be. 

The  planting-spaces  should  be  dug  precisely  as  you  de- 
scribe. I  will  come  down  and  stick  in  the  outline  sticks  if 
you  say  so.  I  should  probably  modify  the  lines  a  little  if  I 
were  upon  the  actual  ground. 

Decidedly  you  want  climbers  on  the  wall.  I  put  fifty  on 
the  list,  but  did  not  name  them  in  detail.  I  do  name  them 
on  the  new  list  I  send  to-night. 

We  can  manage  the  planting  very  easily,  I  think,  without 
any  more  detailed  plan.  It  will  cost  you  less  to  have  me  on 
the  ground  for  a  day  or  so  than  to  get  a  detailed  plan.  I 
propose  that  the  plants  be  ordered  of  the  men  whose  names 
appear  on  my  list  —  the  conifers  from  Hooper,  who  makes  a 
specialty  of  such  things  —  and  so  on.  Of  the  four  nurseries 
I  would  call  u])on,  three  are  beyond  New  York  (that  is,  all  but 
Temple).  Might  not  these  men  express  their  three  boxes  to 
the  New  Bedford  steamer  in  New  York  ? 

If  you  can  prepare  the  ground,  the  planting  will  not  take 
long,  and  you  had  best  order  the  whole  list.  The  dug  beds 
will  not  be  kept  weeded  permanently.  The  Periwinkle  is  in- 
tended to  cover  the  ground  under  the  shrubs  in  those  masses 
and  groups  which  are  near  the  drive  and  about  the  house. 
It  is  a  great  addition  to  the  appearance  of  such  groups. 

Another  plant  —  the  fragrant  Sumac  —  is  intended  for  a 
like  purpose  —  the  connecting  of  tall  masses  with  the  grass. 


280    GROUNDS  OF  A  COUNTRY  RAILROAD  STATION    [1890 

The  purposes  of  all  the  list  of  smaller  shrubs  it  would  take 
too  long  to  tell.  The  Angelicas  are  to  rise  through  the  Japan 
Barberries  near  the  house  —  the  Sumacs  through  the  Elders 
—  the  silver  Thorn  is  to  set  off  the  purple  Barberry  —  the 
formal  Arbor  Vitses  are  to  stand  with  the  house  walls  —  so  is 
the  Box  —  and  so  on. 

The  sooner  I  can  have  authority  to  order  the  plants,  the 
better.     First  come  first  served  in  Nurseries  ! 

I  hope  the  list  is  decipherable  this  time ! 

An  Improvement  of  Station  Grounds.  —  An  Improve- 
ment Society,  which  had  been  formed  in  Beverly,  Mass.,  inter- 
ested itself  in  improving  the  unkempt  grounds  about  the 
North  Beverly  Station  of  the  unsympathetic  Railway  Com- 
pany ;  and  a  member  of  the  executive  committee,  charged 
with  that  part  of  their  undertakings,  sought  Charles's  advice. 
He  described  the  work  to  be  done  in  the  following  letter,  the 
first  of  a  series,  for  many  difficulties  arose  in  getting  the  plan 
executed  by  the  three  bodies  concerned :  — 

14  Feb.  '90. 

My  dear  Mrs. ,  —  I  have  visited  North  Beverly,  and 

am  now  prepared  to  recommend  the  following  order  of  pro- 
cedure in  improving  the  Station  grounds  :  — 

1.  The  whole  area  should  be  ploughed.  2.  The  roads  should 
be  staked  out,  and  the  stakes  marked  to  show  the  finished 
grades.  3.  The  loam  now  lying  in  the  proposed  roadways 
should  be  moved  to  the  proposed  plots  and  spread  there  in 
accordance  with  the  stakes,  4.  The  proposed  roadways 
should  then  be  filled  up  to  grade  with  coarse  material  and 
finished  off  with  binding  gravel.  6.  The  few  shrubs  which 
the  lawns  will  require  should  be  planted.  6.  The  Town 
should  complete  the  work  by  constructing  the  sidewalks  near 
the  street-railway  track,  and  placing  proper  quarter-circle 
curbstones  at  the  entrances  to  the  Station  ground  from  the 
main  road. 

This  work  could  be  done  very  cheaply  by  the  railroad  if  it 
were  equipped,  as  it  ought  to  be,  with  a  special  gang  of  men 
used  to  such  work.  As  things  are,  I  suppose  the  most  eco- 
nomical way  of  accomplishing  the  object  will  be  by  dividing 
the  labor  something  as  follows  :  — 


/ET.  30]  AN  UNPROMISING  SITE  281 

The  ploughing,  staking,  and  removing  of  loam  from  the 
roadways,  together  with  the  finishing  touches  of  grass-sowing 
and  shrub-planting  to  be  undertaken  by  the  Improvement 
Society,  or  other  local  forces. 

The  hauling,  delivering,  and  spreading  of  material  to  fill 
the  roadways  to  be  undertaken  by  the  railroad,  which  can 
command  a,  gravel  train  with  ease. 

If  the  work  were  divided  in  this  manner,  I  think  )|250 
would  pay  the  Society's  part  of  it.  The  material  and  road 
gravel  to  be  delivered  by  the  railroad  would  amount  to  about 
600  cubic  yards. 

The  western  proposed  grass-patch  lies  beyond  the  stone 
bounds,  and  so  I  suppose  belongs  to  the  Town.  If  the  So- 
ciety should  leave  this  to  be  graded  by  the  Town,  it  would 
save  money. 

The  gravel-bank  across  the  tracks  from  the  Station  can 
easily  be  covered  with  loam  by  the  railroad.  Nobody  else 
can  get  at  it.  It  is  not  included  in  what  I  have  written 
above.  Neither  are  the  sidewalks  mentioned  under  No.  6, 
which  should  be  built  by  the  Town. 

Much  of  the  ground  is  at  present  too  low.  This  must  ac- 
count for  the  considerable  amount  of  filling  I  propose. 

Charles's  suggestions  could  not  be  carried  out  completely ; 
but  through  the  persistence  of  the  agent  of  the  Improvement 
Society  enough  was  done  to  make  the  station  grounds  tidy 
and  pleasing.  The  careful  arrangement  and  decoration  of 
railroad  grounds  has  now  become  .much  more  common  than 
it  was  in  1890. 

In  the  summer  of  1889  Charles  began  to  advise. Dr.  Car- 
roll Dunham,  of  Irvington-on-Hudson,  about  the  grading  of 
his  new  estate,  the  dis])osition  of  its  roads  and  paths,  and  its 
planting-plan.  The  place  was  of  limited  extent,  —  about  six 
and  a  quarter  acres,  —  but  it  was  to  be  the  site  of  a  large 
house  and  stable,  the  ridgepole  of  the  house,  on  a  line  nearly 
east  and  west,  being  ninety-two  feet  long.  The  available 
dimensions  of  the  rough,  bare  field  were  4G0  feet  from  north 
to  south  by  325  from  east  to  west ;  and  the  house  site  was 
about  twenty-two  and  one  half  feet  above  the  highest  available 
point  of  the  contiguous  highway,  which  runs  approximately 
north  and  south.  The  lot  was  therefore  too  small  for  the 
house :  and  its  elevation  gave  it  a  full  view  of  the  highway 


282  AN  AVENUE  ON  A  STEEP  BANK  [1889 

and  of  the  neighboring  structures.  The  first  problem  was  to 
construct  from  the  highway  to  the  house  an  approach-road 
which  should  not  have  too  steep  grades  or  too  sharp  turns. 
The  next  was  to  regrade  the  field  which  sloped  southward 
from  the  house,  so  as  to  give  the  future  lawn  slightly  concave 
curves.  The  following  extracts  from  two  letters  from  Charles 
to  Dr.  Dunham  show  how  these  problems  were  approached  :  — 

26  July,  '89. 
Your  first  problem  seems  to  be  that  of  the  turn  in  the  ap- 
proach, and  then  that  of  the  service-road  and  the  turn-round. 
If  you  still  think  the  turn  [near  the  rock  on  the  plan]  in  the 
approach  too  sharp,  you  can  of  course  do  some  more  deep  cut- 
ting and  give  the  turn  a  radius  of  twenty  feet  instead  of  fifteen 
—  but  I  don't  think  I  would  do  more  than  this,  else  the  bank 
between  the  house  and  the  road  at  the  east  end  of  the  house 
will  be  so  sharp  as  to  be  ugly,  and  it  will  be  impossible  to 
make  it  blend  southward  into  the  natural  bank,  as  my  con- 
tours were  intended  to  suggest  that  it  should.  On  the  sketch 
I  send  I  have  drawn  the  turn  with  a  twenty  foot  radius, 
and  the  reverse  towards  the  house  door  with  a  thirty  foot 
radius  —  and  I  think  this  will  seem  about  right  to  you.  The 
"  falling  off "  feeling  can,  you  know,  be  greatly  alleviated 
by  making  the  outside  edge  of  the  turn  in  the  manner  I 
previously  suggested  in  section  thus  :  — 

By  all  means  I  would 
hollow  the  lawn  to  the 
south  —  preserving  al- 
ways a  flowing  surface  — 
no  sharpness  at  the  sides. 
These  sides  I  would  de- 
sign to  be  planted  in  the  way  we  at  first  spoke  of.  A  narrow 
path  might  certainly  wander  through  this  planting,  and  I  will 
consider  its  lines  when  I  come  to  take  up  the  planting.  .  .  . 

I  hardly  like  your  suggested  way  of  starting  these  lawn 
paths  from  the  house,  and  I  feel  a  little  shaky  about  the 
height  of  the  water-table  above  finished  grade.  Perhaps  I  do 
not  quite  understand  you  on  this  head.  I  would  have  the 
building  set  as  low  as  may  be,  and  the  piazzas  as  near  the 
ground  as  may  be.     Then  I  would  if  possible  lead  the  paths 


I'LAN    OF    DR.   CARROLL    DUNHAM'S    HOUSE    AND    APPROACH 
ROAD,  AT  IRVIXGTON  ON  HUDSON 


^T.29]  CONCEALING  BOUNDARIES  283 

from  the  piazzas  without  bringing  them  between  the  house 
and  the  lawn.  The  more  intimate  the  connection  between  a 
building  and  a  lawn  of  your  gentle  sort,  the  more  pleasing 
the  scene  —  to  my  eye,  at  least.  .  .  . 

25  Sept.  '89. 

.  .  .  The  cuts  necessitated  by  the  roadway  you  will  prob- 
ably find  deeper  and  longer  than  you  expected,  and  the  cut- 
ting required  to  make  an  easy  lawn  south  of  the  house  sur- 
prised me,  and  may  perhaps  alarm  you.  If  you,  however,  will 
regard  my  figures  as  Indicating  extremes  of  cut,  and  will  pro- 
ceed with  the  work  gradually  and  evenly,  you  may  be  able  to 
get  a  good  surface  short  of  the  figures  of  my  plan.  I  think 
it  likely  that  you  can.  .  .  . 

You  will  have  an  Interesting  problem  also  in  saving  han- 
dling of  material  by  preparing  successive  portions  of  com- 
pleted sub-grades  upon  which  loam  from  portions  to  be  cut 
can  be  placed  at  first  hauling.  I  am  assuming  you  are  to  be 
your  own  "  boss  "  ! 

Then  it  remained  to  conceal  the  boundaries  of  the  estate 
by  plantations  ;  to  plant  out  undesirable  objects  ;  and  to  con- 
nect, to  all  appearance,  the  plantations  on  these  six  acres  with 
the  groves  and  tlilckets  on  the  neighboring  estates,  so  that  the 
eye  should  be  carried  easily  far  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the 
liouse-lot,  towards  pleasing  objects  at  a  distance.  These  prob- 
lems were  all  successfully  solved.  The  easterly  gable  of  the 
house  was  only  160  feet  from  the  highway,  and  the  front  door 
was  only  125  feet  from  the  northerly  border  of  the  estate  ; 
yet  the  approach-road,  leaving  the  highway  at  the  northeast- 
ern corner  of  the  estate,  rose  gently  with  a  grade  of  only  7 
per  cent,  to  the  front  door,  before  which  an  ample  turn-round 
enclosed  a  grass-plot  larger  than  the  entire  area  of  the  house. 
Dr.  Dunham  himself  sui)erlutended  all  the  road-making,  grad- 
ing, and  planting  required  by  the  design,  and  has  ever  since 
taken  assiduous  care  of  the  plantations,  rejecting  the  shrubs 
which  did  not  accommodate  themselves  to  the  soil  and  the 
climate,  replacing  feeble  plants  with  strong  ones,  and  paying 
attention  to  the  preservation  of  the  original  curves  and  sur- 
faces of  the  avenues,  paths,  and  grassed  areas.  In  March, 
1890,  sixty-two  kinds  of  trees  and  shrubs  were  set  out  on  the 
estate  ;  and  in  the  following  autumn  Charles  provided  another 
list  of  725  plants,  this  list  embracing  fifty-two  kinds,  many  of 


284 


A  BEAUTIFUL  RESULT 


[1889 


which  were,  however,  inehxded  in  the  preceding  sixty-two 
kinds.  The  following  spring  another  list  of  520  plants  was 
used  by  Dr.  Dunham. 

The  results  obtained  in  about  ten  years  are  certainly  sur- 
prising, and  very  pleasing.  In  driving  down  the  avenue  there 
is  no  sense  of  danger,  —  no  apprehension  of  falling  off  on  the 
down  side.     The  accompanying  cut  shows  the  descent  at  the 


turn  below  the  house.  The  surface  of  the  lawn  is  singularly 
pleasing,  as  it  descends  towards  a  natural  grove  of  trees  on  a 
steep  bank  at  its  southern  extremity  ;  and  from  the  house  and 
its  vicinity  one  does  not  perceive  at  all  the  boundaries  of  the 
place.  The  accompanying  illustrations  represent  but  imper- 
fectly the  results  achieved.  The  first  one  exhibits  the  en- 
trance and  the  ascending  avenue  with  planted  slopes  on  either 
hand  ;  the  second  depicts  the  house  and  stable  when  the 
first  plantings  were  made  ;  the  third  the  present  aspect  look- 
ing towai'ds  the  house.  The  fourth  illustration  shows  how 
plantations  not  far  from  the  house  lead  the  eye  across  the 
broad  sunken  highway  to  the  woods  and  thickets  on  the 
neighbors'  lands.  Yet  it  is  only  160  feet  fi'om  the  house  to 
the  highway.  All  the  surfaces  and  plantings  depicted  in 
these  photographs  are  artificial,  yet  their  effect  is  natural  and 
altogether  pleasing. 


g  i 

H     c 


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f 


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Jk^: 


r 


H  .y: 


X    2 


/i 


^^^ 


^T.  29]  A   NEW   COUNTRY-SEAT  285 

The  making  of  this  beautiful  residence  on  a  site  originally 
unpromising  illustrates  the  resources  of  landscape  designing 
when  applied  year  after  year  by  an  owner  of  intelligence  with 
a  real  love  for  out-of-door  art. 

A  NEW  Country-seat  near  Boston.  —  In  1889,  while 
Charles's  office  was  still  at  No.  9  Park  Street,  he  began  to 
give  advice  about  his  new  country-place  to  I\Ir.  Henry  S. 
Ilunnewell,  of  the  firm  of  Shaw  &  liunnewell,  architects, 
whose  office  was  in  the  same  building.  Mr,  Hunnewell  jiro- 
posed  to  make  a  handsome  place  gradually  out  of  a  rough, 
rocky,  and  rather  barren  wooded  tract  in  Wellesley.  The 
house  sit€  was  to  be  selected,  the  approach-road  laid  out,  all 
the  lesser  buildings  and  enclosures  provided  for,  the  gardens 
designed,  the  woods  improved,  and  new  plantations  made. 
Ml*.  Hunnewell,  being  an  architect,  was  accustomed  to  the  use 
of  drawings  and  to  superintending  work.  Charles's  way  of 
attacking  this  complex  problem  would  have  been  to  get  first 
an  accurate  topographical  survey  of  the  estate  with  contours 
at  intervals  of  five  feet  of  elevation,  and  then  on  this  survey 
to  plan  simultaneously  all  the  principal  features  of  the  finished 
seat.  But  Mr.  Hunnewell  preferred  to  solve  each  problem  as 
it  arose,  and  chiefly  by  study  on  the  ground.  He  liked  to  get 
Charles's  ideas  by  consultations  on  the  spot.  In  that  way 
Charles  gave  advice  without  any  engineer's  plan,  about  placing 
the  house  and  laying  out  the  roads,  grading  the  lawn  (made 
out  of  a  "  burnt  swamp "),  felling  trees,  opening  vistas 
through  the  woods,  and  setting  out  shrubs  and  trees.  For 
nearly  five  years  Charles  gave  such  advice  at  intervals,  and 
also  supplied  planting-lists  almost  every  spring  and  fall.  He 
was  studying  successive  garden  plans  for  Mr.  Ilunnewell  in 
March,  1891,  in  October  of  the  same  year,  and  again  in  Jan- 
uary, 1892.  The  following  letter,  written  after  Charles  had 
become  a  member  of  the  Olmsted  firm,  and  therefore  signed 
Olmsted,  Olmsted  &  Eliot,  describes  the  garden  which  was 
ultimately  made,  and  the  tracing  therein  mentioned  is  repro- 
duced in  the  next  illustration. 

21  December,  1S93. 

The  accompanying  tracing  shows  a  suggestion  for  a  hollow 
grading  for  your  new  garden  glade  which  we  should  like  to 
see  carried  out.  The  circuit  path  is  made  to  follow  the  out- 
side edge  of  the  gentle  hollow.  Shrubbery  and  gardenesque 
trees  would  fringe  the  path  on  the  outside.  Garden  shrubs 
and  perennials  would  border  it  on  the  inside.  Inside  of  all 
would  be  a  glade  of  grass  of  varying  width.     To  effect  the 


286  A  GARDEN  GLADE  [1890 

hollow  appearance  it  will  be  necessary  to  excavate  about  a 
foot  in  the  mitldle  in  some  places,  and  to  pile  up  at  the  sides  a 
little  here  and  there.  The  perennial  beds  should  be  rounded 
up  a  little,  so  that  the  path  will  generally  be  in  a  very  slight 
depression. 

This  treatment  will  give  a  pleasing  effect,  and  furnish 
ample  room  for  perennials.  If  you  would  prefer  to  make  a 
jumble  of  the  whole  place,  —  not  a  bad  thing  to  do,  —  we,  of 
course,  cannot  assist  you  further. 

The  making  of  this  garden  proved  to  be  a  long  affair,  so 
that  it  v/as  only  finished  in  1899.  The  upper  garden,  marked 
"  flower  garden  "  on  the  plan,  is  larger  than  there  shown  and 
circular ;  the  lower  garden  is  almost  exactly  as  drawn.  The 
few  trees  in  the  latter  were  really  planted  without  the  plan  in 
hand;  but  when,  later,  the  sites  of  the  trees  were  compared 
with  the  plan,  they  were  found  to  correspond  to  the  drawing. 

This  is  a  favorable  example  of  the  creation  of  an  interest- 
ing country-seat  in  ten  years  of  steady  labor  under  the  direc- 
tion of  an  owner  able  to  give  much  time  and  thought  to  the 
subject,  and  unusually  competent  to  make  good  use  of  slight 
sketches,  and  of  oral  advice  given  by  an  expert  on  the  spot. 
Charles  was  glad  to  take  part  in  such  a  delightful  work  on 
his  friend's  terms ;  but  he  always  thought  the  method  em- 
])loyed  extravagant,  and  unsafe  even  in  professional  hands. 
This  is  the  only  case  in  his  practice  where  he  cooperated  in 
large  work  carried  on  in  this  manner. 

A  Town-site  on  Salt  Lake,  Utah.  —  On  the  23d  of 
July,  1890,  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  President  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad,  asked  Charles  to  go  to  Utah  with  him 
to  advise  the  railroad  company  about  a  town  site  and  hotel  at 
Garfield  beach  on  Salt  Lake.  The  job  had  been  offered  to 
Mr.  Olmsted,  and  declined  on  account  of  other  engagements  ; 
but  Mr.  Olmsted  advised  Charles  to  accept  it.  The  expedi- 
tion was  entirely  congenial,  and  the  work  to  be  done  looked 
attractive  ;  so  Charles  postponed  his  appointments  in  Boston, 
notified  his  wife  at  New  Hartford  and  his  nearest  relatives, 
and  on  the  24th  started  in  pursuit  of  Mr.  Adams,  who  had 
already  left  Boston.  On  the  30th  he  solved  to  his  satisfaction 
the  problem  presented  to  him,  gave  two  days  more  to  the 
study  of  its  details,  and  on  the  morning  of  August  2d  started 
for  home.  The  engineers  of  the  railroad  made  the  surveys 
required  by  Charles's  preliminary  design,  and  their  drawings 
reached  him  in  the  middle  of  September. 


Mil.  IIE.XRY  S.  UUXNEWELL'S  GAIlDEN-l'LAN 


^T.  31]       A  TOWN-SITE  DESIGN  ON  SALT  LAKE  287 

1  November,  1S90. 
C.  F.  Adams,  Esq.,  President  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Co. 

/Sir,  —  I  beg  leave  to  report  upon  the  plan  for  the  develop- 
ment of  your  Company's  property  at  Garfield,  Utah,  devised 
by  me  at  your  request,  during  the  past  summer. 

A  few  words  will  describe  the  general  situation. 

The  Great  Salt  Lake  extends  about  ninety  miles  in  a  north- 
west and  southeast  direction.  At  right  angles  to  this  line  of 
its  greatest  length,  the  southern  shore  of  the  lake  stretches 
northeast  and  southwest  for  thirty  miles,  having  at  either 
extremity  a  wide  and  very  low-shored  bay,  but  in  the  middle 
of  its  length  a  distinctly  bold,  rocky,  and  projecting  swell  of 
coast,  immediately  behind  which  rises  the  exceedingly  steep 
Oquirrh  Mountain.  The  total  length  of  this  bold  and  hand- 
some portion  of  the  southern  shore  is  about  three  miles  ;  and 
all  this  stretch  of  shore,  with  what  inhabitable  land  lies  back 
of  it  and  much  of  the  mountain  side  which  towers  over  it,  is 
the  property  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad. 

The  surface  of  this  tract,  like  that  of  all  the  land  about 
the  lake,  is  full  of  salt ;  it  bears  little  or  no  vegetation  except 
sage-brush  ;  it  is  in  parts  exceedingly  stony  and  in  other  parts 
exceedingly  steep,  and  the  steep  parts  are  subject  to  destruc- 
tive gullying  whenever  a  cloud-burst  strikes  the  mountain 
overhead.  On  the  other  hand,  this  shore  commands  the  finest 
possible  view  of  the  surface  of  that  Great  Lake  which,  in  the 
almost  waterless  region  of  the  Great  Basin,  must  always  be  a 
wonderful  and  moving  spectacle.  The  prospect  is  both  very 
broad  and  very  far.  Most  of  the  lake-shore  is  so  low  and 
flat  as  to  be  indistinguishable  at  a  distance,  so  that  the  blue 
waters  appear  to  stretch  from  the  foot  of  the  lofty  and  notched 
"Wahsatch  Mountains  twenty  miles  away  in  the  east,  to  the 
foot  of  the  similar  Desert  Range  as  many  miles  distant  in  the 
west,  while  northward,  between  the  parallel  ranges  which 
form  the  islands  called  Antelope  and  Stausbury,  the  lake 
appears  to  stretch  into  infinitj^  no  land  being  in  sight.  The 
mountains  and  the  reflecting  lake  are  daily  decked  in  chang- 
ing colors  under  the  influence  of  shifting  lights  and  shadows, 
haze,  and  sunset  glow ;  but  the  unique  glory  of  the  prospect 


288  A  PLEASURE  TOWN  ON  A  LAKE  SHORE        [1890 

from  Garfield  must  always  be  the  grandeur  of  its  perspective 
of  mountaius  retreating  towards  a  vanishing-point  where 
water  meets  with  sky. 

Your  company  already  operates  a  railroad  along  this  favored 
shore.  At  present  the  line  runs  upon  the  upland  at  varying 
distances  from  the  water's  edge,  but  it  must  obviously  be 
moved  elsewhere  if  the  narrow  strip  of  land  between  the  lake 
and  the  mountain  is  to  be  developed  into  a  handsome  pleasure 
resort.  Left  where  it  is,  the  railroad  would  not  only  cut  the 
usable  land  into  awkward  pieces,  but  it  would  cut  off  access 
to  the  shore  except  by  dangerous  grade  crossings ;  moreover 
it  would  be  an  eyesore  throughout  the  whole  length  of  the 
foreground  of  the  lake  view.  To  move  the  line  to  the  rear  of 
the  site  of  the  proposed  pleasure  town  would  make  it  very 
inconvenient  for  the  thousands  of  would-be  bathers  in  the 
lake  which  the  railroad  will  bring  daily  from  Salt  Lake  City. 
Therefore  the  plan  of  the  new  Garfield  shows  the  railroad 
shifted  to  the  only  other  possible  position,  namely  the  foot  of 
the  lake  bluff,  in  which  location  it  will  be  easily  crossed  above 
grade  by  means  of  light  bridges  springing  from  the  brink  of 
the  bluff  and  reaching  the  beach  on  the  water-side  of  the 
tracks  by  stairs.  Thus  all  grade  crossings  will  be  avoided, 
and  the  tracks  will  be  put  comparatively  out  of  sight.  The 
principal  station  will  stand  at  the  top  of  the  bathing-beach 
between  the  tracks  and  the  water,  and  from  this  station  direct 
access  will  be  had  to  the  bath-houses,  and  to  the  pier  or  piers 
from  which  the  crowd  will  view  the  bathing.  Stairs  and 
bridges  will  lead  over  the  tracks  to  the  brink  of  the  bluff, 
where  will  be  found  a  long,  straight,  and  level  esplanade  from 
which  the  grand  view  over  the  lake  will  best  be  had.  The 
same  view  and  the  same  breezes  will  also  be  had  in  the  second 
story  of  the  station  building,  where  a  half-open  hall  or  loggia 
may  be  made  the  principal  restaurant  for  excursionists.  Im- 
mediately behind  the  middle  of  the  esplanade,  and  separated 
from  it  only  by  the  roadway  which  is  necessary  to  enable 
carriages  to  approach  the  station,  will  be  a  large  reservation, 
extending  to  the  county  road  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
and  so  preserving  a  view  of  the  steep  and  shadowy  slopes 
thereof  which  will  be  appreciated  by  all  who  stand  upon  the 


^T.31]  A  PLEASURE  COLONY  289 

esplanade  or  the  piers.  The  mouutaiu  rises  so  close  at  hand 
and  so  steep  that  low  buildings  may  occupy  this  reservation 
without  hiding  any  appreciable  part  of  its  great  mass,  and  so 
the  plan  shows  a  shelter  building  for  the  use  of  excursionists 
and  picnickers,  to  consist  of  a  gallery  or  pergola  surrounding 
the  four  sides  of  an  irrigated  garden,  and  in  the  rear  of  this 
a  court  surrounded  by  carriage  sheds  and  such  stables  as  may 
be  required.  East  and  west  of  this  reservation,  and  extend- 
ing from  the  county  road  to  the  esplanade,  the  plan  shows 
streets  of  summer  villas  so  arranged  as  to  ensure  for  all  direct 
access  to  the  esplanade  and  the  station. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  scheme  for  the  development  of 
the  central  or  bathing-beach  section  of  the  new  Garfield,  —  a 
section  planned  particulai"ly  for  the  enjoyment  of  excursion- 
ists from  the  city.  For  the  accommodation  of  others  who 
may  wish  to  spend  more  than  a  day  in  the  presence  of  the 
grand  panorama  of  the  Salt  Lake,  our  scheme  must  include 
a  Hotel  which  shall  be  set  beyond  the  reach  of  the  excur- 
sionists and  as  removed  as  possible  from  the  railroad. 

At  first  sight  it  might  seem  that  some  point  upon  the  moun- 
tain side  would  best  fill  these  conditions,  but  the  mountain  is 
everywhere  so  steep  that  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  place 
an  accessible  hotel  upon  it.  It  would  also  be  extremely  diffi- 
cult to  provide  the  view  from  a  hotel  so  placed  with  any 
sufficiently  strong  and  handsome  foreground :  moreover,  even 
if  site  and  foreground  could  be  arranged,  the  unavoidable 
overlooking  of  the  whole  pleasure  colony  below  would  detract 
from  the  impressiveness  of  the  prospect  over  the  lake.  For 
these  reasons  it  seems  best  to  place  the  hotel  upon  the  im- 
mediate lake-shore  rather  than  upon  the  heights,  and  if  upon 
the  shore,  then  upon  that  part  of  it  where  it  is  possible  to 
place  the  building  in  front  of  the  railroad,  that  is,  between 
the  tracks  and  the  water.  "With  the  waves  playing  imme- 
diately below  the  terrace  or  piazza  on  the  one  side,  and  an 
unobstructed  view  of  the  threatening  mountain  wall  upon  the 
other,  the  hotel  will  be  well  placed. 

Most  fortunately,  a  situation  of  this  sort  presents  itself  about 
one  third  of  a  mile  west  of  the  bathing-beach.  Here  a  long 
hotel  building  may  rise  at  the  edge  of  the  watei',  having  the 


290  THE  HOTEL  — SUMMER  VILLAS  [1890 

railroad  in  a  cut  in  its  rear.  The  principal  rooms  will  occupy 
the  whole  width  of  the  structure,  thus  commanding  the  lake 
in  one  direction  and  the  mountain  side  on  the  other.  Two 
low  wings  in  the  rear  may  contain  the  laundry  and  the  bil- 
liard departments  respectively,  and  stretching  towards  the 
county  road  these  wings  will  help  to  enclose  a  rectangular 
court  or  irrigated  garden,  which  will  add  much  to  the  attrac- 
tiveness of  the  house.  No  buildings  should  be  allowed  upon 
the  mountain  behind  this  hotel  site,  and  it  would  be  well  if 
the  Company  could  buy  the  whole  slope  in  this  part.  The 
widest  gulch  in  all  this  side  of  the  Oquirrh  Mountain  is  here 
in  fidl  view,  having  at  present  a  growth  of  Pine  on  its  upper 
slopes,  and  presenting  as  each  day  passes  a  succession  of  ever 
changing  effects  of  light  and  shadow.  The  view  up  this  steep- 
sided  channel  in  the  mountain  side,  with  its  parched  ledges, 
and  its  naked  slopes  of  debris  contrasting  with  the  luxuriance 
of  the  hotel  garden  below,  will  be  as  striking  in  its  way  as  the 
broad  panorama  of  the  lake  in  the  other  direction.  A  well- 
planned  house  built  on  this  site  cannot  fail  of  being  an  attrac- 
tive and  refreshing  resting-place. 

West  of  the  hotel  site  the  mountain  wall  approaches  the 
shore  more  and  more  closely,  until  there  is  no  more  than  room 
for  the  one  county  road  and  the  railroad,  and  then  it  again 
retreats  so  as  to  leave  a  narrow  strip  of  usable  land  along  the 
highway.  Throughout  this  mile  and  a  half  of  the  Company's 
projjerty  no  other  road  than  the  county  road  will  be  required, 
for  when  villa  lots  are  sold  here,  they  will  all  front  upon  it 
necessarily. 

Returning  now  and  going  east  from  the  central  or  bathing- 
beach  section,  we  come  first  to  a  somewhat  elevated  yet  suffi- 
ciently smooth  region  having  a  slightly  irregular  shore  line, 
in  front  of  which  stands  a  solitary  bare  rock  called  Black 
Rock.  Several  small  and  crumbling  buttes  rise  above  the 
general  level  of  this  section,  and  the  main  body  of  it  is  con- 
siderably higher  than  any  other  part  of  the  habitable  area 
between  the  lake  and  the  mountain.  This  is  obviously  the 
best  site  for  a  handsome  colony  of  summer  villas.  Accord- 
ingly the  plan  shows  a  broad  avenue  sweeping  nearly  at  one 
level  around  this  swell  of  upland,  and  connecting  with  the 


iET.  31]  THE  GENERAL  ARRANGEMENT  291 

county  road  at  both  ends.  Another  avenue  will  bisect  the 
curve  of  the  first  named,  and  will  lead  straight  down  the  slope 
to  the  railroad  station  at  the  water's  edge.  This  arrange- 
ment will  provide  many  fine  house  sites  commanding  good 
views;  it  will  ensure  a  handsome  general  effect  when  the 
houses  shall  be  built ;  and  it  will  secure  this  effect  with  no 
sacrifice  of  convenience. 

Further  east  again,  your  Company's  property  increases 
rapidly  in  breadth,  at  the  same  time  becoming  rather  low,  flat, 
and  monotonous.  The  mountain  has  here  begun  its  retreat 
towards  the  south,  and  the  lal^e-shore  has  begun  its  long  sweep 
towards  the  northeast.  At  one  point  your  land  extends  more 
than  three  fourths  of  a  mile  back  from  the  lake.  Here  also 
the  railroad  leaves  the  shore,  and  strikes  off  across  the  plain 
for  Salt  Lake  City. 

This  is  a  site  for  a  considerable  town,  if  people  shall  ever 
flock  to  the  lake-side  in  such  numbers  as  to  demand  a  town  ; 
and  the  plan  shows  a  system  of  streets  arranged  as  concentric 
half-circles  with  their  ends  upon  the  lake-shore.  Every  main 
street  leads  by  a  tempting  curve  to  the  lake  front ;  that  is,  to 
the  prospect  and  the  breeze  which  will  ever  be  the  pleasures 
of  the  possible  town. 

The  foregoing  are  the  principal  considerations  governing 
the  arrangement  of  my  plan  for  the  proposed  development 
of  the  several  natural  divisions  of  the  property  at  Garfield, 
namely,  the  eastern  town  section,  the  Black  Rock  villa  sec- 
tion, the  bathing-beach  section,  the  Hotel,  and  the  western 
strip  of  shore. 

The  survey  upon  which  the  plan  was  based,  together  with 
a  survey  of  the  proposed  new  railroad  location,  was  made  in 
the  summer  by  the  Division  Engineer's  office.  The  new  plan 
was  then  drawn  out  in  his  office  from  my  directions,  then  sent 
to  me  and  slightly  altered,  then  submitted  to  you  and  returned 
to  Salt  Lake,  where  I  understand  it  may  soon  be  necessary  to 
make  copies  for  filing. 

Nothing  came  of  this  project,  for  Mr.  Adams,  soon  after  the 
date  of  this  report,  retired  from  the  presidency  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Co. 

The  Yard  of  Harvard  College.    In  1887  Charles  was 


292  THE  HARVARD  YARD  [1890 

employed  to  design  some  new  plantations  of  shrubs  for  the 
College  Yard  at  Cambridge,  and  this  work  went  on  slowly  for 
three  years ;  but  Charles  was  not  satisfied  with  the  results 
obtained,  although  the  aspect  of  the  grounds  and  buildings 
was  decidedly  improved.  The  soil  was  thin,  the  beds  for 
shrubs  were  not  thoroughly  prepared  for  lack  of  money  to 
spend  in  that  way,  large  trees  standing  near  sent  their  roots 
quickly  through  the  beds,  and  the  growing  shrubs  were  not 
kept  in  shape  by  competent  pruning,  or  properly  fed  with 
fresh  soil  and  manure.  A  more  serious  difficulty,  in  Charles's 
view,  was  the  lack  of  a  general  plan  for  roads  and  building- 
sites  on  the  twenty-two  acres  of  ground  lying  between  the 
bounding  streets.  He  expressed  his  views  in  the  following 
letter  to  the  Treasurer  of  Harvard  College  on  December  31, 
1890. 


In  sending  you  this  bill,  let  me  report  that  I  am  ignorant 
as  to  how  much  of  the  $500  apjjropriation  remains.  I  sup- 
pose it  is  a  large  part,  for  the  Arboretum  could  supply  but 
few  shrubs  and  little  was  done.  Eveleth  [the  foi-eman],  I 
think,  was  puzzled  to  know  how  to  draw  a  line  between  his 
regular  and  my  special  work.  If  in  the  new  year  I  am  to  be 
allowed  f 500  plus  what  remains  from  this  year,  what  are  your 
desires  as  to  its  expenditure  ? 

You  are,  I  think,  aware  of  my  hope  that  the  Corporation 
may  adopt  some  fundamental  scheme  for  the  development  of 
the  Cambridge  property.  Shapes  and  areas  of  buildings  can- 
not be  foreseen,  but  main  lines  of  roads  and  sites  can  be  estab- 
lished ;  and  no  fine  general  effect  can  be  reached  unless  they 
are.  This  permitting  donors  of  buildings  and  gates  to  choose 
their  sites  is  fatal  to  general  effect.  Outside  the  quadrangle 
the  Yard  is  already  a  jumble  of  badly  placed  buildings  and 
roads  which  are  first  formal  and  then  natural.  To  contrive  a 
practicable  scheme  which  might,  if  it  were  adhered  to,  bring 
some  sort  of  order  and  organization  into  the  scene  will  be 
difficult ;  but  if  the  Corporation  really  saw  the  value  of  order 
and  fine  general  effect,  they  would  not  hesitate  about  attempt- 
ing to  contrive  one. 

As  respects  planting,  you  know  I  think  the  outer  edges  of  the 
Yard  should  be  much  more  richly  planted,  and  that  with  many 
evergreens  of  moderate  size  and  many  spring  blooming  and 


£T.31]  AN  OLD  CEMETERY  298 

autumn  coloring  shrubs.  I  can  do  something  in  this  line  if 
I  may  go  beyond  the  Arboretum  for  plants ;  but  I  should 
still  better  like  to  see  first  the  adoption  of  some  fixed  concep- 
tion or  skeleton-plan  of  the  Yard  of  the  future.  Planting 
ought  to  be  the  decoration  of  some  systematic  fundamental 
arrangement :  not  a  helter-skelter  addition  to  no  arrangement 
at  all. 

Perfecting  an  old  Cemetery.  —  The  following  letter 
is  practically  a  report  made  to  a  member  of  the  corporation 
of  the  Springfield  cemetery  on  the  best  means  of  enhancing 
the  beauty  of  the  grounds,  and  keeping  them  appropriately 
beautiful,  when  the  use  of  the  cemetery  as  a  burial  place 
should  come  almost  to  an  end  through  the  sale  of  all  the  land 
suitable  for  interments.  The  Springfield,  Mass.,  cemetery 
was  among  the  earliest  of  the  American  garden  cemeteries, 
and  had  at  the  beginning  a  very  diversified  surface  and  many 
fine  forest  trees.  The  advice  given  was  conservative  ;  yet  it 
outlined  a  distinct  policy  for  the  future  which  would  in  time 
produce  valuable  results. 

27  June,  '91. 

At  your  request  I  have  studied  the  condition  and  circum- 
stances of  your  Springfield  Cemetery,  and  I  now  beg  to  re- 
port briefly  as  follows :  — 

Your  ground  was  originally  a  steep-sided  and  branching 
hollow  drained  by  several  brooklets  and  shaded  by  fine  forest 
trees.  Year  by  year  the  slopes  have  been  terraced  and  sold 
as  lots ;  until  there  is  now  but  little  ground  belonging  to  the 
corporation,  except  such  as  is  either  too  wet  or  too  steep  for 
burial  purposes.  Again,  such  salable  land  as  still  remains 
in  your  hands  is  all  easily  accessible  by  existing  roads,  so 
that  there  is  no  need  of  planning  any  new  arrangements  on 
this  account.  In  other  words,  the  roads  within  the  Cemetery 
are  as  numerous  as  they  need  ever  be.  They  are  not  all  laid 
on  the  best  possible  lines ;  but  to  alter  their  few  bad  lines  is 
now  impracticable  because  of  the  graves  in  the  adjacent 
private  lots. 

After  careful  study  I  have  reached  the  conclusion  that  the 
amount  of  alteration  which  it  is  still  possible  for  you  to  make 
for  the  sake  of  improvement  is  very  small.  Most  of  your 
land  is  so  completely  occupied  that  you  are  tied  down  hand 


294  UNBROKEN  TURF  IN  WET  HOLLOWS  [1891 

and  foot ;  while  in  those  few  parts  where  you  seem,  at  first 
sight,  to  be  free  to  act,  you  are  in  fact  almost  as  closely 
hampered  by  surrounding  conditions. 

Thus  the  result  of  my  study  is  largely  negative.  I  do  not 
find  that  there  is  much  for  you  to  do.  The  occupied  parts  of 
your  land  might  certainly  be  better  kept  and  planted.  There 
is  great  need,  it  seems  to  me,  of  more  low  shrubbery,  par- 
ticularly in  the  level  upland  parts  where  the  monuments 
stand  close  together,  and  tend  to  remind  one  of  a  stone-cutter's 
yard.  Many  shady  spots,  also,  where  grass  fails,  might  better 
be  clothed  with  Moneywort  or  Periwinkle,  or  even  with 
masses-of  shade-loving  bushes,  such  as  Indian  Currant,  Flow- 
ering Raspberry,  and  the  like.  Shrubs  used  intelligently 
will  add  variety  and  interest.  Among  the  monuments  only 
nice  sorts  should  appear ;  but  on  some  of  the  steep  banks  a 
wide  variety  of  wilder  plants  might  advantageously  be  used. 
Much  work  of  this  sort  will  soon  suggest  itself  to  an  intelli- 
gent superintendent,  and  to  him  I  must  leave  it. 

You  will  perceive  that  I  have  concluded  that  most  of 
your  work  is  to  be  the  perfecting  of  the  Cemetery  on  its 
present  lines.  In  this  I  think  you  should  be  controlled  in 
great  measure  by  the  evident  fact  that  the  resort  to  the  Ceme- 
tery is  hereafter  to  be  chiefly  for  its  quiet  and  peacefulness. 
Your  new  parks  will  draw  away  the  mere  holiday-makers. 
You  should,  I  think,  do  all  that  may  be  possible  to  emphasize 
che  retired  and  restful  character  of  the  place.  To  this  end 
you  will  avoid  all  appearance  of  endeavoring  to  make  a  show. 
To  the  same  end  I  would,  if  I  were  you,  obtain  and  preserve 
in  the  hollows  the  greatest  possible  extent  of  uninterrupted 
turf.  These  hollows  are  too  wet  for  graves.  You  have  in 
them  your  one  golden  opportunity  for  the  development  of  an 
effective  bit  of  scenery  of  the  peaceful  sort.  I  strongly 
advise  you  not  to  fill  these  hollow  glades  for  the  purpose  of 
providing  lots.  I  would  put  in  new  lots  in  any  and  all  of  the 
other  available  places,  before  I  would  permit  a  single  lot 
within  the  valleys.  Indeed,  I  hope  they  may  never  be  per- 
mitted there.  The  valleys  should  be  gently  graded  at  their 
sides.  To  relieve  the  existing  likeness  to  railroad  banks, 
shrubbery  should  be  scattered  along  the  brink  of  the  hollow 


^.31]  SIMPLE   AND   QUIET  TREATMENT  295 

slopes,  and  the  moist  levels  of  the  bottoms  should  be  pre- 
served as  rich  and  unbroken  sheets  of  greensward.  If  this  is 
done,  the  Cemetery  will  possess  a  central  feature  of  remarka- 
ble though  quieting  interest  and  influence,  —  a  bit  of  scenery 
upon  the  beauty  of  which  every  entering  visitor  will  look  with 
pleasure  and  relief. 

The  plan  is  an  endeavor  to  indicate  the  form  and  character 
of  these  reserved  lands  in  the  hollows.  Placing  it  over  the 
plan  of  the  Cemetery  as  it  exists,  every  alteration  that  I  pro- 
pose will  appear  at  a  glance. 

It  will  appear  that  I  would  do  away  with  the  cross-paths 
and  the  beds  which  destroy  the  unity  of  the  open  grass  near 
the  gate.  For  the  same  reason  I  would  shift  the  main  road, 
and  I  would  break  the  stiff  line  of  elms,  where  they,  as  I 
think,  obscure  the  effectiveness  of  the  open  valley. 

Similarly  I  would  abolish  the  rigmarole  of  paths  near  the 
fountain  basin.  I  would  abandon  the  practice  of  spotting 
gai-den  beds  about  the  grass,  and  I  would  rely  for  pleasing 
effect  upon  the  simple  openness  of  the  green  framed  by 
shrubbery  on  the  brinks  and  the  trees  hanging  from  the 
banks  above.  I  am  convinced  that  this  would  be  the  hap- 
piest possible  treatment  of  these  valleys,  and  I  hope  to  con- 
vince you  of  the  same. 

Near  Pine  Street  the  plan  shows  a  straightening  of  the 
boundary  road  and  the  resulting  removal  of  a  jirojecting  knoll 
which  is  now  found  there.  Also  the  parking  of  a  smaller 
and  a  larger  triangle  in  this  neighborhood  is  shown  on  the 
plan,  both  spots  being  at  present  unoccupied  lands.  These 
triangles  I  would  put  into  grass,  with  the  addition  of  some 
such  arrangement  of  trees  and  shrubs  as  I  have  indicated. 

At  the  main  gate  I  would  certainly  set  the  road  into  the 
hill  as  was  suggested  when  I  was  with  you  on  the  ground, 
and  I  would  reserve  a  large  part  of  the  wooded  bank  at  this 
point.  The  proposed  reserved  lands  are  colored  green  on  the 
plan.  I  will  only  add  that  I  would  rather  see  every  other 
inch  of  your  land  sold  in  lots  than  see  one  foot  of  these 
reserved  areas  given  up  to  private  occupation.  Upon  their 
preservation  rests  the  effect  of  the  Cemetery  as  a  whole. 

You  wiU  perhaps  be  surprised  that  I  propose  nothing  more 


296  SELECTING  A  SITE   FOR  AN  ACADEMY  [1891 

radical  or  revolutionary.  I  can  only  reply  that  I  find  the 
Cemetery  in  very  fair  condition  indeed,  and  endowed  by 
Nature  with  an  unusually  interesting  shape  and  character. 
Most  of  it  is  occupied.  The  institution  approaches  the  limits 
of  its  growth.  The  people  who  visit  it  are  henceforth  to  be 
chiefly  of  the  serious-minded  sort.  Moreover  a  Cemetery  is 
a  seinous  place,  and  ought  to  express  and  awaken  serious 
rather  than  frivolous  emotion.  For  these  reasons  I  think 
your  course  should  be  that  which  I  have  tried  to  indicate. 

Lastly,  let  me  say  that  after  my  study  I  find  that  you 
stand  much  moi-e  in  need  of  a  good  superintendent  than  of 
any  plans  or  advice  from  me  or  any  architect.  If  I  can  help 
you  at  all,  I  think  it  must  be  through  discussion  and  consul- 
tation with  your  superintendent.  This  is  often  the  case  upon 
gentlemen's  private  places.     It  is  distinctly  your  case. 

17  Oct.  '91. 

Selecting  a  Site  for  a  College  or  Academy.  —  My 
DEAR  Sir,  —  As  you  know,  I  am  filled  with  enthusiasm  over 
your  comprehensive  scheme  for  the  Academy  and  its  friends. 
The  idea  is  so  excellent,  and  its  future  is  so  far-reaching,  that 
we  ought  to  go  slowly  and  carefully  at  the  beginning,  per- 
fecting our  notions  of  what  we  want  to  attain  before  we  act. 

What  would  be  the  ideal  situation  and  appearance  of  a 
New  Church  college  and  its  attendant  colony  in  the  climate 
and  country  of  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia?  Without 
citing  reasons,  I  think  I  may  safely,  summarize  an  answer  as 
follows  :  — 

The  situation  should  be  high  enough  to  be  airy  in  summer 
without  being  bleak  in  winter.  The  land  should  slope  suf- 
ficiently to  di*ain  easily,  but  not  so  much  as  to  incommode 
travel  over  it,  and  cause  the  necessary  ways  to  gash  the  hill- 
sides. The  general  slope  should  tend  southward  rather  than 
northward.  The  land  should  possess,  if  possible,  some  unity 
of  topographic  character.  It  should  not  be  a  jumble  of  un- 
related slopes  and  shapes.  It  should  possess  some  pleasing 
central  feature,  such  as  a  sheet  of  water,  a  stream,  or  a  val- 
ley, so  that  an  effect  of  composition  may  be  attainable.  Its 
boundaries  should  be  scientific, — that  is,  they  should  conform 


^T.  32]  THE  IDEAL  SITUATION  297 

to  the  topography  in  such  a  way  as  will  tend  to  enhance  the 
effect  of  unity.  If  woods  or  fine  trees  assist  in  framing  and 
adorning  the  central  scene,  so  much  the  better. 

The  college  proper  should  stand  upon  nearly  level  land  in 
a  situation  accessible  from  all  parts  of  the  colony.  The 
buildings  should  be  low  rather  than  high,  sober  and  quiet  in 
design,  of  good  proportions  rather  than  rich  in  ornament ; 
and  they  should  be  arranged  somewhat  formally,  and  so  as  to 
relate  themselves  to  the  principal  or  administration  building 
in  pleasing  composition.  The  tributary  colony  of  dwellings 
should  in  turn  bear  a  similar  relation  to  the  college  as  its 
centre  and  the  reason  of  its  being.  On  favorable  ground  and 
with  careful  planning  a  most  pleasing  and  effective  result 
could  be  attained ;  and  I  believe  that  such  a  well-composed 
result  is  much  more  worth  trying  for  than  is  anything  which 
can  be  reached  by  sheer  elaboration  of  design  and  ornament 
in  handsome  but  ill-related  buildings. 

With  this  ideal  in  mind,  let  us  look  at  the  lands  which  I 
visited  with  you  last  week.  [The  letter  describes  tract  No. 
1,  and  rejects  it  on  the  grounds  that  the  sloping  parts  are  too 
steep  for  building  purposes,  the  plateau  too  bleak,  and  the 
whole  lacking  in  unity  ;  and  then  rejects  tract  No.  2  also, 
for  the  reason  that  it  "  falls  generally  towards  the  northeast," 
although  suitable  in  other  respects.] 

I  think  I  must  urge  you  to  look  farther  before  purchasing. 
I  have  at  last  obtained  a  copy  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  survey 
of  your  region,  and  I  send  you  with  this  a  tracing  of  a  part 
of  the  same,  showing  roads  in  black,  streams  in  blue,  and  20- 
feet  contours  in  red.  I  can  see  upon  this  sheet  several  par- 
cels of  land  which  have  a  promising  appearance,  and  perhaps 
you  will  like  to  have  a  look  at  the  few  I  have  marked.  They 
may  indeed  all  prove  valueless  or  unobtainable,  yet  I  would 
investigate  them  if  I  were  you.  It  will  be  well  worth  while 
to  give  plenty  of  time  to  your  undertaking  at  this  early  stage, 
even  if  we  revert  in  the  end  to  either  tract  1  or  tract  2  ! 


298  A  SUNK  GARDEN  WITH  TREFOIL  BEDS         [1892 

24  May,  '92. 

A  Suburban  Garden.  —  My  dear  Mrs. ,  I  am 

happy  to  hear  that  the  general  arrangement  about  your  house 
is  a  success  in  your  eyes.  You  can  bring  the  details  of  the 
garden  into  harmony  with  your  wishes  at  any  time.  The 
ground-work  is  the  fundamental  and  important  thing. 

Referring  to  my  letter-book,  I  find  that  I  suggested  holly- 
hocks and  the  like  plants  along  the  wall  of  the  terrace,  and 
a  long  strip  of  mixed  perennials  around  the  circuit  of  the 
outer  part  of  the  garden.  In  the  sunk  garden  we  had  in- 
tricate beds  and  box  edging.  It  is  true  the  edging  must  be 
defended  from  the  adjacent  grass,  but  just  as  the  grass  edges 
of  the  walks  have  to  be  tended  and  trimmed,  so  the  grass  edge 
next  the  box  can  be.  It  is  only  a  question  of  care.  Box  can 
be  set  now,  and  can  be  had  in  good  form  from  Hooper  Bros., 
West  Chester,  Pa.,  for  20  cents  a  yard. 

As  to  the  contents  of  the  trefoils,  if  you  will  be  so  venture- 
some as  to  attempt  something  a  little  different  from  the  usual 
florist's  beds,  I  think  you  can  have  something  very  pleasing, 
—  particularly  if  you  will  establish  the  reserve  garden  you 
write  of,  from  which  you  can  bring  out  at  any  time  whatever 
you  please  to  decorate  your  terrace  and  sunk  panel. 

The  sunk  panel  with  its  trefoil  beds  is  to  be  looked  down 
upon  as  a  rule,  and  the  trefoils  should  be  filled  with  this  in 
mind.  One  lobe  of  a  trefoil  might  for  example  be  filled 
with  blue  Campanula  carpatica,  surrounded  by  yellow  CEno- 
thera  missouriensis :  another  with  Lobelia  f ulgens  growing 
up  through  Tussilago  variegata:  another  with  Ajuga  dotted 
with  Sedum  spectabile.  This  sort  of  thing  can  be  arranged 
for  you,  and  the  plants  grown  for  you,  by  any  florist  who 
will  take  the  trouble  to  be  a  little  original  and  enterprising. 
It  is  not  so  easy  as  the  ordinary  bedding  with  tender  gera- 
niums ;  but  it  is  vastly  more  interesting.  I  think  you  will 
have  to  work  gradually.  It  is  impossible  to  get  just  the  right 
thing  at  once. 

An  Ohio  Township  Park.  —  The  park  at  Youngstown, 
Ohio,  was  thus  described  by  Charles  in  a  note  to  his  wife 
of  May  11,  1891,  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  visit :  "  A  fine 
river  glen  with  numerous  side  ravines  and  some  cliffs,  —  a 


JET.  32]  THE  YOUNGSTOWN  GORGE  299 

really  good  reservation,  and  the  work  of  a  single  energetic 
young  lawyer,  an  enthusiast,  —  and  he  has  done  a  fine  thing." 
The  following  letter  was  addressed  to  the  young  lawyer :  — 

26  May,  '91. 

I  think  I  can  answer  your  specific  question  in  a  few  words. 

For  appearance  it  is  best  to  keep  the  roadways  faii*ly  low. 
To  make  them  causeways  is  ugly,  but  is  sometimes  necessary 
on  account  of  wet  land.  In  ordinary  situations  I  suppose  you 
will  remove  the  top-soil  at  any  rate.  This  will  drop  the  road 
a  little,  and  the  shaping  which  will  follow  will  generally  bring 
the  crown  or  centre  about 

on  a  level  with  the  un-  <••  -• 4o^ 

disturbed  surfaces  at  each 
side. 

Here  is  a  usual  method.  Strip  off  top-soil  forty  feet  wide. 
If  the  sub-soil  found  in  the  ten-foot  side  strips  is  good  enough 
material  for  road-surfacing,  scrape  it  up  to  raise  the  roadway 
to  the  original  surface  grade.  Then  loam  the  side  strips  with 
some  of  the  top-soil  first  removed. 

In  case  of  side-hill  work,  one  side  strip  may  well  become 
a  grass  gutter,  or  if  the  wash  is  very  great,  a  stone  gutter ; 
while  the  other  side  strip  becomes  the  retaining  bank,  thus : 
For  appearance  it 
is  very  desirable 
to   have  this    re- 
taining  bank  on 

the    down    side;     <~ 6o' > 

but  on  very  steep 

side-hills  it  is  of  course  expensive  to  get  much  of  it.  When 
the  slope  is  thus  abrupt,  however,  a  fence  will  be  required 
for  safety,  and  this  will  satisfy  appearances. 

This  beautiful  park  is  a  winding  gorge,  with  bluffs  on  each 
side  which  vary  from  sixty  to  more  than  a  hundred  feet  in 
height.  A  rapid  stream  flows  through  it ;  and  within  the 
park  area  several  tributaries  enter  this  stream  through  deep 
wooded  ravines.  Cascades  adorn  both  the  main  stream  and 
its  tributaries.  In  the  valley  are  two  small  lakes,  —  ponds 
they  would  be  called  in  New  England,  —  one  having  a  water 
surfiice  of  about  forty-three  acres,  the  other  of  about  twenty- 


300  DRIVEWAYS   IN  THE  GORGE  [1891 

six.  It  was  desirable  to  have  a  drive  on  each  side  of  the 
gorge  its  full  length,  —  about  two  miles  and  a  quarter  in  a 
straight  line,  —  and  these  drives,  because  of  the  winding  of  the 
gorge,  would  be  four  miles  long  on  one  side,  and  five  miles  on 
the  other.  Around  the  smaller  lake  the  bluffs  were  so  steep 
that  the  drives  were  apparently  forced  on  to  the  heights.  At 
the  head  of  this  lake,  on  the  more  abrupt  side,  the  valley  sud- 
denly rose  about  twenty  feet  above  the  water,  pushed  back  the 
bluffs,  and  formed  a  level  amphitheatrical  meadow  of  about 
five  acres  girt  by  wooded  hills.  The  entrance  from  the  water- 
side was  by  a  fine  grove  upon  the  terrace ;  and  here  between 
the  stream  and  the  meadow  was  placed  a  pavilion  with  shaded 
pleasure  grounds  adjoining.  Access  to  these  grounds  by  boat 
and  walks  was  easy ;  but  to  reach  them  by  driveways,  with- 
out leaving  permanent  scars  on  picturesque  and  lovely  scenes, 
seemed  at  first  next  to  impossible.  The  above  description  is 
taken  from  a  letter  written  January  8,  1902,  by  Mr.  Volney 
Rogers,  the  young  lawyer  mentioned  above. 

The  letter  proceeds  :  "  This  was  one  question.  The  other 
was,  how  to  get  a  water  drive  along  a  portion  of  the  smaller 
lake.  There  was  an  opportunity  here  to  keep  entirely  on  the 
bluffs,  and  bridge  a  deep  ravine  .  .  .  but  then  the  visitor 
would  not  reach  the  shore  of  the  lake  at  any  point  by  drive- 
way, which  all  agreed  was  very  desirable.  Mr.  Eliot  worked 
out  a  plan  that  accomplished  the  desired  result  by  the  use  of 
two  long  retaining-walls.  .  .  .  This  access  to  the  lake  accom- 
plished, the  shore  of  the  lake  was  followed  quite  a  distance ; 
and  then  the  original,  higher  location  of  the  driveway  was 
reached  by  the  '  Cascade  Ravine,'  a  ravine  unexcelled  in 
natural  attractions  in  any  park  the  writer  has  ever  visited. 
This  solution  of  the  lake-side  problem  led  to  the  solution  of 
the  other  problem.  In  the  summer  of  1891,  a  topographical 
survey  and  contour  map  were  made  of  the  entire  park  area ; 
and  with. this  map  in  his  hands  Mr.  Eliot  was  asked  to  indi- 
cate the  best  way  to  carry  a  driveway  to  the  amphitheatre. 
The  next  day  Mr.  Eliot  came  to  me  with  the  result  of  his 
study.  He  proposed  to  continue  his  lake-shore  drive  from 
the  point  where  it  reached  Cascade  Ravine  up  the  main  valley 
until  farther  progress  in  that  direction  was  cut  off  by  a  cliff. 
He  was  now  on  the  side  of  the  stream  opposite  the  amphi- 
theatre and  some  distance  above.  Here  he  crossed  the  main 
stream  with  a  bridge,  returned  on  the  opposite  bank  of  that 
stream  to  the  foot  of  the  hill  near  the  amphitheatre,  and 
passed  along  the  foot  of  this  hill  to  the  site  of  the  proposed 
pavilion.     A  drive  was  also  planned  from  the  bridge  just 


^T.  32]  NAHANT  301 

mentioned,  after  crossing  the  stream,  up  the  main  valley  and 
connecting  with  the  principal  drive  on  that  side.  A  new 
drive  through  the  valley  was  thus  devised,  in  addition  to  those 
on  the  bluffs. 

"  These  drives  are  now  all  constructed ;  and  those  who  tra- 
verse them  do  not  know  to  whom  they  are  indebted  for  the 
pleasure  the  drives  afford.  The  fact  is  that  Charles  Eliot  is 
entitled  to  the  credit  above  given." 

A  letter  which  Charles  sent  a  year  later  to  the  Youngstown 
Park  Commissioners  after  one  of  his  visits  to  the  Gorge 
closes  thus  :  "Your  Gorge  is  one  of  the  finest  park  scenes  of 
America,  and  deserves  most  careful  handling ;  and  all  who 
work  in  or  for  it  have  my  very  best  wishes." 

A   SEASIDE   VILLAGE. 

1  March,  1893. 

To  THR  Chairman  of  the  Selectmen,  and  the  Town  Forester, 
Nahant. 

Gentlemen,  —  As  requested  by  you,  I  submit  the  following 
brief  notes  on  your  township  as  it  appears  to  a  professional 
designer  of  the  arrangement  of  land  for  human  purposes. 

Nahant  is  a  rock-bound  and  sea-girt  island,  about  two  miles 
long  from  east  to  west,  half  a  mile  wide  from  north  to  south, 
and  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  narrow  causeway  beach 
two  miles  in  length.  The  surface  of  the  island  is  irregular, 
the  coast  line  is  broken  and  picturesque,  the  views  over  the 
ocean  and  the  adjacent  bays  ai-e  grand  or  beautiful  accord- 
ing to  the  changeful  moods  of  sky  and  sea.  As  nature  and 
the  early  settlers  left  it,  the  place  possessed  a  special  charm 
for  modern  city-bred  men,  a  few  of  whom  built  villas  on  the 
island  as  many  as  sixty  years  ago.  Even  to-day,  when  almost 
every  part  of  the  peninsula  is  dotted  with  buildings,  some- 
thing of  the  old  charm  remains  ;  for  it  is  fortunately  iinpos- 
sible  to  mar  the  sky  and  the  sea.  Land  surfaces,  however, 
are  very  easily  made  ugly,  and  the  surface  of  Nahant  has  not 
escaped.  Indeed,  if  regard  is  had  to  its  rare  opportunities 
and  possibilities,  few  places  so  disappoint,  discoui-age,  and 
alarm  careful  students  of  my  profession  as  does  the  Nahant 
of  to-day. 

To  put  the  case  very  briefly,  it  is  true  that  while  that 
beauty  of  the  wild  island,  which  first  led  to  Nahant  such  men 


302  NAHANT  IN  PERIL  [1893 

as  Messrs.  Gary,  Robbins,  and  Eliot  of  Boston,  has  been 
gradually  destroyed  by  the  building  up  of  the  place,  no  at- 
tempt has  been  made  to  secure  for  the  township  that  good 
general  arrangement,  adapted  to  the  topography  and  the  cir- 
cumstances, which  is  the  foundation  of  permanent  beauty  and 
convenience  in  populous  places.  The  general  plan  of  the 
highways  of  Nahant  is  almost  as  bad  as  it  could  possibly  be. 
The  roads,  except  the  main  Nahant  Road,  have  been  laid  out 
upon  the  division  lines  of  estates;  they  generally  end  ab- 
ruptly at  the  shore ;  and  their  straight,  parallel,  and  rectan- 
gular courses  are  peculiarly  ill-fitted  to  the  varying  forms  of 
the  island's  surface.  Moreover,  most  of  the  roads  have  been 
made  very  narrow  —  so  narrow  that  when  the  increasing 
population  has  demanded  sidewalks  it  has  been  necessary 
to  make  them  of  diminutive  width,  and  to  edge  them  with 
granite  curbstones  like  those  of  city  streets.  Within  these 
pinched  and  ill-placed  public  ways  there  is  no  room  for  those 
green  spaces  and  those  banks  of  wild  Roses  which  would  add 
so  much  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  town.  Moreover,  these 
existing  ways  are  really  worse  than  no  provision  for  the  de- 
velopment of  a  closely  built  town  in  a  handsome  way.  That 
the  township  must  become  a  closely  built  place  is  admitted  by 
all ;  and  the  question  is,  shall  the  new  Nahant  be  an  attrac- 
tive and  beautiful  place  of  its  kind,  where  intelligent  people 
will  desire  to  live  and  real  estate  will  possess  high  values,  or 
shall  the  town  be  allowed  to  drift  into  that  gradual  loss  of 
attractiveness  and  consequent  diminution  of  values  to  which 
its  present  general  arrangement  inevitably  consigns  it  ?  For 
Nahant  to  permit  her  shore  front  to  be  owned  by  private  per- 
sons and  her  interior  ways  to  remain  the  ugly  things  they 
are  is  simply  to  bind  herself  hand  and  foot  —  it  is  to  commit 
township  suicide. 

I  have  often  been  asked  to  perform  that  ineffectual  act 
called  shutting  the  door  after  the  horse  has  been  stolen  ;  but 
never  have  I  encountered  a  more  pronounced  case  of  this  sort 
than  that  to  which  you  invited  me  last  summer.  The  road 
over  the  Long  Beach,  to  which  you  called  my  particular 
attention,  is  not  built  upon  the  beautiful  curve  of  the  beach, 
but  upon  non-conforming  and  therefore  ugly  lines  of  its  own. 


^T.  33] 


TOWNSHIP  SUICIDE 


303 


Moreover,  it  is  accompanied  by  a  hideous  procession  of  tele- 
graph, telephone,  and  electric-light  poles  and  wires.  No 
bordering  thickets  of  dwarf  bushes  and  clambering  vines  can 
do  away  with  the  ugliness  which  has  been  inflicted  on  this 
road.  Similarly  no  decorative  planting  in  the  few  corners  of 
the  Nahant  sti-eets  which  are  not  gravel  can  hide  the  obvious 
fact  that  the  streets  are  wrongly  placed  and  wrongly  shaped. 
Nahant  is  rich  and  strong,  and  whatever  her  voters  will  to  do 
can  be  done.  The  town's  case  seems  to  me  to  call  for  radi- 
cal treatment.  It  is  for  the  voters  to  determine  whether  the 
painful  but  beneficial  operation  shall  be  performed  now,  when 
it  will  hurt  and  cost  comparatively  little,  or  later,  when  it 
must  hurt  and  cost  much.  As  palliatives  for  the  present  con- 
dition of  things,  I  recommend  :  — 

1st.  The  burial  of  the  wires  on  the  Long  Beach,  the  cor- 
rection of  the  road  lines  there,  and  the  planting  of  a  strip 
along  each  side  of  the  road  with  dwarf  bushes. 

2d.  The  acquisition  by  the  town  of  outlying  points  like 
Castle  Rock,  of  beaches,  and  of  sea  front  generally,  so  far  as 
may  be  possible. 

3d.  The  opening  of  shore  roads  to  connect  the  outer  ends 
of  the  present  streets  wherever  and  whenever  such  action  is 
possible. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

ADEQUATE  OPEN  SPACES   FOR  URBAN  POPULATIONS, 
AND   PUBLIC   OWNERSHIP  OF   COAST  SCENERY 

Meantime  there  is  one  duty  obvious  to  us  all :  it  is  that  we  should 
set  ourselves  to  guard  the  natural  beauty  of  the  earth :  we  ought  to 
look  upon  it  as  a  crime,  an  injury  to  our  fellows,  only  excusable  be- 
cause of  ignorance,  to  mar  that  natural  beauty  which  is  the  property 
of  all  men.  —  Morris. 

Charles  had  not  been  in  practice  two  years  before  he  be- 
gan to  study  the  problem  of  securing  for  American  towns  and 
cities  an  adequate  number  of  public  squares,  gardens,  and 
parks.  He  had  seen  in  Europe  how  liberal  a  provision  of 
this  sort  was  there  made  for  the  health  and  enjoyment  of 
urban  populations ;  and  he  had  learnt  that  the  provision 
of  public  grounds  made  by  American  towns  and  cities  was 
comparatively  scanty.  To  demonstrate  this  neglect  of  one  of 
the  most  important  public  interests  was  his  first  contribution 
to  the  discussion  of  the  subject.  The  following  article,  which 
appeared  in  "  Garden  and  Forest  "  in  October,  1888,  was 
written  in  September  of  that  year,  when  Charles  had  been  in 
practice  only  twenty  months  :  — 

PARKS    AND    SQUARES    OF   UNITED    STATES    CITIES. 

The  nineteenth  volume  of  the  Final  Reports  of  the  Census 
of  1880,  only  lately  distributed,  completes  the  "Statistics  of 
the  Cities  of  the  United  States,"  and  enables  us  to  view  the 
condition  of  180  cities  of  the  Union  in  respect  to  those  neces- 
sities of  modern  town  life  —  public  parks  and  squares. 

Two  hundred  and  ten  cities  are  enumerated.  Of  these 
thirty  make  no  report  concerning  their  public  spaces,  and  may 
perhaps  be  presumed  to  own  none,  while  forty  state  outright 
that  they  possess  no  public  grounds  whatever.  Some  surpris- 
ingly large  towns  appear  in  this  latter  class ;  for  instance, 
Paterson,  New  Jersey  (population,  51,000),  Scranton,  Penn- 
sylvania (46,000),  Wilmington,  Delaware  (42,600),  Wheeling, 


^T.  28]  THE   COUNTRY   PARK  305 

West  Virginia  (31,000),  Trenton,  New  Jersey  (30,000),  and 
many  smaller  but  bustling  places  like  Fort  AVayne,  Indiana, 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  and  Topeka,  Kansas.  Since  the 
Census  year,  several  of  these  forty  cities  have  taken  steps  to 
jjrovitle  themselves  with  public  spaces  of  one  sort  or  another. 

Turning  now  to  the  140  cities  which  report  one  or  more 
public  grounds,  we  notice  first  the  universal  abuse  of  the 
word  park.  It  is  applied  to  every  sort  of  public  space,  from 
the  minutest  grass-plot  to  the  race-track  or  the  fair-ground. 
The  strict  meaning  of  the  word  is  completely  lost.  Hereafter 
we  shall  have  to  speak  of  country  parks  when  we  wish  to 
designate  those  public  lands  which  the  word  park  alone  ought 
by  rights  to  describe  —  nameh%  "  lands  intended  and  appro- 
priated for  the  recreation  of  the  people  by  means  of  their 
rural,  sylvan,  and  natural  scenery  and  character." 

Country  parks  are  sometimes  of  small  area,  as  when  some 
striking  glen,  or  river-bank,  or  caiion  is  preserved  in  its 
natural  state  (would  this  were  oftener  done  !)  —  but  gener- 
ally an  area  of  at  least  fifty  or  one  hundred  acres  is  required 
to  provide  a  natural  aspect.  Smaller  spaces  can  satisfy  many 
of  the  desires  of  the  crowded  city  people  —  can  supply  fresh 
air  and  ample  play-room,  and  shade  of  trees,  and  brightness 
of  grass  and  flowers  —  but  the  occasionally  so  pressing  want 
of  that  quiet  and  peculiar  refreshment  which  comes  from  con- 
templation of  scenery  —  the  want  which  the  rich  satisfy  by 
fleeing  from  town  at  certain  seasons,  but  which  the  poor  (who 
are  trespassers  in  the  country)  can  seldom  fill  —  is  only  to  be 
met  by  the  country  parlv.  If  a  few  of  the  twenty-six  cities, 
which  reported  themselves  in  1880  as  jiossessed  of  large  tracts 
of  land,  have  put  these  lands  to  uses  for  which  small  areas 
would  have  served  as  well  or  better  —  if  they  have  given  them 
over  to  decorative  gardening,  to  statuary  and  buildings,  or  to 
other  town-like  things  —  they  have  made  (unless  the  circum- 
stances are  peculiar)  an  extravagant  mistake.  For  large 
open  spaces  close  to  cities  are  excessively  costly,  and  one  such 
interferes  with  traffic  in  far  greater  degree  than  do  many 
small  areas,  so  that  no  town  can  properly  afford  to  own  a 
large  tract,  unless  for  the  express  purpose  of  providing  refresh- 
ing natural  scenery. 


306        OPEN  SPACES  FOR  URBAN   POPULATIONS  [1888 

The  accompanying  table  of  the  twenty-six  cities  which  re- 
ported park  lands  of  fifty  acres  and  npwards  presents  curious 
contrasts.  The  first  column  gives  the  number  of  inhabitants 
per  acre  of  park,  which  is  the  basis  of  the  order  of  the  names, 
the  other  columns  the  population  and  the  park  acreage :  — 


18 

Macon 

13,000 

720 

22 

Couucil  Bluffs 

18,000 

600  4-104  +  90 

166 

Detroit 

116,500 

700 

172 

St.  Paul 

41,500 

240 

175 

New  Britain 

13,000 

74 

176 

St.  Louis 

350,500 

1,372 -f  276 -f  180  +  158 

182 

Binghauiton 

17,500 

96 

222 

Sau  Francisco 

234,000 

1,050 

280 

Bridgeport 

28,000 

60  +  50 

281 

Chicago 

503,500 

593  +  372  +  250 + 200  + 185 + 180 

309 

Philadelphia 

847,000 

2,740 

310 

Baltimore 

232,500 

693  +  56 

410 

San  Antonio 

20,500 

50 

417 

Omaha 

30,500 

73 

442 

Buffalo 

155,000 

350 

508 

New  Orleans 

216,000 

250  + 175 

680 

Portland,  Me. 

34,000 

50 

685 

Cincinnati 

255,000 

206+164 

833 

Indianapolis 

75,000 

90 

907 

Fall  River 

49,000 

54 

940 

Allegheny 

79,000 

84 

1019 

Providence 

105,000 

103 

1122 

Brooklyn 

567,000 

505 

1213 

Albany 

91,000 

75 

1400 

New  York 

1,206,500 

862 

3424 

Boston 

363,000 

106 

Little  Macon's  large  park  was  the  gift  of  the  State.  It  is 
mostly  in  large  forest  trees.  Boston,  at  the  other  end  of  the 
list,  boasts  uncommonly  attractive  suburbs,  which  have  served 
some  of  the  purposes  of  a  park ;  but  she  has  lately  begun 
work  upon  a  real  park  of  more  than  600  acres. 

Of  small  public  grounds  there  appears  to  be  an  equally 
various  provision.  In  New  England  many  cities  possess  the 
remains  of  old  town  commons  —  for  instance,  Nashua  (13,000) 
has  forty  acres  in  North  and  South  Commons,  and  Newbury- 
port  (13,500)  has  the  same  ;  while  Boston,  Salem,  Lynn,  and 
other  places  own  larger  or  smaller  areas  of  like  origin. 


^T.  29]  PUBLIC  SQUARES  AND  GARDENS  307 

At  the  founding  of  Philadelphia,  five  public  squares  of 
about  six  acres  each  were  carefully  reserved  ;  but  the  exam- 
ple of  the  founders  has  been  woefully  forgotten  by  the  builders 
of  the  great  city  of  to-day.  Savannah  has  done  better,  for 
she  has  continued  the  city  plan  devised  by  her  first  colonists, 
and  in  1880,  with  a  population  of  31,000,  she  had  thirty  acres 
in  twenty-three  public  spaces,  besides  a  ten-acre  park  and  a 
twenty-acre  parade-ground.  About  the  worst  case  reported 
is  that  of  Pittsburg,  a  city  of  15G,000  inhabitants,  and  yet 
possessed  of  less  than  one  and  one  third  public  acres  —  a 
contrast  to  Buffalo  (population,  155,000),  which  reported,  in 
addition  to  the  Park,  fift3r-six  acres  in  the  Parade,  thirty-two 
acres  in  the  Front,  and  forty-two  acres  in  eight  pieces.  Com- 
pare also  the  following  :  — 

Troy,  New  York  (57,000),  one  acre.  Richmond  (64,000), 
sixty-five  acres  in  five  pieces. 

Kansas  City  (56,000),  two  acres.  Akron,  Ohio  (16,500), 
twenty-five  acres  in  seven  pieces. 

Auburn,  New  York  (22,000),  one  acre.  Salt  Lake  (21,000), 
forty  acres  in  four  pieces. 

And  the  remarkable  case  of  Lawrence,  Kansas  (8,500), 
seventy-three  acres  in  five  pieces. 

We  have  no  fixed  rule  for  the  proper  ratio  to  population  of 
the  acreage  or  number  of  public  squares  ;  but  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  while  a  few  of  our  cities  are  well  provided  for,  a  major- 
ity are  still  very  badly  off.  New  York  is  now  tearing  down 
buildings  to  make  room  for  public  gardens.  Philadelphia, 
also,  is  endeavoring  to  make  up  for  her  past  carelessness. 
Smaller  places  should  secure  the  necessary  lands  before  the 
cost  becomes  intolerable. 

A  word  in  conclusion  as  to  the  laying  out  of  public  squares 
and  gardens.  The  problem  is  wholly  distinct  from  that  of 
the  country  park.  Here  and  there,  to  be  sure,  is  found  a 
small  public  ground  of  such  strongly  marked  shape  and  char- 
acter that  it  by  right  rules  its  surroundings,  whatever  they 
may  be,  —  as  the  Back  Bay  Fens  in  Boston  call  a  halt  to  the 
city  structures,  —  but  small  grounds  in  general  are  necessarily 
dominated  by  the  formal  lines  of  the  streets  and  buildings 
which  enclose  them,  and  they  must  generally  be  shaped  to  a 


308  THE  COAST  OF  MAINE  [1889 

correspondingly  formal  plan.  Every  hope  of  a  fine  general 
effect  hangs  on  the  securing  of  a  good  general  plan.  The 
famous  Public  Garden  of  Boston,  recently  criticised  in  this 
paper,  fails  of  fine  general  effect  because  its  framework  or 
ground  plan  was  never  thought  out  as  a  whole  —  as  a  design. 
The  handsome  and  costly  gardening  which  is  to  be  seen  there, 
the  gorgeous  beds,  and  the  fine  specimen  plants,  cannot  be 
fittingly  displayed  —  can  only  be  promiscuously  scattered  as 
they  are  —  so  long  as  the  ground  plan  of  the  garden  remains 
the  mongrel  thing  it  is. 

A  little  more  than  a  year  later,  after  his  usual  summer's 
visit  to  the  coast  of  Maine,  he  wrote  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  the  natural  features  of  that  beautiful  coast,  and  of  its 
pi'eeminent  merits  as  a  summer  resort ;  but  he  gave  one  third 
of  the  paper  to -a  statement  of  the  way  in  which  the  inroad 
of  humanity  is  destroying,  or  rendering  inaccessible  to  the 
public,  much  of  the  wild  beauty  of  the  coast,  and  to  the  sug- 
gestion of  means  of  averting  such  a  calamity,  or  at  least  of 
preserving  from  degradation  some  of  the  finest  scenery.  The 
suggested  means  are  local  associations,  and  action  by  the 
Commonwealth.  Neither  of  these  means  has  been  (1901) 
adopted  in  Maine,  but  Massachusetts  has  adopted  both. 

THE   COAST   OF  MAINE. 

From  Cape  Cod,  Massachusetts,  to  Cape  Sable,  Nova  Scotia, 
the  broad  entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  is  two  hundred 
miles  wide,  and  it  is  one  hundred  miles  from  each  of  these 
capes  to  the  corresponding  ends  of  the  coast  of  Maine  at 
Kittery  and  Quoddy.  Thus  Maine  squarely  faces  the  wide 
opening  between  the  capes,  while  to  the  east  and  west,  beyond 
her  limits,  stretch  two  great  offshoots  of  the  gulf,  the  bays 
of  Fundy  and  of  Massachusetts.  The  latter  and  lesser  bay 
presents  a  south  shore  built  mostly  of  sands  and  gravels  in 
beaches  and  bluffs,  and  a  north  shore  of  bold  and  enduring 
roc-vs,  both  already  overgrown  with  seaside  hotels  and  cot- 
tages. The  Bay  of  Fundy,  on  the  other  hand,  is  little  resorted 
to  for  pleasure.  Its  shores  in  many  parts  are  grandly  high 
and  bold ;  but  its  waters  are  moved  by  such  rushing  tides, 
and  its  coasts  are  so  frequently  wrapt  in  cold  fogs,  that  it  will 
doubtless  remain  comparatively  an  unfrequented  region. 


.ET.  30]  SCENERY  OF  THE  COAST  309 

Along  the  coast  of  Maine,  stretched  for  two  hundred  miles 
from  bay  to  bay,  scenery  and  climate  change  from  the  Massa- 
chusetts to  the  Fundy  type.  At  Boston  the  average  tem- 
perature of  July  is  70° ;  at  Eastport,  at  the  farther  end  of 
INIaine,  it  is  61°.  No  such  coolness  is  to  be  found  along  the 
thousand  miles  of  monotonous  sand  beach  which  front  the 
Atlantic  south  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  ;  and  though  the  coolness 
of  the  waters  of  the  gulf  precludes  most  persons  f]-om  sea- 
bathing, this  freshness  of  the  air  will  always  be  an  irresistible 
attraction  to  many  thousands  of  dwellers  in  hot  cities.  Again, 
in  contrast  with  the  southern  sea-beaches,  the  scenery  of  the 
Maine  coast  is  exceedingly  interesting  and  refreshing.  The 
mere  map  of  it  is  most  attractive.  Beginning  at  Piscataqua 
River,  a  deep  estuary  whose  swift  tides  flow  through  an  archi- 
pelago of  rocks  and  small  islands,  the  shoi-e  is  at  first  made 
up  of  low  ledges  forming  ragged  points,  connected  by  sand  or 
pebble  beaches,  where  farmers  gather  rock-weed  after  storms. 
Seaward  lies  a  group  of  dangerous  rocks,  the  Isles  of  Shoals. 
Beyond  the  tortuous  outlet  of  York  River  and  the  Short  and 
Long  Sands  of  York,  Cape  Neddick  and  Bald  Head  lift  high 
rocks  toward  the  sea,  and  behind  them  rises  Agamenticus 
Hill,  a  conspicuous  blue  landmark  sometimes  visible  from 
Cape  Ann  in  Massachusetts.  Low  and  sandy  coasts  succeed, 
fronting  the  old  towns  of  "Wells  and  Kennebunk.  Cape  Por- 
poise follows,  a  confused  mass  of  rocky  islets,  salt  marshes, 
and  tidal  flats  ;  then  more  long  and  short  beaches,  a  lagoon 
called  Biddeford  Pool,  the  mouth  of  Saco  River,  barred  by 
its  washings  from  the  AVhite  Hills,  more  beaches,  and  so  to 
Cape  Elizabeth,  a  broad  wedge  of  rock  pushed  out  to  sea  as 
if  to  mark  the  entrance  to  the  land-locked  harbor  of  Portland. 

Thus  far  the  coast  is  sufficiently  rich  in  varied  scenery  — 
in  shores  now  high,  now  low,  now  wooded  and  now  bare,  now 
gentle  and  now  rough  ;  first  thrust  seaward  in  rocky  capes, 
then  swept  inland  in  curving  beaches,  and  now  and  again 
broken  by  the  outlets  of  small  rivers.  Cape  Elizabeth  ends 
this  scenery,  and  introduces  the  voyager  to  a  type  still  more 
intricate,  picturesque,  and  distinctive.  Casco  Bay,  with  its 
many  branches  running  inland  and  its  peninsulas  and  islands 
stretching  seaward,  is  the  first  of  a  succession  of  bays,  "  thor- 


310  A  MAZE  OF  ROCK-BOUND  ISLANDS  [1889 

ouglifares,"  and  "  reaches,"  which  line  the  coast  almost  all  the 
rest  of  the  way  to  Quoddy.  The  ragged  edge  of  the  mainland 
becomes  lost  behind  a  maze  of  rock-bound  islands,  and  ap- 
pears but  seldom  where  the  surf  can  strike  it.  The  salt  water 
penetrates  in  deep  and  narrow  channels  into  the  very  woods, 
ebbs  and  flows  in  hundreds  of  frequented  and  unfrequented 
harbors,  and  enters  into  countless  hidden  nooks,  coves,  and 
narrows.  Sand  beaches  become  rare,  and  great  and  small 
"  sea  walls "  of  worn  stones  or  pebbles  take  their  place. 
Islands,  islets,  and  ledges,  both  dry  and  sunken,  are  strewn 
on  every  hand.  The  tides  flow  among  them  with  increasing 
force,  and  the  fog  wraps  them  from  sight  more  and  more  fre- 
quently as  the  Bay  of  Fundy  is  approached.  Great  cliffs  are 
rare  until  Grand  Manan  is  reached,  and  high  hills  come  down 
to  the  sea  only  by  Penobscot  Bay  and  at  Mt.  Desert;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  variety  of  lesser  topographic  forms  is 
very  great.  In  Casco  Bay,  for  instance,  the  rocks  trend  north- 
east and  southwest,  and  all  the  crowded  islands  run  out  into 
reefs  in  these  directions.  Penobscot  Bay  presents  wide 
stretches  of  open  water  divided  by  well-massed  islands,  but 
still  preserves  a  fine  breadth  of  effect ;  and  these  islands  differ 
greatly  in  form  and  character,  according  as  they  are  built  of 
hard  and  glaciated  granite  or  of  altered  stratified  rocks.  The 
border  bay  of  Passamaquoddy  is  distinguished  by  fine  head- 
lands, which  terminate  in  islands,  generally  lower  than  the 
heads.  In  like  manner  the  sounds  and  fiord-like  rivers  differ 
much  from  each  other.  For  instance,  the  Kennebec  River  is 
extremely  narrow,  and  many  bold  knobs  of  rock  turn  it  this 
way  and  that ;  but  the  neighboring  Sheepscot  is  fully  three 
miles  broad  at  its  mouth,  and  this  noble  width  contracts  but 
slowly ;  while  the  Penobscot  above  the  Narrows  takes  on  such 
a  gentle  appearance  as  to  be  hardly  recognizable  as  a  river  of 
eastern  Maine,  the  general  aspect  of  this  part  of  the  coast 
being  distinctly  wild  and  untamable. 

Doubtless  the  raggedness  of  the  rocky  shore  is  the  first 
cause  of  the  almost  forbidding  aspect  of  the  region,  but  the 
changed  character  of  the  sea-coast  woods  is  a  second  cause. 
Beyond  Cape  Elizabeth,  if  capes  and  islands  are  wooded  at 
all,  it  is  with  the  dark,  stiff  cresting  of  Spruce,  Fir,  or  Pine, 


iET.  30]  TREES   OF  THE   COAST  311 

fringed  perhaps  with  Birch  and  Mountain  Ash.  Near  Kit- 
tery  fine  Elms  and  even  Hickories  may  he  seen  on  the  open 
shore,  but  there  is  a  gradual  dying  out  of  many  famdiar 
species  as  the  coast  is  traversed  eastward.  Thus  Holly  and 
Inkberry,  together  with  Prickly  Ash,  Flowering  Dogwood, 
and  Sassafras,  are  not  seen  near  the  sea  north  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay.  White  Cedar,  after  following  the  coast  all  the 
way  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  dies  out  near  Kittery.  York 
River  is  said  to  see  the  last  Buttonwoods,  Saco  River  the 
last  Chestnuts,  and  the  Kennebec  the  last  Tupelos  and  Hick- 
ories. Conversely,  this  coast  has  its  many  forerunners  of 
the  flora  of  the  far  north.  While  the  White  Pine  is  met 
with  all  alongshore  north  of  New  Jersey,  the  Red  Pine  first 
appears  by  Massachusetts  Bay  and  the  Gray  Pine  by  Mt. 
Desert.  The  Arbor  Vitas  is  first  met  with  near  the  Kennebec. 
The  Balsam  Fir  and  the  Black  and  White  Spruces  show 
themselves  on  no  coasts  south  of  Cape  Ann,  and  do  not 
abound  until  Cape  Elizabeth  is  passed.  It  is  the  blackness 
of  these  dwarf  coniferous  woods  which,  with  the  desolation  of 
the  surf-beaten  ledges  and  the  frequent  coming  of  the  fog, 
impresses  the  traveller  with  the  fact  that  this  is  a  really  wild 
and  sub-arctic  shore,  where  strange  red-men's  names  for 
islands,  capes,  and  rivers  —  names  such  as  Medomak,  Mus- 
congus,  Pemaquid,  Megunticook,  Eggemoggin,  Moosabec,  and 
Schoodic  —  seem  altogether  fitting. 

The  human  story  of  the  coast  of  Maine  is  almost  as  pictur- 
esque and  varied  as  its  scenery.  This  coast  was  first  fre- 
quented by  stray  French  fishing  vessels,  and  first  scientifically 
explored  by  Samuel  de  Champlain,  whose  narrative  of  his 
adventures  is  still  delightful  reading.  Finiitless  attempts  at 
settlement  followed,  led  by  French  knights  at  Saint  Croix, 
by  English  cavaliers  at  Sagadahoc,  and  by  French  Jesuits 
at  Mt.  Desert ;  all  of  them  years  in  advance  of  the  English 
Colony  of  New  Plymouth.  Then  followed  a  long  period  of 
fishing  and  fur  trading,  during  which  Maine  belonged  to 
neither  New  France  nor  New  England,  and  a  genuine  border 
warfare  was  the  result.  Two  rival  Frenchmen  also  fought 
and  besieged  each  other  in  truly  feudal  fashion  at  Penobscot 
and  Saint  John.     Again,  while  the  long  French  and  Indian 


312  HISTORY   OF  THE   COAST  [1889 

wars  lasted,  this  coast  saw  more  fighting.  The  older  settle- 
ments west  of  Cape  Elizabeth  were  sacked  several  times,  and 
even  the  English  stronghold  at  Pemaquid  was  captured ;  but 
the  forest  allies  of  the  French  Baron  Saint  Castin  were  beaten 
in  the  end.  The  numerous  French  names  for  points  on  the 
eastern  coast  bear  witness  to  the  long  French  occupation ;  as 
for  instance  Grand  and  Petit  Manan,  Bois  Bubert,  Monts 
Deserts  and  Isle  au  Hault,  and  Burnt  Coat,  apparently  Eng- 
lish, but  really  a  mistranslation  of  the  French  Cote  Brule. 

No  Englishmen  settled  beyond  Penobscot  until  after  the 
capture  of  Quebec  ;  and  when  they  did,  they,  as  Yankees,  had 
to  take  part  in  still  more  fighting  in  the  wars  of  the  Revo- 
lution and  of  1812.  The  settlers  first  fished  and  hunted,  then 
cut  hay  on  the  salt  marshes  and  timber  in  the  great  woods, 
and  in  later  years  took  to  ship-building,  and  later  still  to 
stone-quarrying  and  ice-harvesting,  and,  near  Rockland,  to 
lime-bui^ning.  These  works  are  still  the  business  of  the  coast. 
Even  hunting  is  carried  on  at  certain  seasons  in  the  eastern 
counties,  where  deer  are  still  numerous.  All  the  large  Pine 
and  Spruce  of  the  shore  woods  have  been  cut ;  but  Bangor 
still  sends  down  Penobscot  Bay  a  fleet  of  lumber  schooners 
every  time  the  wind  blows  from  the  north ;  and  as  for  fishing, 
fleets  of  more  than  two  hundred  graceful  vessels  may  often 
be  seen  in  port  together,  waiting  the  end  of  a  storm. 

It  was  about  1860  that  what  may  be  called  the  discovery 
of  the  picturesqueness  and  the  summer-time  healthfulness  of 
the  coast  of  Maine  took  place.  Only  the  beaches  of  the 
western  quarter  of  the  shore  were  at  first  occupied  by  hotels ; 
but  when  the  poor  hamlet  of  Bar  Harbor  leaped  into  fame 
through  the  resort  to  it  of  a  few  well-known  landscape  paint- 
ers, it  became  evident  that  the  whole  coast  was  destined  to 
be  a  much  frequented  summer  resort.  At  present,  York, 
Kennebunkport,  Biddeford  Pool,  and  Old  Orchard  Beach, 
together  with  the  Casco  Islands,  Boothbay,  Camden,  Mt. 
Desert,  and  Campobello,  are  a  few  of  the  more  populous 
neighborhoods;  but  summer  hotels  are  now  scattered  all 
along  the  shore,  and  colonies  of  summer  villas  of  all  grades 
of  costliness  occupy  many  of  the  more  accessible  capes  and 
islands.     Thus  there  are  many  cottages  at  York,  and  the 


^T.  30]  SUMMER  COLONIES  OF  THE  COAST  313 

islands  near  Portland  are  fairly  covered  with  cheap  structures. 
Squirrel  Island  in  Boothbay  is  another  nest  of  small  houses, 
and  Bar  Harbor  is  a  summer  city  surrounded  by  a  multitude 
of  very  costly  and  elaborate  wooden  palaces.  The  finest  parts 
of  the  coast  are  already  controlled  by  land  companies  and 
speculators,  while  the  natives'  minds  are  inflamed  by  the  high 
prices  which  the  once  worthless  shore  lands  are  now  supposed 
to  command. 

The  spectacle  of  thousands  upon  thousands  of  people  able 
to  spend  annually  several  weeks  or  months  of  summer  in 
healthful  life  by  the  seashore  is  very  American  and  very  plea- 
sant ;  and  the  impai'tial  observer  can  find  but  two  points  about 
it  which  are  in  any  considerable  degree  discouraging  or  dan- 
gerous. The  lamentable  feature  of  the  situation  is  the  small 
amount  of  thought  and  attention  given  to  considerations  of 
appropriateness  and  beauty  by  the  builders  and  inhabitants 
of  the  summer  colonies  of  the  coast.  Indifference  in  these 
matters  works  ill  results  everywhere,  but  nowhere  is  lack  of 
taste  quite  so  conspicuous  as  on  the  seashore.  Both  corpora- 
tions and  individuals  are  guilty  on  this  head.  More  than  one 
booming  land  company  has  hastily  divided  and  sold  its  rough 
ledges  in  rectangular  lots,  whose  lines  bear  no  relation  to  the 
forms  of  the  ground,  so  that  houses  cannot  be  well  placed. 
The  squalid  aspect  of  the  public  parts  of  these  settlements, 
the  shabby  plank  walks,  and  the  unkempt  roadways  are  other 
causes  of  reproach.  The  houses  themselves,  if  cheap,  are  too 
often  vulgarly  ornamented,  and  if  costly,  are  generally  ab- 
surdly pretentious.  Even  the  government,  which  has  lately 
been  rebuikling  many  of  the  lighthouse-keepers'  dwellings, 
has  substituted  for  the  simple,  low,  and  entirely  fitting  struc- 
tures of  a  former  genei'ation,  a  thin-walled  and  small-ohim- 
neyed  type  of  house,  such  as  is  common  in  the  suburbs  of  our 
cities.  One  of  these  perched  on  a  sea  cliff  is  an  abomination, 
and  might  well  have  illustrate^l  the  mournful  remark  of  a 
recent  writer  in  "The  Atlantic  Monthly,"  who  pointed  out 
that  American  indifference  to  beauty  cannot  be  caused  by  the 
newness  of  our  civilization,  for  when  this  was  still  newer  we 
built  both  more  appropriately  and  picturesquely  than  we  com- 
monly do  now.     Again,  in  the  treatment  of  the  ground  about 


314  INCONGRUOUS  DECORATION  [1889 

their  houses,  the  millionaires  of  Bar  Harbor  are  quite  as  apt 
to  err  as  are  the  humbler  cottagers  of  Squirrel  Island. 
Smooth  lawns,  made  of  imported  soil,  and  kept  green  only  by 
continual  watering,  furnish  a  means  of  displaying  wealth,  but 
they  cannot  be  fittingly  united  with  scenery  which  is  charac- 
terized by  rough  ledges  and  scrubby  woods.  On  this  rough 
coast  level  grass  will  please  when  it  is  joined  to  a  house  and 
enclosed  by  walls.  In  the  open  ground  it  can  hardly  ever  be 
in  keeping.  Similarly  incongruous  are  flower  beds  scattered 
over  rocky  and  uneven  ground,  set  between  the  trunks  of 
Pitch  Pines,  or  perched  on  the  tops  of  whaleback  ledges ;  and 
yet  such  things  are  common  sights  at  Bar  Harbor. 

The  real  danger  of  the  present  situation  is  that  this  annual 
flood  of  humanity,  with  its  permanent  structures  for  shelter, 
may  so  completely  overflow  and  occupy  the  limited  stretch  of 
coast  which  it  invades,  as  to  rob  it  of  that  flavor  of  wildness 
and  remoteness  which  hitherto  has  hung  about  it,  and  which 
in  great  measure  constitutes  its  refreshing  charm.  A  surf- 
beaten  headland  may  be  crowned  by  a  lighthouse  tower  with- 
out losing  its  dignity  and  impressiveness,  but  it  cannot  be 
dotted  with  frail  cottages  without  suffering  a  woeful  fall.  A 
lonely  fiord  shut  in  by  dark  woods,  where  the  fog  lingers  in 
wreaths,  as  it  comes  and  goes,  loses  its  charm  whenever  even 
one  bank  is  stripped  naked,  and  streets  of  buildings  are  sub- 
stituted for  the  Spruces  and  Pines.  A  few  rich  men,  realizing 
this  danger,  have  surrounded  themselves  with  considerable 
tracts  of  land  solely  with  the  intention  of  preserving  the 
natural  aspect ;  and  at  least  one  hotel  company,  by  buying 
almost  the  whole  of  the  wild  island  of  Campobello,  has  saved 
for  the  patrons  of  its  houses  a  large  region  of  unspoiled  scen- 
ery. The  readers  of  "  Garden  and  Forest "  stand  in  need  of 
no  argument  to  prove  the  importance  to  human  happiness  of 
that  refreshing  antidote  to  city  life  which  fine  natural  scenery 
supplies,  nor  is  it  necessary  to  remind  them  that  love  of  beauty 
and  of  art  must  surely  die,  if  it  be  cut  at  its  roots  by  destroy- 
ing or  vulgarizing  the  beauty  of  nature.  "  Men  cannot  love 
Art  well  until  they  love  what  she  mirrors  better,"  says  Mr. 
Ruskin. 

The  United  States  have  but  this  one  short  stretch  of  Atlan- 


MT.  30] 


TO   PRESERVE  SOME  FINE  SCENES 


315 


tic  sea-coast,  where  a  pleasant  summer  climate  and  real  pictur- 
esqueness  of  scenery  are  to  be  found  together.  Can  nothing 
be  done  to  preserve  for  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  the  great 
unorganized  body  of  the  common  people  some  fine  parts,  at 
least,  of  this  seaside  wilderness  of  Maine  ?  It  would  seem  as 
if  the  mere  self-interest  of  hotel  proprietors  and  land-owners 
would  have  accomplished  much  more  in  this  direction  than  it 
yet  has.  If,  for  instance,  East  Point  near  York,  or  Dice's 
Head  at  Castine,  or  Great  Head  near  Bar  Harbor  should  be 
fenced  oif  as  private  property,  all  the  other  property-owners  of 
the  neighborhood  would  have  to  subtract  something  from  the 
value  of  their  estates.  And,  conversely,  if  these  or  other 
like  points  of  vantage,  or  any  of  the  ancient  border  forts,  were 
preserved  to  public  uses  by  local  associations  or  by  the  com- 
monwealth, every  estate  and  every  form  of  property  in  the 
neighborhood  would  gain  in  value.  Public-spirited  men  would 
doubtless  give  to  such  associations  rights  of  way,  and  even 
lands  occasionally,  and  the  raising  of  money  for  the  purchase 
of  favorite  points  might  not  prove  to  be  so  difficult  as  at  first 
it  seems.  The  present  year  should  see,  all  up  and  down  the 
shore,  the  beginning  of  a  movement  in  the  direction  here 
indicated.  In  many  parts  of  the  coast  it  is  full  time  decisive 
action  was  taken  ;  and  if  the  State  of  Maine  should  by  suitable 
legislation  encourage  the  formation  of  associations  for  the 
purpose  of  preserving  chosen  parts  of  her  coast  scenery,  she 
would  not  only  do  herself  honor,  but  would  secure  for  the 
future  an  important  element  in  her  material  prosperity. 


mm 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  TRUSTEES  OF  PUBLIC  RESERVATIONS 

Doch  der  den  Augenblick  ergreift 
Das  ist  der  rechte  Man. 

GoETEDE  (Faust). 

Having  finished  in  January,  1890,  the  series  of  articles 
on  Okl  American  Country-seats,  Charles  wrote  on  the  22d 
of  February  a  letter  to  the  Editor  of  "  Garden  and  Forest  " 
which  bore  the  title  "  The  Waverley  Oaks,"  but  was  really  a 
plan  for  preserving  fine  bits  of  natural  scenery  near  Boston, 
and  for  obtaining  an  adequate  number  of  properly  distributed 
open  spaces  for  the  use  of  the  public. 

THE   WAVERLEY   OAKS  :     A   PLAN    FOR    THEIR    PRESERVATION 
FOR  THE  PEOPLE. 

Your  recent  editorial  on  the  Waverley  Oaks,  with  its  plea 
for  the  preservation  of  the  charming  scene  in  which  they 
stand,  prompts  me  to  lay  before  you  an  imperfect  outline  of 
a  scheme  by  which,  not  the  scene  at  Waverley  only,  but 
others  of  the  finest  bits  of  natural  scenery  near  Boston,  might 
perhaps  be  saved  to  delight  many  future  generations. 

But  first  a  few  words  on  another  pressing  problem.  It 
is  everywhere  agreed  that  a  great  and  growing  population, 
such  as  now  inhabits  Boston  and  her  widespreading  suburbs, 
should,  for  its  own  best  health,  provide  itself  with  all  pos- 
sible open  spaces  in  the  form  of  public  squares  and  play- 
grounds. Boston  (including  now  the  various  municipalities 
which  surround  her)  is  far  behindhand  in  this  matter.  Large 
areas  outside  of  the  old  city  are  wholly  unprovided  with  pub- 
lic open  spaces ;  and  while  the  various  municipalities  which 
compose  this  larger  Boston  continue  to  be  fearful  of  spend- 
ing money  for  the  enjoyment  of  their  neighbors,  there  can  be 


^T.  30]        SURVIVING   SCENERY  NEAR   BOSTON  317 

little  hope  for  much  improvement.  The  difficulty  arising 
from  the  conflicting  interests  and  desires  of  these  many  towns 
•and  cities  delayed  the  construction  of  a  proper  sewerage  sys- 
tem for  the  suburbs,  until  the  danger  and  the  scandal  which 
the  lack  of  such  a  system  caused  fairly  compelled  the  State 
to  create  a  metropolitan  drainage  commission,  with  power  to 
jilan  and  to  build  a  complete  main  drainage  and  to  assess  the 
cost  thereof  upon  the  towns  and  cities  benefited.  It  looks 
now  as  if  the  acquisition  of  a  suitable  number  of  well-dis- 
tributed open  spaces  must  wait  for  the  appointment  of  a  simi- 
lar commission.  Meanwhile  the  available  open  ground  is 
being  rapidly  occupied,  and  Boston,  like  New  York,  may  yet 
be  compelled  to  tear  down  whole  blocks  of  buildings  to  pro- 
vide herself  with  the  needed  oases  of  light  and  air. 

But  a  crowded  population  thirsts,  occasionally  at  least,  for 
the  sight  of  something  very  different  from  the  public  garden, 
square,  or  ball-field.  The  railroads  and  the  new  electric 
street  railways  which  radiate  from  the  Hub  carry  many 
thousands  every  pleasant  Sunday  through  the  suburbs  to  the 
real  country,  and  hundreds  out  of  these  thousands  make  the 
journey  for  the  sake  of  the  refreshment  which  an  occasional 
hour  or  two  spent  in  the  country  brings  to  them.  Within 
ten  miles  of  the  State  House  there  still  remain  several  bits  of 
scenery  which  possess  uncommon  beauty  and  more  than  usual 
refreshing  power.  Moreover,  each  of  these  scenes  is,  in  its 
way,  characteristic  of  the  primitive  wilderness  of  New  Eng- 
land, of  which,  indeed,  they  are  surviving  fragments.  At 
Waverley  is  a  steep  moraine  set  with  a  group  of  mighty 
Oaks.  At  the  Upper  Falls  of  Charles  River  the  stream  flows 
darkly  between  rocky  and  broken  banks,  from  which  hang 
ranks  upon  ranks  of  graceful  Hemlocks.  These  two  remark- 
able scenes  have  been  described  in  "  Garden  and  Forest ; " 
and  1  shall  name  no  others,  though  several  are  well  known  to 
all  lovers  of  nature  near  Boston.  One  is  the  solemn  inte- 
rior of  a  wood  of  tall  white  Pines  —  the  tree  the  forefathers 
blazoned  on  their  flag.  Anotlier  is  a  Pine  grove  on  a  group 
of  knolls  in  the  bend  of  a  small  I'iver,  where  it  first  meets  the 
tide  and  the  salt  marshes.  Still  another  is  a  hillside  strewn 
with  great  boulders,  and  commanding,  by  a  bowl-shaped  hoi- 


318         THE  TRUSTEES   OF  PUBLIC   RESERVATIONS     [1890 

low  of  the  hills,  a  distant  view  of  the  ocean  and  its  far  hori- 
zon. At  present  all  these  beautiful  scenes,  excepting-  such  as 
are  included  in  the  Franklin  Park  and  the  adjacent  Arnold  • 
Arboretum,  are  in  private  hands ;  and  many  of  them  are  in 
daily  danger  of  utter  destruction  —  some  of  the  finest  spots 
have  been  destroyed  within  the  last  ten  years.  Most  of  them 
lie  outside  the  municipality  of  Boston  proper.  They  are  scat- 
tered in  different  townships  or  along  the  border  lines,  and 
only  an  authority  which  can  disregard  township  limits  can 
properly  select  and  establish  the  needed  reservations. 

The  end  to  be  held  in  view  in  securing  reservations  of  this 
class  is  wholly  different  from  that  which  should  guide  the 
State  Commission  already  suggested,  and  the  writer  believes 
this  different  end  might  better  be  attained  by  an  incorporated 
association,  composed  of  citizens  of  all  the  Boston  towns,  and 
empowered  by  the  State  to  hold  small  and  well-distributed 
parcels  of  land  free  of  taxes,  just  as  the  Public  Library  holds 
books  and  the  Art  Museum  pictures  —  for  the  use  and  enjoy- 
ment of  the  public.  If  an  association  of  this  sort  were  once 
established,  generous  men  and  women  woukl  be  ready  to  buy 
and  give  into  its  keeping  some  of  these  fine  and  strongly 
characterized  works  of  Nature  ;  just  as  others  buy  and  give 
to  a  museum  fine  works  of  art.  Indeed,  the  association  might 
even  become  embarrassed,  as  so  many  museums  are,  by  offer- 
ings which  might  not  commend  themselves  to  its  directors. 

Purely  natural  scenery  supplies  an  education  in  the  love  of 
beauty,  and  a  means  of  human  enjoyment  at  least  as  valuable 
as  that  afforded  by  pictures  and  casts ;  and  if,  as  we  are 
taught,  feeling  for  artistic  beauty  has  its  roots  in  feeling  for 
natural  beauty,  opportunities  of  beholding  natural  beauty 
will  certainly  be  needed  and  prized  by  the  successive  genera- 
tions which  are  to  throng  the  area  within  ten  miles  of  the 
State  House.  As  Boston's  lovers  of  art  united  to  found  the 
Art  Museum,  so  her  lovers  of  Nature  should  now  rally  to 
preserve  for  themselves  and  all  the  people  as  many  as  pos- 
sible of  these  scenes  of  natural  beauty  which,  by  great  good 
fortune,  still  exist  near  their  doors. 

On  the  day  this  letter  was  printed  (March  5th),  Charles 
set  to  work  to  get  such  an  association  established,  although  he 


.ET.  30]    THE  SUGGESTION  OF  SCENERY  TRUSTEES       319 

was  much  occupied  with  plans  for  private  places.  His  first 
steps  are  described  in  the  following  letters  to  Professor 
Cliarles  S.  Sargent,  Director  of  the  Arnold  Arboretum,  and 
Mr.  George  C.  Mann,  President  of  the  Appalachian  Moun- 
tain Club  :  — 

March  5,  1890. 

My  dear  Professor  Sargent,  —  What  think  you  of 
making  an  attempt  in  the  direction  indicated  by  my  letter  to 
G.  &  F.  ?  (I  assume  you  have  seen  the  letter ;  if  not,  you 
will  see  it  soon.) 

I  am  one  of  the  Council  of  the  Appalachian  Mountain 
Club.  I  propose  to  try  to  get  ten  of  the  best  men  in  said 
Club  to  invite  to  meet  with  them  at  the  Club-room  another 
ten  or  more  men  from  outside  for  the  purpose  of  discussing 
ways  and  means  of  accomplishing  the  establishment  of  an 
association,  or  board  of  trustees,  with  power  to  hold  such 
"  bits "  of  scenery  near  Boston  as  may  be  given  into  their 
keeping. 

I  think  I  can  get  of  the  Club  members,  A.  Agassiz,  T.  W. 
Higginson,  Edward  C.  Pickering,  S.  H.  Scudder,  and  so  on 
—  and  of  outsiders  should  ask  Dr.  Walcott,  yourself,  and 
other  names  that  will  occur  to  you. 

The  meeting  should  talk  over  the  various  ways  of  a*tempt- 
ing  such  an  organization.  I  think  it  should  be  modelled 
after  the  Ai-t  Museum  —  and  consist  of  a  board  of  trustees 
to  be  composed  say  of  the  Dii-ector  of  the  Art  Museum  and 
the  Director  of  the  Arboretum  ;  with  a  representative  from 
the  Horticultural  Society,  the  Agricultural  Society,  and  the 
Appalachian  Club  —  for  instance.  These  trustees  would  be 
also  a  boai'd  of  directors,  with  power  to  accept  or  refuse  gifts 
of  lands,  and  so  on. 

This  scheme  would  require  a  small  endowment  fund  to  pay 
small  expenses  (the  reservations  must  be  accepted  only  when 
offered  with  a  fund  for  maintenance)  ;  or  perhaps  an  organi- 
zation having  a  membership  which  should  elect  the  trustees 
and  supply  an  annual  income  for  office  expenses  would  seem 
more  suitable  to  some  persons.  These  are  problems  which 
would  come  up  at  the  proposed  meeting. 

The  President  of  the  Appalachian  Club  is  the  only  man 


320        THE  TRUSTEES  OF  PUBLIC  RESERVATIONS    [1890 

beside  yourself  to  whom  I  have  yet  suggested  this  scheme  — 
so  if  you  cannot  think  well  of  it,  it  is  not  too  late  to  give  it  a 
fatal  dose. 

If  you  do  think  well  of  it,  let  me  hear  from  you  at  your 
convenience.  .  .  . 

March  5,  1890. 

My  dear  Mr.  Mann,  —  I  have  in  my  head  a  scheme  for 
an  attempt  at  preserving  some  of  the  finest  bits  of  Nature 
near  Boston.  I  want,  if  possible,  to  interest  you  in  the 
scheme,  my  idea  being  that  it  might  be  well  to  interest  per- 
haps a  dozen  of  the  more  distinguished  Appalachians,  who 
might  then  call  a  meeting  of  another  dozen  or  so  outsiders  — 
men  like  Professor  Sargent  and  Francis  Parkman.  ...  I 
open  the  subject  by  a  letter  to  "  Garden  and  Forest  "  which 
will  appear  this  week ;  and  if  you  happen  to  be  in  town 
within  a  day  or  two,  I  hope  you  will  come  to  see  me  here.  .  .  . 
Meanwhile,  can  you  call  to  mind  ten  Appalachians  who  would 
make  good  fathers  for  such  a  scheme  ?  Higginson,  Scudder, 
and  Fay  might  perhaps  be  three.  I  should  like  to  have  them 
hail  from  different  suburbs.  .  .  . 

Ever  since  his  return  from  Europe  Charles  had  taken  a 
strong  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  Appalachian  Mountain 
Club  ;  he  had  been  elected  a  member  of  the  Council,  and  had 
commended  himself  to  the  leading  members  of  the  Club  by 
disinterested  and  effective  service  in  connection  with  the  pub- 
lication by  the  Club  of  an  excellent  contour  map  of  the  coun- 
try abovit  Boston.  He  was  therefore  in  position  to  secure  the 
cooperation  of  the  officers  of  the  Club  in  his  new  enterprise. 
Professor  Sargent  and  the  President  of  the  Club  having  given 
prompt  approval  (Mr.  Mann  called  at  Charles's  office  on  the 
same  day  that  the  above  letter  was  written),  Charles  immedi- 
ately took  counsel  with  an  intimate  friend  and  frequent  com- 
panion in  country  walks,  who  was  a  lawyer,  and  on  March 
8th  drew  up  the  following  statement  of  reasons  for  the  action 
he  proposed,  to  be  presented  to  the  Council  of  the  Club  as  a 
suggestion  of  preliminary  action  :  — 

8  March,  1890. 
Whereas  —  it  is  everywhere  agreed  that  it  is  important  to 
the  education,  health,  and  happiness  of  crowded  populations 


^T.  30]     THE  APPxVLACHIAN  MOUNTAIN   CLUB  ACTS     321 

that  they  should  not  be  deprived  of  opportunities  of  behold- 
ing beautiful  natural  scenery. 

Whereas  —  the  cities  of  Massachusetts  are  continually 
growing  both  in  number  and  in  population,  so  that  it  is  in- 
creasingly needful,  and  at  the  same  time  increasingly  diffi- 
cult, for  the  inhabitants  of  said  cities  to  obtain  the  peculiar 
pleasure  and  refreshment  which  the  contemplation  of  natural 
scenery  alone  affords  them. 

Whereas  —  many  scenes  near  the  cities  of  this  State,  which 
once  possessed  uncommon  beauty  and  refreshing  power,  have 
been  despoiled  within  tlie  last  ten  years,  while  many  scenes 
of  similar  value  are  at  the  present  time  in  similar  danger. 

Whereas  —  it  is  highly  probable  that  individuals  and 
bodies  of  subscribers  would  gladly  purchase  scenes  of  this 
valuable  character  for  dedication  to  the  use  and  enjoyment  of 
the  public,  provided  they  were  fully  assured  that  their  inten- 
tions in  so  doing  would  be  lastingly  respected,  and  the  lands 
presented  by  them  carefully  preserved  for  the  purpose  just 
recited. 

Resolved  —  that  in  the  opinion  of  this  Council,  tlie  facts 
above  recited  call  for  the  creation  by  the  State  of  a  Board  of 
Trustees  endowed  with  power  to  hold  real  estate  in  any  part 
of  the  Commonwealth  for  the  purpose  already  set  forth.  .  .  . 

This  paper  was  not  adopted  by  the  Council ;  but  served  as 
a  clear  statement  of  the  objects  Charles  had  in  view. 

The  Council  met  on  ]\iarch  10th,  and  appointed  Messrs. 
Eliot  and  Mann  a  committee  "to  draw  up  an  invitation  to 
societies  and  individuals  to  meet  and  consider  a  plan  for  pre- 
serving natural  scenery."  The  next  day  Charles  prepared 
the  following  circular  letter,  and  on  the  12th  began  sending 
it  to  influential  persons  who  he  thought  would  be  interested 
in  the  project. 

March  11,  1S90. 

]\Iy  dear  Sir,  —  In  view  of  the  recent  and  the  threatened 
destruction  of  some  of  the  most  beautiful  scenes  within  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  it  is  suggested  that  it  would  be  well 
to  procure  from  the  legislature  a  special  act  creating  a  Board 
of  Trustees  with  power  to  hold  lands  free  of  taxes  in  any 
part  of  the  Commonwealth  for  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  the 
public. 


322        THE  TRUSTEES  OF  PUBLIC  RESERVATIONS     [1890 

It  seems  likely  that  the  existence  of  such  a  board,  into 
whose  keeping  lands  might  be  committed,  would  stimulate 
individuals  and  bodies  of  subscribers  to  obtain  i30ssession  of 
bits  of  scenery  here  and  there,  while  men  who  happened  to 
own  suitable  lands  would  occasionally  pass  them  to  the  Trus- 
tees by  will.  It  is  further  suggested  that  the  Trustees  had 
best  be  appointed  in  part  by  the  Governor  of  the  State  (as 
is  the  case  with  the  Trustees  of  the  Massachusetts  General 
Hospital),  and  in  part  by  certain  designated  societies  and  cor- 
porations (as  is  provided  in  the  act  of  incorporation  of  the 
Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts).  Such  societies  as  the  Appa- 
lachian Mountain  Club,  the  Massachusetts  Horticultural  Soci- 
ety, the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  the  Essex  Institute, 
and  perhaps  the  various  colleges,  should  be  represented  in 
the  Board  of  Trustees ;  and  each  Society  should  pledge  itself, 
on  first  naming  its  representative,  to  pay  into  a  common  fund 
say  $100  a  year  for  five  or  ten  years  in  order  thereby  to  form 
a  nucleus  for  the  endowment  of  the  Trust  —  an  endowment 
which  would  be  increased  by  individual  benefactors. 

Funds  for  the  maintenance  of  particular  reservations  would 
have  to  be  provided  at  the  same  time  that  lands  were  given. 

If  you  are  interested  by  these  suggestions  —  they  are  no 
more  than  that  —  will  you  not  kindly  inform  me  of  your  in- 
terest, and  at  the  same  time  send  me  the  names  of  persons 
belonging  in  your  part  of  the  State  who  ought  to  be  invited 
to  a  conference  which  it  is  proposed  should  be  called  in  Bos- 
ton some  time  in  May.  I  should  also  be  glad  to  be  informed 
of  the  name  and  address  of  the  secretary  of  any  society  or 
institution,  other  than  those  I  have  named,  which  in  your 
opinion  should  be  represented  in  the  proposed  Board  of 
Trustees. 

Encouraging  answers  at  once  began  to  come  in  from  per- 
sons living  in  different  parts  of  the  State,  and  representing 
different  occupations.  Almost  immediately  it  became  clear 
that  the  precise  work  to  be  done  was  to  give  effect  to  a  public 
sentiment  already  in  existence.  Many  persons  had  seen  the 
urgent  need  of  preserving  from  imminent  destruction  this  or 
that  beautiful  scene ;  many  had  suggested,  or  even  persistently 
advocated,  the  preservation  of  particular  pieces  of  wild  nature 


^T.  30]     PUBLIC   SENTIMENT  ALREADY  EXISTING  323 

which  had  thus  far  escaped  destruction.  Thus,  Elizur  Wright, 
the  eminent  insurance  actuary,  had  for  nearly  twenty  years 
(1867-1885)  made  well-directed  and  patient  effoi-ts  to  enlist 
the  interest  of  nature-loving  individuals,  and  ot  the  towns  of 
Maiden,  Medford,  Winchester,  Stouehani,  and  Melrose,  in  a 
large  tract  of  woods,  rocks,  marshes,  and  ponds  lying-  in  those 
towns,  and  since  known  as  the  Middlesex  Fells ;  and  these 
efforts  had  really  borne  fruit ;  although  his  ends  were  ap- 
parently far  from  attainment  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1885. 
Mr.  Wright  also  foresaw  that  great  parks  would  be  needed 
for  the  dense  population  occupying  Boston  and  the  country 
immediately  around ;  and  in  1867  he  used  these  prophetic 
words :  '*  If  Boston  makes  a  park  that  will  only  do  for  the 
present  nninicipality  of  that  name,  a  larger  Boston  will  soon 
have  to  make  another." 

When  Mr.  H.  W.  S.  Cleveland  of  Minneapolis,  the  oldest 
landscape  artist  in  the  country,  who  was  in  early  life  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  read  in  "  Gar- 
den and  Forest "  Charles's  letter  of  March  5th,  he  at  once 
wrote  to  him  as  follows :  "  I  was  rather  surprised  tliat  you 
made  no  mention  of  the  Middlesex  Fells  as  a  desirable  local- 
ity for  preservation.  I  do  not  know  its  present  condition  ; 
but  it  formerly  comprised  very  picturesque  scenes  and  much 
fine  wood.  I  remember  once  spending  most  of  a  day  there 
with  George  S.  Hillard,  when  he  was  President  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Senate  (some  thirty  years  ago),^  and  urging  upon 
him  the  ])reservation  of  a  large  area  there  either  by  the  State 
or  the  City."  Indeed,  the  love  of  beautiful  scenery,  or  of 
particular  scenes  of  natural  beauty,  had  long  been  cherished 
and  had  become  widespread  ;  but  it  was  helpless.  It  had  not 
been  given  an  organized  body  and  an  executive  hand.  Never- 
theless, strong  influences  had  been  at  work  towards  preserva- 
tive action.  The  artistic  and  financial  success  of  Central 
Park  in  New  York  City  had  taught  all  large  American  mu- 
nicipalities an  invaluable  lesson.  Since  1875  Boston  had 
been  developing  a  park  system  within  her  own  boundaries, 
which  more  and  more  commended  itself  to  the  popular  mind. 
The  Commonwealth  had  adopted  in  1882  a  general  law  pro- 
viding for  the  laying  out  of  Public  Parks  by  towns  and  cities 
within  their  own  limits.  In  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  the  weekly 
excursions  of  the  Appalachian  Mountain  Club  to  places  in- 
teresting for  their  scenery,  or  their  historical  associations,  had 
made  many  persons  familiar  with  the  places  and  scenes  which 
ought   to  be   preserved,  and  with   the   destruction   already 

1  Mr.  Hillard  was  a  member  of  the  Senate  in  1849-50. 


324        THE  TRUSTEES  OF  PUBLIC  RESERVATIONS     [1890 

wrouglit  by  the  rapid  and  unguided  growth  of  the  suburbs. 
In  the  publication  of  the  same  Ckib  entitled  "  Appalachia," 
Mr.  Rosvvell  B.  Lawrence  had  printed  in  1886  an  excellent 
account  of  the  Middlesex  Fells,  accompanied  by  a  map  show- 
ing the  paths  and  wood-roads,  the  hills,  brooks,  swamps,  and 
ponds  of  the  whole  district,  and  rehearsing  the  arguments  in 
favor  of  public  ownership.  The  Lynn  Woods  on  the  north  of 
Boston  afforded  an  admirable  example  of  a  great  public  forest 
(2000  acres)  obtained  by  the  cooperation  of  public-spirited 
citizens  with  the  municipality.  A  few  journalists,  chief  among 
whom  was  Mr.  Sylvester  Baxter  of  Maiden,  had  written  fre- 
quently and  earnestly  about  the  park  needs  of  the  million 
people  within  twelve  miles  of  the  State  House,  and  had 
pointed  out  the  opportunities  for  effective  action,  and  the 
obstacles  which  prevented  it.  These  sympathetic  writings 
had  helped  to  form  an  expectant  public  opinion  on  the  sub- 
ject. Finally,  the  genius  of  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  had 
gradually  been  informing  cultivated  Americans  concerning 
the  nature  and  uses  of  public  reservations. 

In  anticipation  of  a  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  Appala- 
chian Mountain  Club  on  April  2d,  Charles  wrote  out  on 
March  30th  what  he  called  a  "  Preservation  Scheme."  It 
was  his  habit  to  go  to  any  meeting,  in  the  work  of  which  he 
was  strongly  interested,  with  something  already  well  con- 
sidered and  put  into  writing,  in  order  to  supply  a  definite 
basis  for  discussion,  and  a  preliminary  framework  for  action 
by  the  meeting.  This  habit  was  a  thoughtful  and  helpful 
one  ;  it  gave  evidence  that  he  had  studied  the  subject,  and 
undoubtedly  added  to  the  influence  which  his  quiet  but  per- 
suasive speech  gave  him  in  all  meetings  of  committees  or 
boards  for  the  discussion  of  subjects  he  had  at  heart. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  Appalachian  Mountain 
Club  on  April  2d,  it  was  unanimously  voted  "  to  add  Mr. 
Lawrence  to  the  committee,  and  that  the  committee  call  a 
meeting  of  persons  interested  in  the  preservation  of  natural 
scenery  and  historical  sites  in  Massachusetts ;  and  that  fifty 
dollars  be  appropriated  for  the  purpose  of  such  meeting."  In 
this  vote  historical  sites  appear  as  well  as  scenery  ;  hitherto, 
scenery  only  had  been  mentioned. 

Charles  now  had  a  good  piece  of  machinery  in  his  hands, 
and  he  promptly  set  it  in  motion.  In  a  week  the  Committee 
adopted  a  preliminary  letter,  a  letter  of  invitation  to  the  pro- 
posed meeting,  and  part  of  a  statement  of  the  reasons  for  the 
creation  of  a  Board  of  Trustees  with  power  to  hold  lands  for 
the  use  and  enjoyment  of  the  public.     The  preparation  of 


^T.  30]  THE  FIRST  PUBLIC   MEETING  325 

lists  of  addresses  of  persons  to  be  invited  to  the  meeting  was 
a  considerable  labor ;  and  Charles  did  most  of  it  with  his  own 
hand.  The  membership  of  the  Historical,  Antiquarian,  Hor- 
ticultural, Natural  History,  and  Village  Improvement  so- 
cieties, and  of  the  College  Faculties  in  the  State  served  as  a 
basis  ;  but  many  names  were  added  on  the  recommendation 
of  interested  persons  to  whom  Charles  had  written  asking  for 
lists.  (See  Appendix  II.)  April  and  May  were  Charles's 
busiest  months  ;  but  he  found  tiuie  for  "  Pi-eservation  work." 
Not  content  with  sending  out  about  two  thousand  copies  of 
the  following  invitation,  he  personally  wrote  to  many  in- 
fluential persons  whose  presence  he  thought  would  be  espe- 
cially valuable,  and  made  all  the  arrangements  for  officers  and 
speakers  at  the  meeting,  and  for  letters  to  be  read  there. 
From  May  19tli  to  May  24th  he  gave  all  his  time  to  prepara- 
tions for  the  meeting  on  the  24th.  Mr.  Mann,  the  president 
of  the  Appalachian  Club,  was  frequently  in  helpful  consulta- 
tion with  him  in  April  and  May. 

Appalachian  Mountain  Club, 
9  Park  Street,  Boston,  May  10,  1890. 

Dear  Sir,  —  At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  Appala- 
chian Mountain  Club  held  on  Wednesday,  April  2,  1890, 
it  was  unanimously  — 

Voted,  That  Messrs.  Eliot,  Mann,  and  Lawrence  be  a 
committee  to  call  a  meeting  of  persons  interested  in  the  pre- 
servation of  scenery  and  historical  sites  in  Massachusetts. 

In  accordance  with  this  vote,  you  are  hereby  invited,  with 
friends  who  may  be  interested  in  the  subject,  to  take  part  in 
a  conference  to  be  held  in  Boston,  at  the  Massachusetts  Insti- 
tute of  Technology,  Boylston  Street,  at  12  o'clock,  on  Satur- 
day, May  24,  1890.  Hon.  Henry  H.  Spragne  will  preside, 
and  among  those  who  will  either  attend  the  meeting,  or  send 
letters,  are  Governor  Brackett,  General  Francis  A.  Walker, 
Dr.  O.  W.  Holmes,  Colonel  T.  W.  Higginson,  Mr.  Francis 
Parkman,  and  jNIr.  Frederick  Law  Olmsted. 

Please  use  the  enclosed  postal-card  to  inform  the  committee 
whether  or  not  they  ma}--  expect  you. 

You  are  also  requested  to  examine  and  consider  the  state- 
ments and  proposals  of  the  circular  which  accompanies  this 
letter,  and  if  you  cannot  attend  the  conference,  you  are  re- 
spectfully urged  to  communicate  your  opinions  and  sugges- 


326         THE  TRUSTEES   OF  PUBLIC   RESERVATIONS     [1890 

tions  in  writing  to  Charles  Eliot,  50  State  Street,  Boston, 
before  the  day  of  the  meeting. 

AN  OUTLINE  OF  A  SCHEME  FOR  FACILITATING  THE  PRESERVATION  AN"D 
DEDICATION  TO  PUBLIC  ENJOYMENT  OF  SUCH  SCENES  AND  SITES  IN 
MASSACHUSETTS  AS  POSSESS  EITHER  UNCOMMON  BEAUTY  OR  HIS- 
TORICAL  INTEREST. 

There  is  no  need  of  argument  to  prove  that  opportunities 
for  beholding  the  beauty  of  Nature  are  of  great  importance 
to  the  health  and  happiness  of  crowded  populations.  As  re- 
spects large  masses  of  the  population  of  Massachusetts,  these 
opportunities  are  rapidly  vanishing.  Many  remarkable  nat- 
ural scenes  near  Boston  have  been  despoiled  of  their  beauty 
during  the  last  few  years.  Similar  spots  near  other  cities 
of  the  Commonwealth  have  likewise  suffered.  Throughout 
the  State,  scenes  which  future  generations  of  townspeople 
would  certainly  prize  for  their  refreshing  power  are  to-day  in 
danger  of  destruction.  Unless  some  steps  towards  their 
effectual  protection  can  be  taken  quickly,  the  beauty  of  these 
spots  will  have  disappeared,  and  the  opportunity  for  generous 
action  will  have  passed.  Scattered  throughout  the  State  are 
other  places  made  interesting  and  valuable  by  historical  or 
literary  associations ;  and  many  of  these  also  are  in  danger. 

What  public  or  private,  general  or  local,  action  in  aid  of 
the  preservation  of  fine  natural  scenes  and  historical  sites 
will  it  be  best  to  attempt  under  existing  circumstances  in 
Massachusetts  ?  This  is  the  problem  which  will  be  the  sub- 
ject of  debate  at  the  conference  called  by  the  Council  of  the 
Appalachian  Mountain  Club  ;  and  it  is  only  for  the  jiurpose 
of  provoking  discussion  that  the  Committee  which  has  been 
authorized    to    call   the   meeting  makes    the    following  pro- 


1.  The  establishment  of  a  Board  of  Trustees  to  be  ap- 
pointed as  follows  :  Some  to  be  named  in  the  act  of  incor- 
poration :  their  successors  to  be  elected  by  the  full  Board  as 
vacancies  occur.  Some  to  be  named  by  the  governing  bodies 
of  several  designated  incorporated  societies,  such  as  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  the  Essex  Institute,  the 
Appalachian  Mountain  Club,  etc.  Some  to  be  appointed  by 
the  Governor  and  Council. 


^T.  30J         PROPOSALS  MADE   TO   THE  MEETING  327 

2.  The  Trustees  to  be  empowered  to  acquire  by  gift  from 
individuals,  or  bodies  of  subscribers,  parcels  of  real  estate 
possessing  natural  beauty  or  historical  interest,  and  to  hold 
the  same,  together  with  funds  for  the  maintenance  thereof, 
free  of  all  taxes. 

3.  The  Trustees  to  be  required  to  open  to  the  public,  under 
suitable  regulations,  all  such  jiarcels  of  their  real  estate  as  lie 
within  the  limits  of  those  towns  and  cities  which  may  provide 
jDolice  protection  for  the  same. 

4.  The  Trustees  to  be  prohibited  from  conveying  real 
estate  once  accepted  by  them,  except  to  towns  and  cities  for 
public  uses. 

In  order  to  effect  the  creation  of  this  proposed  Board  of 
Trustees,  the  Committee  suggests  :  — 

5.  The  appointment  by  the  meeting  of  May  24  of  a  Stand- 
ing Committee  of  twenty-five,  to  be  j^rovided  by  the  meeting 
with  a  working  fund,  and  empowered  — 

a.  To  draught  and  present  to  the  General  Court  at  its  next 
session  an  act  of  incorporation. 

h.  To  correspond  with  societies  and  individuals  for  the 
purpose  of  deciding  upon  two  or  three  parcels  of  suitable  real 
estate  which,  with  endowments  for  maintenance,  may  be 
offered  to  the  Trustees  immediately  upon  their  incorporation. 

c.  To  secure  subscriptions  to  an  endowment  fund  with  the 
income  of  which  the  Trustees  may  meet  their  general  ex- 


In  further  preparation  for  intelligent  and  productive  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject,  Charles  informed  himself  about  the 
statutes  or  acts  under  which  most  of  the  existing  national, 
state,  and  municipal  reservations  were  held,  such  as  the 
Yosemite  and  Yellowstone  Parks  among  national  reserva- 
tions, Niagara  and  the  Adirondacks  among  state  reservations, 
Montreal,  Belle  Isle  (Detroit),  and  Lynn  "Woods  among 
municipal  reservations.  He  wished  to  be  familiar  with  the 
precedents  on  the  subject ;  and  in  a  few  weeks  he  made  for- 
tunate use  of  the  information  he  had  acquired. 

The  meeting  took  place  as  appointed.  The  following 
account  of  the  meeting  written  by  Charles  is  taken  from  his 
"  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservar 
tions : "  — 


328         THE   TRUSTEES   OF  PUBLIC   RESERVATIONS     [1890 

About  one  hundred  persons  were  present,  representing 
most  parts  of  the  State.  Hon.  Henry  H.  Sprague,  President 
of  the  State  Senate,  presided,  and  Mr.  William  Clarence 
Burrage,  Secretary  of  the  Bostonian  Society,  acted  as  clerk. 
Mr.  Mann,  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements,  gave  an  ac- 
count of  the  four  hundred  cordial  letters  received  from  persons 
who  were  unable  to  attend  the  meeting.  The  letters  from 
Governor  Brackett,  Mr.  Whittier,  Mr.  John  Boyle  O'Reilly, 
Dr.  Holmes,  Mr.  Francis  Parkman,  and  other  well-known  per- 
sons were  heartily  applauded  by  those  jjresent.  Mr.  Eliot 
followed  with  a  statement  of  the  reasons  which  led  to  the 
calling  of  the  meeting,  and  after  mentioning  the  occasional 
special  Acts  by  which  the  General  Court  has  authorized  the 
preservation  of  a  few  remarkably  interesting  monuments,  such 
as  the  Old  South  Church  in  Boston,  he  advocated  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  central  Board  of  Trustees,  as  follows :  — 

"  This  necessity  for  special  Acts,  combined  with  the  trouble 
involved  in  organizing  special  societies  and  boards  of  trustees, 
naturally  discourages  and  hinders  those  who  might  otherwise 
do  much  for  the  cause  we  have  at  heart.  I  say  those  who 
might  do  much,  because  I  believe  that  this  worthy  cause  of 
ours,  like  most  other  noble  causes,  must,  under  our  demo- 
cratic government,  be  fostered  in  its  beginnings,  at  least,  by 
the  individuals  who  may  be  interested  in  it.  Some  day, 
perhaps,  the  State  may  create  a  commission,  and  assume  the 
charge  of  a  large  number  of  scattered  spots,  to  be  held  for 
the  enjoyment  of  the  people.  But  that  day  is  not  yet.  Those 
of  the  people  who  feel  and  know  the  great  value  of  such  re- 
servations must  first  prove  their  value  by  actual  experiment ; 
in  other  words,  by  opening  many  such  places  and  managing 
them  for  the  public  good. 

"  The  way  our  committee  would  propose  to  do  this  must 
now  be  clear  to  you  all.  Scattered  throughout  the  State 
are  many  thriving  historical  and  antiquarian  societies,  and 
many  other  associations  which  may  be  gi-ouped  as  being  inter- 
ested in  the  world  out-of-doors.  Some  of  these  societies  have 
already  accomplished  the  saving  of  memorable  or  striking 
spots.  The  Essex  Institute  has  purchased  the  great  boulder 
in  Dan  vers  called  Ship  Rock,  the  Old  Colony  Historical  Soci- 


^T.  30]        THE  MEETING  APPOINTS   A   COMMITTEE        329 

ety  owns  Dightou  Rock,  and  the  Worcester  Natural  History 
Society  owns  a  part  of  the  shore  of  Lake  Quinsigamond. 
Many  others  would  like  to  do  something  of  this  kind,  and 
more  would  like  to,  if  the  way  were  easier.  Let  these  soci- 
eties, with  all  individuals  who  may  be  interested,  unite 
in  asking  the  legislature  to  establish  one  strong  Board  of 
Trustees,  to  be  empowered  to  hold  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public  the  desired  sort  of  property  in  any  part  of  the  State. 
There  seems  to  be  no  need  of  any  new  society  or  association : 
what  is  needed  is  concerted  and  cooperative  action  on  the 
part  of  the  many  interested  existing  societies.  Such  action 
can  probably  effect  the  creation  of  the  Trustees,  who  will  in 
turn  facilitate  and  stimulate  the  acquiring  and  giving  of  the 
desired  scenes  and  sites.  The  necessity  for  zealous  local 
action  will  not  be  done  away  with :  it  will  be  provided  with  a 
definite  end  for  which  to  work." 

Mr.  J.  B.  Harrison,  of  Franklin  Falls,  N.  H.,  made  an 
appeal  for  prompt  action  of  some  sort,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  population  is  increasing  at  a  tremendous  rate,  while  the 
space  which  is  open  to  it  grows  less  and  less.  He  dwelt  more 
particularly  upon  the  future  of  the  seashore,  and  the  general 
physical  and  moral  suffocation  which  must  attend  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  coming  multitude  from  the  free  light  and  air, 
without  which  no  people  can  exist.  A  day  or  two  later  one 
of  the  most  influential  of  the  Boston  newspapers  said  of  this 
address :  *'  It  touched  upon  the  most  vital  concerns  of  the 
people  and  coming  generations.  It  was  the  most  forcible  and 
most  wisely  and  wittily  spoken  address,  without  any  sort  or 
shadow  of  exception,  which  has  been  delivered  in  Boston  in 
several  years." 

The  chairman  next  called  for  remarks  from  the  floor,  and 
the  Hon.  Leverett  Saltonstall,  Professor  C.  E.  Norton,  and 
Judge  William  S.  Shurtleff  followed  one  another  with  stirring 
speeches.  After  some  further  discussion,  a  vote  was  passed 
asking  the  chairman  to  appoint  a  committee  "  to  promote  in 
such  ways  as  may  seem  to  it  advisable  the  establishment  of  a 
Board  of  Trustees  to  be  made  capable  of  acquiring  and  liold- 
ing,  for  the  benefit  of  the  public,  beautiful  and  historical 
places  in  Massachusetts."     This  committee,  after  adding  to 


330         THE   TRUSTEES   OF  PUBLIC   RESERVATIONS     [1890 

its  members  by  election,  organized  itself  for  work  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

Henry  P.  Walcott,  Cambridge,  Chairman ;  George  Wig- 
glesworth,  Boston,  Treasurer ;  Charles  Eliot,  Boston,  Secre- 
tary. 

Francis  A.  Walker,  Boston ;  Sarah  H.  Crocker,  Boston  ; 
Marion  Talbot,  Boston ;  William  C.  Burrage,  Boston ;  C.  S. 
Kackemann,  Milton ;  George  C.  Mann,  Jamaica  Plain ;  L. 
Saltonstall,  Chestnut  Hill ;  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Brookline ;  C.  S. 
Sargent,  Brookline ;  Moses  Williams,  Brookline ;  Sylvester 
Baxter,  Maiden ;  Elizabeth  Howe,  Cambridge ;  William  S. 
Shurtleff,  Springfield;  Joseph  Tucker,  Pittsfield  ;  Christopher 
Clarke,  Northampton  ;  Richard  Goodman,  Lenox  ;  Franklin 
Carter,  Williamstown ;  George  Sheldon,  Deerfield  ;  Henry 
M.  Dexter,  New  Bedford ;  Henry  M.  Lovering,  Taunton  ; 
George  R.  Briggs,  Plymouth ;  J.  Evarts  Greene,  Worcester ; 
Henry  L.  Parker,  Worcester ;  Philip  A.  Chase,  Lynn ;  W. 
C.  Endicott,  Jr.,  Salem ;  John  S.  Brayton,  Fall  River. 

Another  and  better  piece  of  machinery  was  now  at  Charles's 
disposition.  The  new  committee  met  within  a  week,  Charles 
preparing  with  Mr.  Burrage,  the  secretary  of  the  meeting, 
the  letters  of  notification,  and  making  beforehand  studies  of 
circulars  to  be  issued  in  the  name  of  the  new  committee.  On 
June  5th  the  chairman  of  the  committee.  Dr.  Henry  P.  Wal- 
cott, appointed  a  sub-committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Greene, 
Olmsted,  Williams,  Wigglesworth,  and  Eliot,  to  prepare  a 
scheme  of  organization  for  the  proposed  Board  of  Trustees. 
Charles  attended  to  the  correspondence  of  the  sub-committee, 
called  their  meeting,  draughted  their  report,  and  consulted 
with  the  members  who  could  not  attend  the  meeting.  On 
July  17th  the  sub-committee  reported  to  the  whole  committee 
an  organization  for  the  proposed  Board  of  Trustees,  and 
advised  the  establishment  of  a  companion  board  with  the 
powers  of  a  Board  of  Visitors.  (See  Appendix  HI.)  This 
report  was  referred  to  a  new  sub-committee  on  legislation 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Shurtleff,  Parker,  and  Williams.  In 
August  two  circulars,  written  in  the  first  instance  by  Charles, 
were  freely  sent  out  with  the  request  that  they  be  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  people  throughout  the  State.  The  first 
circular  was  intended  for  posting ;  it  rehearsed  the  facts  about 
the  appointment  of  the  committee  and  their  purpose  to  ask 


^T.  30]        REASONS  FOR  CREATING  TRUSTEES  "31 

the  legislature  to  establish  a  Board  of  Trustees  capable  of 
holding  lands  for  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  the  public,  and 
ended  as  follows  :  — 

The  Committee  desires  to  hear  from  the  officers  of  all  so- 
cieties which  may  wish  to  send  Delegates  to  the  proposed 
Board  [of  Visitors],  and  also  from  the  officers  or  members  of 
any  societies  which  may  see  fit  to  assist  the  Committee  by 
adopting  resolutions  favoring  the  establishment  of  the  pro- 
posed Board  of  Trustees  for  i3ublic  places. 

The  Committee  hopes  to  be  informed  of  all  movements  now 
on  foot  looking  to  the  opening  to  the  public  of  any  beauti- 
ful or  historical  places,  as  also  of  all  lands  which  it  may  be 
desirable  and  possible  to  obtain  for  the  proposed  Trustees. 
Letters  may  be  addressed  to  the  nearest  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee, or  to  the  Secretary,  Charles  Eliot,  50  State  Street, 
Boston. 

Lastly,  the  Committee  requests  all  persons  who  may  feel 
interested  in  this  attempt  to  facilitate  the  preservation  of 
natural  scenery  and  of  historical  memorials  to  send  contri- 
butions for  this  purpose  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Committee, 
George  Wigglesworth,  Esq.,  89  State  Street,  Boston.  If  the 
working  fund  can  be  made  large  enough,  the  work  of  the 
Committee  can  go  on  prosperously ;  otherwise  it  must  lan- 
guish. 

The  second  circular  recited  the  reasons  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  proposed  "  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations," 
gave  a  list  of  existing  reservations,  some  national,  some  state, 
and  some  nmnicipal,  and  others  established  by  corporate  or 
individual  action,  and  then  described  as  follows  the  proposed 
action  of  the  committee,  and  the  reasons  for  it :  — • 

It  is  proposed  to  establish  in  Massachusetts  a  corporation 
to  be  called  the  "  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations."'  It  is 
proposed  to  give  these  Trustees  the  power  to  acquire,  by  gift 
or  purchase,  beautiful  or  historical  places  in  any  part  of  the 
State,  to  arrange  with  cities  and  towns  for  the  necessary 
policing  of  the  reservations  so  acquired,  and  to  open  the  re- 
servations to  the  public  when  such  arrangements  have  been 
made.  This  Board  of  Trustees  should  be  established  without 
further  delay,  and  for  the  following  reasons  :  — 


332         THE  TRUSTEES   OF  PUBLIC   RESERVATIONS     [1890 

(1)  Because  the  existing  means  of  securing  and  preserving 
public  reservations  are  not  sufficiently  effective.  Every  year 
sees  the  exclusion  of  the  public  from  more  and  more  scenes 
of  interest  and  beauty,  and  every  year  sees  the  irreparable 
destruction  of  others. 

(2)  Because,  if  it  is  desirable  to  supplement  the  existing 
means  of  securing  and  preserving  the  scenes  in  question,  no 
method  can  be  found  which  will  more  surely  serve  the  desired 
end  than  that  by  means  of  which  Massachusetts  has  estab- 
lished her  successful  hospitals,  colleges,  and  art  museums : 
namely,  the  method  which  consists  in  setting  up  a  respected 
Board  of  Trustees,  and  leaving  all  the  rest  to  the  munificence 
of  public-spirited  men  and  women.  When  the  necessary 
organization  is  provided,  the  lovers  of  Nature  and  History 
will  rally  to  endow  the  Trustees  with  the  care  of  their  favor- 
ite scenes,  precisely  as  the  lovers  of  Art  have  so  liberally 
endowed  the  Art  Museums. 

(3)  Because  a  general  Board  of  Trustees  established  with 
power  to  accept  or  reject  whatever  propei-ty  may  be  offered  it 
in  any  part  of  the  State  will  be  able  to  act  for  the  benefit  of 
the  whole  people,  and  without  i^egard  to  the  principal  cause 
of  the  ineffectiveness  of  present  methods,  namely,  the  local 
jealousies  felt  by  townships  and  parts  of  townships  towards 
each  other. 

(4)  Because  the  beautiful  and  historical  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts  can  no  longer  afford  to  refrain  from  applying 
to  the  preservation  of  her  remarkable  places  every  method 
which  experience  in  other  fields  has  approved.  The  State  is 
rapidly  losing  her  great  opportunity  to  ensure  for  the  future 
an  important  source  of  material  as  well  as  moral  prosperity. 

Newspapers  throughout  the  State  were  informed  of  the 
doings  of  the  committee,  and  made  frequent  favorable  mention 
of  the  project.  Mr.  Sylvester  Baxter,  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee, had  access  to  influential  newspapers,  either  as  an  edi- 
torial writer  or  a  correspondent,  and  had  been  for  many  years 
warmly  in  favor  of  any  and  all  measures  which  promised  to 
secure  for  the  future  dense  population  of  Boston  and  the  vicin- 
ity the  benefits  of  public  reservations,  large  and  small.  He 
lost  no  opportunity  of  furthering  the  new  project.  Charles 
had  the  firm  belief  that  parks  ought  to  be  created  and  main- 


^T.  30]  FRAMING   A  BILL  —  PRECEDENTS  333 

tained  in  the  moral  and  physical  interest  of  the  great  popular 
majority  of  a  democratic  community  ;  and  he  therefore  wel- 
comed every  means  of  commending  public  reservations  to  the 
goodwill  and  favoring  care  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people. 

The  autumn  was  filled  with  active  professional  labors ;  but 
as  a  new  session  of  the  legislature  aiiproached,  Charles's  mind 
turned  again  to  ''  Preservation  work."  Having  learnt  that 
Judge  Shurtleff,  the  chairman  of  the  sub-committee  on  legis- 
lation, was  in  Europe,  he  wrote  as  follows  to  the  next  mem- 
ber of  the  sub-committee :  — 

11  Dec.  '90. 

H.  L.  Parker,  Esq. 

31y  dear  Sir,  —  Judge  Shurtleff  being  in  Europe,  you  are 
the  senior  member  of  our  sub-committee  on  the  preservation 
of  beautiful  and  historical  places  —  our  legislation  sub-com- 
mittee, I  mean. 

I  hope  you  will  allow  me  to  call  upon  you  some  day  before 
Xmas.  I  want  to  hear  your  view  of  the  situation,  and  your 
opinion  as  to  the  form  of  our  petition  to  the  legislature  —  if 
petition  it  should  be. 

I  suppose  that  having  obtained  a  draught  of  a  bill,  the  gen- 
eral committee  should  meet  and  approve  the  same,  and  then 
address  a  petition  to  the  General  Court  —  but  I  hope  you  can 
name  an  hour  in  the  middle  of  the  day  or  afternoon  some 
time  next  week  when  I  can  find  you. 

As  to  a  bill,  I  find  the  following  old  bills  are  interesting 
reading :  — 

Massachusetts  General  Hospital      .     .     .  Feb.  25,  1811. 

Pilgrim  Society Jan.  24,  1820. 

Mission  Park  Association Feb.  16,  1857. 

Museum  of  Fine  Arts Feb.  4,  1870. 

Pocumtuck  Valley  Association  ....  May  9,  1870. 

Stand ish  Monument  Association      .     .     ,  May  4,  1872. 

Longfellow  Memorial  Association  .     .     .  May  23,  1882. 

Greylock  Park  Association April  15,  1885. 

I  append  the  following  not  because  I  have  any  notion  it 
is  anywhere  near  right,  but  only  to  set  the  ball  i-olling  a 
little  :  — 

Sec.  1.  and  their  successors,  are  hereby  made  a  body 

corporate  by  the  name  of  The  Trustees  of  Public  Reserva- 
tions, for  the  purpose  of  acquiring,  preserving,  and  opening 


334         THE  TRUSTEES   OF  PUBLIC   RESERVATIONS     [1891 

to  the  public  beautiful  and  historical  places  within  this  Com- 
monwealth, with  the  powers  and  privileges,  and  svibject  to  the 
duties,  set  forth  in  all  general  laws  which  now  or  hereafter 
may  be  in  force  relating  to  like  corporations. 

Sec.  2.  The  said  corporation  may  take  and  hold  by  grant, 
gift,  devise,  or  purchase  such  real  estate  as  may  seem  wor- 
thy of  preservation,  and  such  personal  property  as  may  be 
necessary  or  convenient  to  promote  the  objects  of  the  cor- 
poration. 

Sec.  3.  The  said  corporation  shall  not  sell,  convey,  grant, 
mortgage,  or  lease  any  real  estate  accepted  and  owned  by  it 
(except  that  it  may  sell  the  same  when  it  is  compelled  so  to 
do  by  the  exercise  of  eminent  domain  on  the  part  of  the 
Commonwealth  or  other  authorized  power). 

Sec.  4.  The  personal  property  held  by  said  corporation, 
and  all  such  real  estate  as  it  shall  cause  to  be  opened  to  the 
use  and  enjoyment  of  the  public  under  suitable  regulations, 
shall  be  exempt  from  taxation  in  the  same  manner  and  to  the 
same  extent  as  the  property  of  literary,  benevolent,  charitable, 
and  scientific  institutions  incorporated  within  this  Common- 
wealth is  now  exempt  by  law. 

This  is,  it  seems  to  me,  "  lowest  terms."  If  we  must  intro- 
duce State  representatives  and  a  Board  of  Delegates,  they 
must  be  added. 

It  appears  in  the  last  sentence  of  this  letter  that  Charles 
himself  did  not  care  to  have  any  Board  of  Delegates  or  Vis- 
itors. At  the  third  meeting  of  the  general  committee,  held 
January  31,  1891,  the  sub-committee  reported  a  draught  of 
an  act  of  incorporation  which  was  approved  by  the  committee. 
Thereupon  a  petition  praying  for  the  passage  of  the  act  was 
signed  and  addressed  to  the  General  Court,  the  name  of  one 
person  from  every  county  in  the  State,  except  Nantucket, 
being  inserted  in  the  act.  It  fell  to  Chai'les  to  procure  the 
assent  of  the  persons  named  in  the  first  section  of  the  act. 
Most  of  those  whom  he  asked  to  serve  gave  their  consent, 
and  the  list  of  names  was  deservedly  an  influential  one  with 
the  legislature. 

The  measures  taken  to  interest  large  numbers  of  persons 
in  the  undertaking  proved  to  have  been  effective ;  for  when 
a  hearing  was  held  on  the  proposed  act  before  the  Judiciary 
Committee  of  the  Senate,  on  March  10,  1891,  hundreds  of 


^T.  31]  THE  ACT  PASSED  335 

persons  attended  the  hearing,  and  the  speakers  in  favor  of 
the  act  were  numerous.  Charles,  however,  left  as  little  as 
l^ossible  to  chance.  Four  days  before  the  hearing  he  sent  a 
circular  invitation  to  be  present  to  all  the  persons  who  had 
expressed  to  liim  decided  interest  in  the  undertaking  —  about 
seven  hundred  in  number.  At  the  hearing,  he  stated  the 
purpose  of  the  committee  in  asking  for  the  proposed  act.  On 
March  14th  he  wrote  to  the  members  of  the  committee  ap- 
pointed at  the  meeting  of  May  24,  1890,  and  to  the  proposed 
incorporators,  asking  tliem  to  write  in  favor  of  the  bill  to 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  act  i^assed  both  Houses  without  difficulty,  and  was 
approved  by  Governor  William  Eustis  Russell,  May  21, 1891. 

Thus  was  accomplished  within  fifteen  months  the  under- 
taking about  which  Charles  wrote  so  modestly  to  Professor 
Sargent  on  the  5th  of  March,  1890.  The  qualities  which 
brought  this  quick  success  were  capacity  for  rapid  and  yet 
accurate  work,  persuasiveness,  and  good  judgment  about  both 
men  and  measures.  The  personal  quality  of  the  officers  and 
members  of  the  corporation  created  with  the  title  Trustees 
of  Public  Reservations  was  remarkable.  Senator  George  F. 
Hoar,  General  Francis  A.  Walker,  Professors  N.  S.  Shaler 
and  Charles  S.  Sargent,  Mr.  Philip  A.  Chase  of  Lynn,  Mr. 
Frederick  L.  Ames  of  North  Easton,  and  jSIr.  Leverett  Salton- 
stall  of  Newton  were  among  the  original  incorporators,  and 
Dr.  Henry  P.  Walcott,  chairman  of  the  State  Board  of  Health, 
President  Franklin  Carter  of  Williams  College,  Mr.  Charles 
H.  Dalton  of  Boston,  Mr.  William  C.  Endicott  of  Salem,  and 
Mr.  Augustus  Hemenway  of  Canton  were  among  those  soon 
added  to  the  Board.  The  selection  of  persons  was  well 
adapted  to  commend  the  new  Board  and  its  undertakings  to 
the  people  of  Massachusetts. 

While  the  act  was  on  its  easy  passage  through  the  legis- 
lature, Charles  made  a  short  address  on  the  evening  of  May 
9th  before  the  Advance  Club  of  Providence  on  "  The  Need 
of  Parks."  The  whole  address,  as  he  subsequently  wrote  it 
out  for  publication,  is  given  here ;  because  it  reveals  the  un- 
derlying convictions  which  induced  Charles  to  give  so  much 
of  his  time  to  the  advocacy  of  various  measures  for  providing 
squares,  gardens,  beaches,  and  parks  —  the  best  means  of  out- 
of-door  enjoyment  —  for  the  masses  of  the  urban  population. 
He  was  a  genuine  democrat ;  and  he  wanted  the  democracy 
to  have  every  chance  of  attaining  a  real  well-being. 


336  WHY   GIVE   THOUGHT  TO   PARKS  [1891 

THE   NEED    OF   PARKS. 

Very  naturally  the  American  Colonists  gave  little  thought 
to  parks.  Only  where  their  captains  were  extraordinarily 
far-sighted  was  any  action  taken  to  provide  permanent  open 
spaces  in  their  towns.  Philadelphia  possesses  to-day  four 
considerable  public  squares  placed  symmetrically  by  William 
Penn  in  a  plain  which  has  now  become  the  heart  of  the  city. 
Savannah  has  twenty-three  small  squares,  for  unlike  Phila- 
delphia she  has  continued  the  excellent  city  plan  devised  by 
her  founder  Oglethorpe.  Boston  has  her  Common.  These 
and  the  like  exceptions  only  prove  the  rule  that  our  predeces- 
sors gave  small  thought  to  parks.  I  ask  now  —  why  should 
we?  Why  should  we  tax  ourselves  for  parks?  Can  we 
afford  the  expense,  and  is  this  the  time  to  provide  them? 
Let  us  see  what  answers  can  be  found  for  these  questions. 
To  this  end  we  must  glance  for  a  moment  at  the  progress  of 
population  and  civilization  here  in  New  England.  After  our 
ancestors  had  conquered  the  woods  and  the  Indians,  they  set- 
tled down  in  numerous  scattered  villages  of  farmers,  each  with 
its  meeting-house,  inn,  store,  and  blacksmith  shop.  Every 
little  neighborhood,  almost  every  separate  farm,  was  sufficient 
unto  itself,  —  supplied  itself  with  the  necessaries  of  life,  raised 
its  own  crops,  and  made  its  own  shoes,  clothes,  boats,  and 
carts.  In  every  village  lived  people  of  refinement  who  visited 
about  the  country,  read  good  books,  and  were  the  leaders  of 
the  people.  Providence  was  once  such  a  village,  and  New 
England  was  made  up  of  the  like.  Gradually  the  seajDort 
villages,  with  their  natural  advantages  for  commerce,  drew 
away  from  the  inland  communities.  Trade  became  the  source 
of  fortunes.  Trade  began  to  draw  me^i  from  the  country  to 
the  seaboard.  Then  suddenly  came  the  railroads.  B}'  their 
help  many  interior  villages  became  trade  centres,  where  labor 
was  in  demand,  where  countrymen  found  they  could  gain 
more  than  their  farms  had  ever  offered  them.  Then  followed 
the  rise  of  manufacturing.  The  first  mills  were  operated  by 
men  and  girls  from  the  farms.  Beside  every  considerable 
water  power  rose  towns,  as  by  magic  ;  and  whore  water  power 
proved  scanty,  coal  hauled  by  the  railroad  took  its  place. 


^T.  81]  THE   CITY   A  MIGHTY   MAGNET  337 

From  farming  through  trading  to  manufacturing.  Such 
has  been  the  story  of  all  the  considerable  New  England  towns 
of  to-day. 

And  what  of  the  inconsiderable  places,  — the  places  which 
have  remained  rural?  They  have  been  steadily  losing  pop- 
ulation :  As  soon  as  a  town  becomes  large  enough  and  rich 
enough  to  provide  itself  with  water  and  sewers,  and  lighted 
streets,  and  the  multiplied  conveniences  which  are  only  to  be 
found  in  towns,  —  as  soon  as  this  is  the  case,  it  begins  to 
draw  in  people  from  the  surrounding  country  as  by  a  mighty 
magnet.  And  this  is  only  natural  and  proper.  As  the  in- 
telligence of  the  people  is  wakened,  their  thirst  for  congenial 
society,  and  for  books,  music,  and  art,  grows  importunate. 
Even  those  who  resist  these  attractions  of  the  town,  and  con- 
tinue to  live  in  the  country,  are  compelled  to  depend  upon 
the  town.  Their  children  probably  take  the  train  to  school. 
They  purchase  everything,  from  hats  to  boots,  in  the  town. 
Their  very  flour  and  meat  is  probably  delivered  to  them  from 
a  Chicago  car  at  their  railroad  station. 

A  curious  thing  is  the  disgust  of  the  country-bred  for  the 
country,  after  they  have  once  tasted  the  exciting  town  life. 
The  girl  who  stands  all  day  behind  a  dry-goods  counter  will 
tell  you  she  would  rather  starve  or  faint  in  the  city  than  go 
back  home.  Even  the  wretched  beings  of  East  London, 
whom  General  Booth  is  trying  to  move  to  clean  and  fresh 
country  quarters,  assure  him  that  they  will  run  away  back  to 
town  as  soon  as  they  get  the  chance. 

Now  it  has  been  the  fashion  to  attribute  the  depopulation 
of  the  countr}^  districts  of  New  England  to  the  opening  of 
the  cheap  and  fertile  lands  of  the  West ;  and  this  undoubt- 
edly is  in  a  measure  true.  But  what  shall  we  say  when  we 
read,  as  we  do  in  the  returns  of  the  new  census,  that  many  of 
the  rural  counties  of  fertile  Iowa  have  lost  population  in  the 
last  ten  years ;  that  the  same  thing  has  been  going  on  in 
other  fertile  parts  of  the  country;  that  New  York  State,  above 
Harlem  River,  outside  the  towns  of  10,000  inhabitants,  has 
lost  13,000  people?  Evidently  the  causes  of  the  depopula- 
tion of  the  country  districts  and  the  great  growth  of  the  cities 
lie  deep.     To  me  they  appear  to  be  inherent  in  the  progress 


338  THE   DANGERS   OF  CITY  LIFE  [1891 

of  our  race,  —  to  be  permanent  elements  in  that  wliich  we 
call  the  progress  of  civilization.  In  England  the  six  largest 
cities  add  as  many  persons  to  their  population  in  any  given 
period  as  the  rest  of  the  nation,  counting  all  the  other  bus- 
tling towns ;  and  the  same  is  true  in  all  the  highly  civilized 
parts  of  Europe.  It  is  evident  that  modern  civilization  is  to 
have  its  home  in  cities,  in  cities  of  vastly  greater  population 
than  any  the  world  has  yet  seen. 

If  this  be  so,  —  if  "  the  further  progress  of  civilization  is 
to  depend  mainly  upon  the  influences  by  which  men's  minds 
and  characters  are  affected  while  living  in  great  cities,"  — 
with  what  zeal  should  we  not  endeavor  to  make  these  in- 
fluences such  as  shall  be  elevating  ?  If  this  be  so,  -4  if  the 
human  race  is  destined  to  be  more  and  more  closely  crowded 
into  towns  and  suburbs — with  what  seriousness  should  we 
not  endeavor  to  make  these  towns  and  suburbs  as  decent,  as 
healthful,  and  as  refreshingly  beautiful  as  possible  ?  Our 
race  has  already  learned  by  sad  experience  that  this  crowd- 
ing into  cities  is  attended  by  grave  dangers.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  average  length  of  human  life  is  very  much  less  in 
the  town  than  in  the  country.  )  Disease  is  more  prevalent  in 
town  than  out.  Cholera  infantum,  that  fearful  scourge  which 
in  August  and  September  kills  our  young  children  by  the 
thousands,  is  preeminently  a  town  disease. 

And  physical  ills  are  not  the  only  ills  of  town  life.  Our 
cities  are  our  hotbeds  of  vice  and  crime.  The  herding  of 
the  very  poor  in  city  slums  breeds  a  degraded  race.  The 
lack  of  opportunity  for  innocent  recreation  drives  hundreds 
to  amuse  themselves  in  ways  that  are  not  innocent.  The 
tremendous  competition  for  the  opportunity  to  work  breeds 
that  discontent,  and  anger,  and  despair,  which  lead  to  an- 
archy, and  feed  the  fires  of  that  volcano  under  the  city  which 
the  alarmists  tell  us  is  so  soon  to  break  forth.  Even  if  the 
volcano  does  not  belch  forth,  civilization  is  not  safe  so  long 
as  any  large  part  of  the  population  is  morally  or  physically 
degraded ;  and  if  such  degradation  is  increasing  in  our  great 
towns  (and  who  will  say  that  it  is  not?),  it  is  plainly  the 
duty  and  the  interest  of  all  who  love  their  country  to  do 
what  they  can  to  check  the  drift. 


^T.  31]      PURE  AIR  AND   OPEN   SPACES   A  DEFENCE    339 

This  question  is  squarely  put  to  us : :  Shall  the  forces  of 
darkness,  the  forces  which  drag  men  down,  the  forces  which 
push  men  into  the  arms  of  ignorance,  sin,  and  death,  be 
allowed  a  free  field  in  our  cities,  or  shall  they  be  opposed  at 
every  point  and  even  routed,  if  it  be  possible,  from  their 
strongholds  by  the  forces  of  enlightenment  and  progress? 

Gentlemen,  who  are  to  be  the  captains  of  the  army  of  light 
here  in  Providence,  if  not  yourselves?  Our  cities  can  be 
saved  to  civilization  only  by  the  vigorous  and  united  action 
of  their  citizens.  There  exists  no  outside  power  whieli  can 
help  you.  The  future  of  your  city  and  the  happiness  or 
misery  of  the  thousands  upon  thousands  who  are  to  succeed 
you  here,  lie  very  largely  in  your  hands.  Can  there  be  any 
question  as  to  what  your  course  should  be?  Are  you  not 
bound  by  every  consideration  of  honor  and  of  financial  inter- 
est to  do  for  Providence  everything  that  modern  science  has 
discovered  to  be  of  value  to  the  physical,  moral,  and  financial 
prosperity  of  large  cities  ?  How  can  you  any  longer  ash  : 
"  Can  we  afford  this  or  that  public  improvement  ?  "  If  the 
experience  of  other  cities  has  scientifically  proved  that  certain 
improvements  are  sources  of  physical  and  financial  advantage 
to  the  cities  which  introduce  them,  you  cannot  longer  afford 
to  do  without  them.  Already  you  vote  to  tax  yourselves 
severely  for  police,  light,  paving,  sewers,  scavengers,  and  a 
host  of  other  costly  public  agencies,  because  you  are  con- 
vinced that  the  public  health  and  safety  require  these  things. 
You  know  that  these  things  are  necessary  to  the  preservation 
of  that  civilization  upon  which  your  own  prosperity  and  that 
of  your  neighbors  and  successors  must  be  based. 

Now  I  think  I  can  prove  to  you  in  a  very  few  words  that 
just  as  you  can  no  longer  afford  not  to  tax  yourselves,  let  us 
say  for  pure  water,  so  you  can  no  longer  afford  not  to  tax 
yourselves  for  pure  air  and  open  spaces. 

Any  city  physician  will  tell  you  that  air-poisoning  kills  a 
hundred  human  beings  where  food-poisoning  kills  one ;  yet 
you  pay  for  food  inspection,  and  do  little  or  nothing  to  pro- 
vide your  crowded  quarters  with  fresh  air.  All  authorities 
on  the  diseases  of  children  prescribe  fresh  air  and  plenty  of 
it  for  cholera  infantum.     Says  Dr.  Bell   of   Philadelphia: 


340  PLAYGROUNDS  AND   OPEN-AIR   PARLORS        [1891 

"  The  restorative  effects  of  fresh  air  are  strikingly  evinced  in 
the  relief  procured  by  many  hundreds  of  children  every  sum- 
mer by  simply  crossing  the  Delaware  River  in  the  ferry-boats 
once  or  twice  a  day."  Dr.  Clark  of  Boston  says  :  "  A  few 
hours'  exposure  of  a  child  on  a  mother's  lap  or  in  a  basket  or 
carriage,  to  the  freshness  of  a  park,  will  produce  a  sleep  such 
as  never  follows  opium,  chloral,  or  ether,  and  will  yield  a 
chance  for  health  such  as  no  drug  can  givei"  Philadelphia 
had  long  been  a  healthy  city,  but  in  1874,  when  the  death 
rate  dropped  to  the  extraordinarily  low  figure  of  19.3  per 
thousand,  Dr.  William  Pepper  reported  as  follows:  "This 
very  favorable  result  is  largely  due  to  the  abundant  and 
cheap  water  supply,  and  to  the  opportunities  given  even  the 
very  jjoorest  citizens  for  the  enjoyment  of  pure  air  in  Fair- 
mount  Park.  The  extent  to  which  this  is  valued  by  the  citi- 
zens may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  park  was  visited 
in  1874  by  11,000,000  persons." 

Similar  reports  are  constantly  appearing  from  the  sanita- 
rians of  the  large  towns  where  parks  have  been  established. 
All  are  agreed  that  convenient  playgrounds  must  be  opened 
for  the  children  and  open-air  parlors  for  their  parents,  if  a 
decent  physical  standard  is  to  be  maintained ;  and  all  are 
agreed  that  where  these  are  opened,  a  visible  improvement  is 
the  result.  And  the  improvement  is  not  physical  only.  The 
removal  of  the  children  from  the  crowded  streets  to  the 
quiet  playgrounds,  and  the  gathering  of  the  neighbors  from 
their  narrow  homes  into  the  neat  public  squares  when  the 
labor  of  the  day  is  over,  has  worked  in  many  places  something 
like  a  moral  revolution.  Whoever  has  visited  even  one  of 
the  numerous  public  squares  of  Paris,  Berlin,  or  Vienna,  and 
has  there  watched  the  bearing  and  behavior  of  the  common 
people,  will  ever  afterwards  be  an  earnest  advocate  of  public 
gardens.  London  has  converted  almost  a  hundred  small  open 
s])aces  —  many  of  them  ancient  graveyards  —  into  children's 
playgrounds  and  old  folks'  resting  grounds.  Even  New  York 
has  waked  to  the  vital  importance  of  providing  accessible 
breathing-places  for  a  crowded  population,  and  is  spending 
this  year  the  second  million  of  dollars  out  of  an  appropriation 
of  ten  million,  which  is  to  be  expended  in  ten  years  in  pur- 
chasing small  open  spaces  in  her  crowded  wards. 


/ET.31]  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  LANDSCAPE  Ul 

Doubtless  the  necessity  is  less  imperative  in  Providence 
than  it  is  in  New  York  or  London,  but  it  will  soon  be  upon 
you,  and  you  will  never  be  able  to  obtain  these  outdoor  par- 
lors as  cheaply  as  now.  It  is  very  poor  economy  of  human 
life,  it  is  very  poor  economy  of  money,  to  postpone  their  pur- 
chase any  further.  "  Nothing  is  so  costly,"  it  has  been  well 
said,  "  as  sickness,  disease,  and  vice ;  nothing;  so  cheap  as 
health  and  virtue.  Whatever  promotes  the  former  is  the 
worst  sort  of  extravagance ;  whatever  fosters  the  latter  is  the 
truest  economy." 

And  now  every  argument  that  has  been  thus  far  adduced 
bears  with  at  least  equal  force  upon  the  question  of  the  coun- 
try park  —  or  the  public  park  proper.  In  the  town  squares 
and  boulevards,  men  and  women  will  find  fresh  air  and  shade 
and  decent  surroundings  for  their  hours  of  sociability,  and 
safe  playgrounds  for  the  children,  and  fresh  nurseries  for  the 
babies.  But  there  is  an  important  element  in  human  nature 
which  the  town  square  cannot  satisfy.  This  is  that  conscious 
or  unconscious  sensibility  to  the  beauty  of  the  natural  world 
which  in  many  men  becomes  a  passion,  and  in  almost  all  men 
plays  a  part. 

When  you  who  are  prosperous,  as  this  world  goes,  move  your 
families  to  the  seaside  or  the  mountains  for  the  summer,  it 
is  not  wholly  for  the  fresh  air  and  the  freedom  that  you  go. 
Whether  you  realize  it  or  not,  it  is  largely  for  the  sake  of  the 
subtle  influence  which  skies  and  seas,  clouds  and  shadows, 
woods  and  fields,  and  all  that  mingling  of  the  natural  and 
the  human  which  we  call  landscape  shed  upon  human  life  — 
and  the  life  of  childhood  and  youth  in  particular.  This  is  an 
influence  which  is  almost  indefinable  ;  but  it  is  very  real.  It  is 
best  understood  by  the  poets,  and  has  been  sung  by  them  ever 
since  the  Greeks  invented  that  delightful  phrase  —  the  spirit 
of  the  place.  It  is  an  influence  which  has  a  most  peculiar 
value  as  an  antidote  to  the  poisonous  struggling  and  excite- 
ment of  city  life.  Whenever  a  busy  man  is  over-worried,  the 
doctor  prescribes  the  country  ;  and  when  any  of  us  are  brought 
into  depression  by  care  or  trouble,  our  cure  is  the  sight  of  our 
chosen  hills. 

This  if  we  have  money  wherewith  to  fly  the  town ;  but  if 


342  THE   COUNTRY  PARK  [1891 

we  have  none  of  that  valuable  commodity  to  spare,  what  can 
we  do  when  the  thirst  for  the  hills  burns  in  us  ?  If  we  walk 
through  miles  and  miles  of  brick  and  mortar,  or  through  other 
miles  of  wooden  suburbs,  we  may  be  at  last  rewarded  by  a 
glimpse  of  a  woodside  or  a  meadow ;  but  it  is  ten  to  one  that 
the  sign  "  No  Trespassing  "  confronts  us  when  we  reach  the 
fence.  Very  naturally  the  farmer  regards  us  as  a  pest.  We 
tramp  home  again  sadder  and  wiser  boys  and  girls,  and  if 
our  cup  of  life  is  not  seriously  soured,  it  is  not  because  the 
fathers  of  our  city  have  tried  to  make  it  sweet. 

Gentlemen,  the  providing  of  what  I  call  country  parks  to 
distinguish  them  from  squares  and  the  like  is  as  necessary 
for  the  preservation  of  the  civilization  of  cities  as  are  sewers 
or  street  lights.  As  our  towns  grow,  the  spots  of  remarkable 
natural  beauty,  which  were  once  as  the  gems  embroidered  upon 
the  fair  robe  of  Nature,  are  one  by  one  destroyed  to  make 
room  for  railroads,  streets,  factories,  and  the  rest,  a  The  time 
is  coming  when  it  will  be  hard  to  find  within  a  day's  journey 
of  our  large  cities  a  single  spot  capable  of  stirring  the  soul  of 
man  to  speak  in  poetry.  Think  of  what  this  will  mean  for  the 
race,  and  start  to-morrow  to  secure  for  your  children  and  your 
children's  children  some  of  those  scenes  of  special  natural 
beauty  which  I  trust  are  still  to  be  found  within  a  reasonable 
distance  of  this  hall.  For  the  purposes  of  the  country  park  a 
tract  of  land  upon  which  Nature  herself  has  framed  a  scene 
of  beauty  is  always  to  be  desired.  To  buy  a  commonplace 
piece  of  territory,  when  anything  more  effective  is  obtainable, 
is  a  sad  waste  of  opportunities.  Similarly  it  is  a  waste  of 
money  to  make  a  large  park  merely  an  enlarged  copy  of  a 
town  square.  The  tax-payer's  money  is  worse  than  wasted  if 
it  is  spent  in  the  large  area  of  the  park  for  anything  vfhich 
could  be  equally  well  obtained  within  the  small  area  of  the 
square  or  garden.  The  square  is  the  place  for  decoration, 
for  monuments,  for  ribbon  gardening.  The  park  should  be 
kept  free  from  town-like  things.  Indeed,  if  park  scenery  is 
not  kept  free  from  decoration,  or  if  the  works  which  make  it 
possible  for  the  public  to  enjoy  the  scenery  without  harming 
it  are  not  devised  with  religious  regard  to  the  promptings  of 
the  spirit  of  the  place,  the  highest  usefulness  and  main  pur- 


.ftT.  31]      AMERICAN   COUNTRY   PARKS   ARE   FEW  343 

)se  of  the  park  are  frustrated.    The  large  area  and  the  large 
)st  of  the  country  park  cannot  be  justified,  if  its  simple  but 
»fty  purpose  of  providing  refreshing  scenery  is  lost  sight  of^' 
Gentlemen,  these  are  all  very  obvious  considerations,  and 
et  they  are  very  seldom  regarded  in  practice.     As  yet  but 
j\v  of  our  communities  own  sufficient  land  for  the  making  of 
country  park.     Much  of  what  is  owned  is,  by  nature,  either 
all  or  ugly.     Much  that  was  originally  interesting  has  been 
polled  by  the  mistaken  zeal  of  the  park  commissioners  in 
harge.     The  number  of   really   great  and  noble  American 
country  parks  may  yet  be  counted  on  the  fingers.     Montreal 
has  lier  Mount  Royal,  a  lofty  and  craggy  hill  behind  the  city, 
most  interesting  in  itself,  and  commanding  from  its  jutting 
cliffs  superb  views  of  the  St.  Lawrence  valley.     Detroit  has 
her  Belle  Isle,  a  low  and  long  green  island,  clothed  with  an 
open  forest,  and  surrounded  by  waters  bearing  the  concen- 
trated  commerce  of  the   Lakes.     Baltimore  has  her  Druid 
Hill,  where  the  deer  browse  in  soft,  shady  glades.     Minneapo- 
lis has  the  gorge  of  the  Mississippi.     Lynn  has  two  thousand 
acres  of  woods  and  ponds,  and  rocks  which  overlook  the  ocean. 
Such  are  some  of  the  characteristic  types  of  landscape  which 
a  few  wise  American  cities  have  made  free  to  all  the  world. 
May  Providence  soon  follow  her  younger  sisters ! 

Charles  was  innnediately  made  Secretary  of  the  new  Cor- 
poration, and  three  years  later  Chairman  of  the  Standing 
Committee.  During  the  summer  of  1891  he  draughted  the 
by-laws  of  the  Trustees,  —  a  matter  requiring  study  and  fore- 
sight, —  and  obtained  the  contributions  which  enabled  the 
Trustees  to  meet  their  expenses,  and  to  employ  Mr.  J.  B. 
Harrison  temporarily  as  their  agent.  He  also  cooperated 
with  Mr.  Harrison  in  his  researches.  He  was  careful  to  sub- 
mit to  the  other  members  of  the  Standing  Committee  all 
papers  which  he  drew  for  the  committee,  and  was  always 
ready  to  revise  and  rewrite  his  first  draughts  in  accordance 
with  their  suggestions.  He  wrote  the  first  three  annual 
reports  of  the  Standing  Committee  (always  w^ith  the  advan- 
tage of  criticism  from  his  colleagues),  re])orts  which  went  f<ar 
towards  determining  the  permanent  policy  of  the  Trustees 
and  their  early  functions. 

The  Trustees  had  important  matters  before  them  in  the 
very  first  year  of  their  existence.     A  beautiful  tract  of  diver- 


344         THE   TRUSTEES   OF  PUBLIC   RESERVATIONS     [1891 

sified  woodland  in  Stoneham,  containing  about  twenty  acres, 
was  offered  to  the  Board,  but  could  not  be  accepted  until  a 
fund  of  -f 2000  had  been  raised  by  public-spirited  persons  in 
Melrose,  Maiden,  and  Medford  to  ensure  its  maintenance  and 
protection.  This  is  the  Virginia  Wood,  so  named  in  memory 
of  a  daughter  of  the  giver,  Mrs.  Fanny  Foster  Tudor,  for- 
merly of  Stoneham.  This  first  gift  to  the  Trustees  had,  there- 
fore, a  memorial  purpose  ;  and  two  others,  out  of  the  six  gifts 
thus  far  (1901)  received  by  the  Trustees,  have  had  a  similar 
purpose.  They  answer  a  question  asked  by  Charles  in  his 
First  Annual  Report  for  the  Standing  Committee  of  the 
Trustees,  —  "Is  not  a  religiously  guarded,  living  landscape  a 
finer  monument  than  any  ordinary  work  in  marble  or  stained 
glass  ?  " 

Many  ^pots  and  buildings  were  suggested  to  the  Trustees 
as  desirable  for  preservation  ;  but  the  Board  was  obliged  to 
answer  such  suggestions  in  the  manner  indicated  in  the  fol- 
lowing passage  from  the  report  just  cited  :  — 

All  these  places  and  many  more  are  doubtless  worthy  of 
preservation  in  the  collection  of  Massachusetts  landscapes 
and  memorials  which  this  Board  has  been  empowered  to 
establish  and  maintain.  On  the  other  hand,  this  Board  does 
not  possess  either  the  money  or  the  authority  to  enable  it  to 
snatch  real  estate  out  of  the  hands  of  anybody.  Like  the 
trustees  of  a  public  art  museum,  this  Board  stands  ready  to 
undertake  the  care  of  such  precious  things  as  may  be  placed 
in  its  charge.  It  exists  "to  facilitate  the  preservation  of 
beautiful  and  historical  places  in  Massachusetts,"  by  provid- 
ing an  efficient  and  permanent  organization  through  which 
individuals  and  bodies  of  subscribers  may  accomjilish  their 
several  desires. 

Another  passage  from  the  same  report  describes  concisely 
certain  fruitful  activities  which  he  recommended  to  the  Trus- 
tees and  personally  superintended. 

In  addition  to  the  sympathetic  study  of  the  several  sug- 
gested projects  just  mentioned,  the  Committee  has  fi-om  the 
first  given  serious  attention  to  certain  broad  questions  from 
which  it  found  itself  unable  to  escape.  Massachusetts,  as  a 
whole,  is  shamefully  lacking  in  open  spaces  reserved  expressly 
for  enjoyment  by  the  public.     The  mountain-tops  of  the  in- 


^.T.31]       THE  FIRST  WORK  OF  THE  TRUSTEES  345 

terior,  the  cliffs  and  beaches  of  the  seashore,  and  most  of  the 
intervening  scenes  of  special  beauty  are  rapidly  passing  into 
the  possession  of  private  owners,  who  hold  these  places  either 
for  their  own  private  pleasure,  or  for  the  profit  which  may 
be  reaped  from  fees  collected  from  the  public.  Moreovei", 
as  population  increases,  the  final  destruction  of  the  finest 
remaining  bits  of  scenery  goes  on  more  and  more  rapidly. 
Thus  the  prospect  for  the  future  is  in  many  ways  a  gloomy 
one,  particularly  upon  the  seashore  and  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Boston. 

Impressed  by  these  considerations,  the  Committee  deter- 
mined to  take  action  in  four  directions :  first,  to  thoroughly 
investigate,  and  then  to  publish,  the  present  facts  in  respect 
to  the  provision  of  public  open  spaces ;  secondly,  to  collect 
and  publish  the  laws  of  Massachusetts  which  permit,  or  other- 
wise affect,  the  acquisition  and  maintenance  of  public  open 
spaces ;  thirdly,  to  call  together  the  numerous  park  commis- 
sioners and  park  committees  of  the  metropolitan  district  sur- 
rounding Boston,  in  the  hope  that  mutual  acquaintance  may 
encourage  cooperative  action  in  the  taking  of  land  for  pub- 
lic open  spaces  ;  fourthly,  to  ask  the  legislature  of  1892  to 
institute  an  inquiry  into  the  whole  subject. 

The  first  action  determined  on  led  to  the  preparation  of  two 
admirable  reports  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Harrison,  the  first  on  "  The 
Public  Holdings  of  the  Shore  Towns  of  Massachusetts," 
and  the  second  on  "  The  Province  Lands  at  Provincetown." 
These  two  valuable  papers  were  published  in  the  Apjjendix 
to  the  First  Annual  Keport  to  the  Trustees.  The  second 
action  led  to  the  compilation  and  publication  in  the  same 
Appendix  of  all  the  Massachusetts  statutes  relating  to  public 
open  s])aces.  The  third  and  fourth  actions  led  to  the  crea- 
tion within  two  years  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission, 
as  will  be  hereafter  set  forth  in  some  detail.  Thus  the  Trus- 
tees of  Public  Reservations  became  immediately,  through 
Charles's  inspiration,  an  instrumentality  for  public  service 
outside  of  its  original  field. 

The  report  of  their  agent,  Mr.  Harrison,  on  the  Province 
lands  led  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  Trustees  to  peti- 
tion the  legislature  of  1892  for  better  management  of  the 
State's  large  domain  (more  than  4000  aci-es)  ;  whereupon 
the  lo^islature  directed  the  Trustees  to  investigate  the  con- 


346         THE   TRUSTEES   OF   PUBLIC   RESERVATIONS     [1892 

dition  of  the  lands  in  question,  make  a  map  of  them,  and 
report  in  1893.  The  Standing  Committee  of  the  Trustees 
did  this  unexpected  and  troublesome  piece  of  work,  and  filed 
their  report  in  January,  1893.  Charles  personally  examined 
the  lands,^  gave  the  directions  for  the  making  of  the  map, 
decided  on  the  photographic  illustrations  for  the  report, 
arranged  a  hearing  at  Provincetovvn  before  the  Committee, 
and  finally  wrote  the  report.  Two  passages  in  this  paper 
are  especially  interesting  because  of  their  clear  and  vigorous 
descriptions  of  the  physical  nature  of  the  Province  lands  and 
their  condition. 

As  to  the  physical  nature  of  the  Province  lands,  the  facts  are 
these  :  The  highlands  of  Cape  Cod  terminate  abruptly  at  High 
Head  in  the  township  of  Truro  ;  north  and  west  of  this  point 
the  remainder  of  Truro  and  the  whole  of  Provincetown  is  a 
region  of  sand  dunes  bounded  by  beaches,  the  curves  of  which 
enclose  a  perfect  harbor  at  the  very  extremity  of  Cape  Cod. 
There  is  evidence  that  the  tides  and  waves  have  built  one 
beach  after  another,  each  further  north  than  the  last ;  and 
that  the  so-called  Peaked  Hill  bar  is  a  new  beach  now  in 
process  of  formation.  The  sand  dunes  of  the  old  beaches,  as 
they  w6re  one  by  one  protected  by  new  beaches  to  the  north, 
gradually  became  clothed  with  the  surprisingly  beautiful 
vegetation  which  adorns  them  to-day ;  while  the  hollows  be- 
tween the  ridges,  each  of  which  was  in  its  day  a  race  run, 
have  gradually  been  filled,  as  the  race  run  is  now  filling. 
Many  of  these  hollows  among  the  sandhills  contain  fresh-water 

1  The  out-of-door  part  of  the  work  he  thoroughly  enjoyed  —  witness 
this  note  to  his  wife,  August  7,  1892 :  "  My  one  hour  of  harbor  and  three 
hours  of  ocean  voyaging  yesterday  were  smooth  and  pleasant  ;  and  my 
afternoon  of  tramping  was  full  of  interest.  Marshes  skirted  by  steep 
hills  of  bushes,  narrow  hollows  in  the  hills  crammed  full  of  Ink-berry, 
Huckleberry,  and  Bearberry,  wider  openings  containing  green  meadows 
of  grass  or  rushes,  and  patches  of  deep-blue  water,  and  around  and  out- 
side of  all,  the  shining,  threatening  sand  dune,  piled  so  high  in  some 
places  that  it  looks  as  if  the  next  gale  would  upset  it  upon  the  trees  and 
ponds  and  bushes  at  its  feet  !  I  tramped  round  the  edge  of  the  dunes  at 
the  west  all  yesterday  afternoon  —  a  good  deal  of  hard  walking  —  and 
having  got  halfway  round  the  whole  affair,  I  cut  for  supper  by  an  old 
road  through  the  centre  of  the  wooded  region.  I  am  trying,  you  know, 
to  get  sufficiently  familiar  with  the  lay  of  the  land  to  be  able  to  direct  a 
surveyor  as  to  what  we  want  done  here.  ...  It  is  a  glorious  day."  .  .  . 


^T.  32]  THE  PROVINCE  LANDS  347 

pouds,  the  shores  of  which  support  a  charming  growth  of 
Tupelo,  sweet  Azalea,  Clethra,  and  the  like  ;  and  in  the  shelter 
of  the  ridges,  and  even  upon  their  crests,  grow  Oaks,  Maples, 
Beeches,  and  Pitch  Pines.  The  layer  of  surface  soil  upon  the 
hills  is  nowhere  more  than  three  or  four  inches  deep  ;  but  the 
underlying  sand  is  wonderfully  retentive  of  moisture,  so  that 
this  peculiar  terminus  of  the  cape  presents  in  its  uninjured 
parts  a  more  verdurous  landscape  than  the  main  body  of  the 
outer  cajje  can  show. 

There  follows  this  passage  a  comprehensive  statement  of 
all  the  previous  legislation  on  these  lands,  none  of  which  had 
fulfilled  its  purpose.     The  report  proceeds  :  — 

What  manner  of  destruction  is  going  on  meanwhile  in  the 
rear  of  the  village  of  Provincetown  the  pictures  herewith 
submitted  will  serve  to  show.  Half  of  the  Province  land  is 
already  a  treeless  waste.  The  commissioners  of  1825  reported 
to  the  General  Court  that  this  desert  was  the  result  of  the 
stripping  of  vegetation  from  the  seaward  sandhills.  We  find 
to-day  that,  once  the  mat  of  plant-roots  is  removed  from  a 
windward  slope,  the  northwest  gales  cut  into  the  wounded 
places  and  proceed  to  undermine  the  adjacent  plant-covered 
slopes.  The  sands  blown  out  of  such  places  are  dumped  in 
the  lee,  in  the  nearest  hollow,  burying  the  trees  and  bushes 
and  stifling  them  to  death.  Once  rid  of  the  trees,  the  sands 
are  drifted  by  the  winds  like  snow.  The  beach  grass  planted 
by  the  government  seems  to  have  stayed  the  destruction  of 
the  ridges  in  some  measure ;  but  the  wheels  of  carts  contin- 
ually crossing  the  sand-drifts  in  the  direction  of  the  worst 
gales  soon  broke  the  grassed  surface  so  that  the  wind  got 
hold,  "  blew  out  "  great  areas,  and  dumped  the  sand  in  such 
steep  drifts  in  the  edges  of  the  woods  that  many  cart-paths 
became  impassable,  so  that  new  routes  were  sought,  where 
the  operation  was  repeated.  Within  the  Province  lands  the 
grassy  Snake  Hills  and  the  wooded  ridge  called  Nigger  Head 
have  bravely  withstood  the  gales  without  serious  change  since 
Mayor  Graham  surveyed  the  field  in  1833-35 ;  but  between 
these  two  points  the  winds  have  made  great  havoc.  Wooded 
knolls  have  been  cut  in  two,  ponds  filled  up,  and  much  wood- 


348         THE   TRUSTEES   OF  PUBLIC   RESERVATIONS     [1892 

land  buried.  East  of  Nigger  Head  and  towards  Eastern  Har- 
bor, beyond  the  bounds  of  the  Province  lands,  the  changes 
have  been  even  more  violent.  Several  salt  creeks  have  been 
wholly  filled  up,  and  former  sand  ridges  levelled,  so  that  the 
hulls  of  vessels  on  the  ocean  are  now  visible  from  the  harbor. 

The  report  recommended  that  the  Province  lands  should 
be  placed  in  charge  of  the  Board  of  Harbor  and  Land  Com- 
missioners already  established,  and  that  this  Board  should 
appoint  a  paid  superintendent,  and  fix  the  amount  which  may 
be  annually  expended  by  him.  These  recommendations  were 
adopted  by  the  legislature,  and  have  resulted  in  an  improved 
condition  of  the  State's  large  domain. 

In  1892  Charles  wrote  and  issued  two  circulars  on  behalf 
of  the  Trustees,  the  first  of  which  was  intended  to  induce  per- 
sons to  put  lands  or  money  into  the  hands  of  the  Trustees, 
while  the  second  asked  for  information  about  existing  open 
sjDaces  in  Massachusetts  cities  and  towns,  available  for  public 
recreation.  The  valuable  information  procured  through  this 
second  circular  was  printed  in  good  statistical  form  in  the 
second  annual  report  to  the  Trustees.  This  table  provides  a 
firm  basis  for  comparisons  which  later  generations  may  insti- 
tute in  1922,  1952,  and  so  forth. 

The  annual  reports  to  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations 
record  the  successive  gifts  made  to  the  Board,  and  the  mea- 
sures taken  to  carry  out  the  memorial  purposes  of  some  of  the 
gifts ;  but  they  also  offer  suggestions  as  to  the  further  use  of 
the  Trustees  by  intending  givers  of  reservations  for  public 
enjoyment,  and  they  repeatedly  discuss  the  defacement  of 
natural  scenery,  highways,  and  parkways,  by  obtrusive  adver- 
tisements. The  legislature,  in  response  to  representations 
made  by  the  Trustees,  has  begun  to  repress  this  offence,  but 
has  not  yet  (1901)  made  up  its  mind  to  give  the  public  effec- 
tive protection.  One  of  the  most  interesting  and  widely 
applicable  suggestions  is  the  following  from  the  report  of 
1896 : — 

Much  of  the  most  charming  and  most  easily  destroyed 
scenery  of  Massachusetts  is  found  along  the  banks  of  ponds 
and  streams ;  and  the  Committee  believes  it  would  be  for  the 
advantage  of  the  Commonwealth  if  narrow  strips  of  such 
water-side  lands  could  be  secured  by  interested  and  generous 
citizens  and  given  into  its  charge  for  safe-keeping.  Many 
such  strips  are  found  between  country  roads  and  streams  or 


^T.  32]      A  SIMILAR   ASSOCIATION  IN  ENGLAND  ^9 

ponds  ;  and  many  other  strijjs  of  similarly  useless  but  beauti- 
ful land  are  to  be  found  bordering  roads  in  rocky  or  steep 
places.  Nothing  could  more  directly  help  to  keep  the  State 
a  pleasant  and  beautiful  place  to  live  in  than  such  preserving 
of  the  most  interesting  parts  of  the  local  roadside  scenery. 
Such  strips,  as  well  as  hill-tops,  ravines,  bits  of  seashore,  and 
any  remarkably  beautiful  spots,  will  always  be  gladly  taken 
charge  of  by  this  Board,  provided  some  little  money  to  form 
a  maintenance  fund  comes  with  each  gift. 

It  was  a  gratification  to  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reserva- 
tions, and  especially  to  Charles,  to  learn  tlmt  the  organization 
of  this  Massachusetts  Trust  in  1891  had  contributed  to  the 
creation  in  1893-94  of  a  similar  association  in  England  under 
the  title  of  "  The  National  Trust  for  Places  of  Historic  Inter- 
est or  Natural  Beauty."  The  English  Association  already 
holds  more  properties  than  the  Massachusetts  Trust,  and  is  in 
receipt  of  a  much  larger  income  from  money  gifts  and  annual 
subscriptions.  Yet  the  English  Association  says  (1899-1900) : 
"  It  is  essential  to  the  success  of  the  Trust  that  its  funds 
should  be  very  largely  increased."  In  like  manner,  large 
permanent  funds  are  the  great  need  of  the  Massachusetts 
Trustees  of  Public  Reservations. 

The  Trustees  hold  (1901)  431  acres  of  land,  in  six  tracts, 
—  Virginia  Wood,  now  a  part  of  Middlesex  Fells  Reservation, 
Mt.  Anne  Park,  the  highest  point  in  Gloucester,  Goodwill 
Park  in  Falmouth,  Rocky  Narrows  on  the  upper  Charles 
River,  Governor  Hutchinson's  Field  in  ISIilton,  and  Monument 
Mountain  in  Stockbridge  and  Great  Barrington,  —  and  these 
are  all  valuable  possessions  for  the  present  and  future  genera- 
tions ;  but  as  Charles  wrote  in  the  Annual  Report  to  the 
Trustees  for  1893,  — 

if  Massachusetts  possesses  no  such  richly  historical  trea- 
sures as  will  gradually  pass  into  the  keeping  of  the  English 
Board,  she  does  possess  a  great  wealth  of  beautiful,  though  now 
threatened,  natural  scenery,  and  an  interesting,  though  rapidly 
disappearing,  store  of  archaeological  and  historical  sites,  such 
as  Indian  camps  and  graves,  border  forts,  and  colonial  and 
literary  landmarks.  Your  Board  is  empowered,  and  is  fully 
prepared,  to  assume  the  legal  title,  and,  if  need  be,  the  whole 
care  of  such  places.  It  remains  for  those  who  really  desire 
the  preservation  of  these  places  to  come  forward  to  their 
rescue  at  once. 


350         THE   TRUSTEES   OF  PUBLIC   RESERVATIONS     [1895 

In  some  remarks  which  Charles  made  at  a  meeting  held  by 
the  Trustees  at  Northampton  on  the  31st  of  May,  1895,  to 
promote  the  acquisition  of  Mt.  Tom  as  a  public  park,  a  pas- 
sage occurs  which  clearly  indicates  what  he  hoped  individuals, 
or  families,  or  bodies  of  subscribers  might  do  for  the  Com- 
monwealth through  the  Trustees  :  — 

In  Massachusetts  the  variety  of  these  choicest  local  scenes 
is  very  great.  One  is  the  curving  beach  of  a  tiny  cove  of  the 
sea,  enclosed  b}'^  granite  headlands.  Another  is  itself  a  head- 
land, or  a  rugged  bit  of  the  ocean  bluff  of  Cape  Cod.  An- 
other a  lily-pond  set  in  an  amphitheatre  of  woods.  Another 
a  wild  ravine,  or  a  quiet  grove,  or  a  hill-top,  or  a  strip  of 
land  between  a  highway  and  a  lake.  It  often  happens  that  a 
public  road  follows  a  stream,  or  the  shore  of  a  pond.  The 
pleasantness  and  beauty  of  the  way  consist  in  the  appear- 
ance and  disappearance  of  the  water  amid  the  foliage.  How 
easily  is  this  pleasantness  destroyed, — how  easily  and  how 
cheaply  it  might  be  permanently  preserved !  Those  strips 
and  bodies  of  land  which  ought  to  be  thus  held  in  trust  for 
the  enjoyment  of  all  are  seldom  of  much  value  to  their  own- 
ers. They  are  too  steep  or  too  rocky  for  agriculture,  too  in- 
accessible for  house-building. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  CREATION  OF  THE  PRELIMINARY  METROPOLITAN 
PARK  COMMISSION   OF   1892-93 

That  which  befits  us,  embosomed  in  beauty  and  wonder  as  we  are,  is 
cheerfulness  and  courage,  and  tha  endeavor  to  realize  our  aspirations. 
—  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 

The  meeting  of  the  park  commissions  and  committees  of 
Boston  and  the  surrounding  towns  and  cities,  which  the  Trus- 
tees of  Public  Keservations  had  determined  to  call,  was  held 
on  December  16,  1891,  in  the  office  of  the  Boston  Park  Com- 
mission, General  Francis  A.  Walker,  a  member  of  that  Com- 
mission, in  the  chair.  Charles  was  made  secretary.  He  made 
the  opening  speech,  explaining  the  purpose  of  the  Trustees  of 
Public  Reservations  in  calling  the  meeting,  showing  maps 
o£  the  country  within  eleven  miles  of  the  State  House,  con- 
trasting the  provision  of  public  open  spaces  here  with  that 
near  Paris  and  London,  and  contrasting  also  the  opportunity 
for  delightful  parks  around  Boston  with  the  "  miserable  pre- 
sent." The  brief  he  wrote  the  day  before  for  this  speech 
illustrates  so  well  his  ordinary  method  of  preparing  for  such 
occasions  that  the  last  quarter  of  it  is  here  given  just  as  it 
was  written :  — 

Here  is  a  rapidly  growing  metropolis  planted  by  the  sea, 
and  yet  possessed  of  no  portion  of  the  sea-front  except  what 
Boston  has  provided  at  City  Point.  Here  is  a  city  interwoven 
with  tidal  marshes  and  controlling  none  of  them  ;  so  that  the 
way  is  open  for  the  construction  upon  them  of  cheap  build- 
ings for  the  housing  of  the  lowest  poor  and  the  nastiest 
trades.  Here  is  a  district  possessed  of  a  charming  river  al- 
ready much  resorted  to  for  pleasure,  the  banks  of  which  are 
continually  in  danger  of  spoliation  at  the  hands  of  their  pri- 
vate owners. 

Here  is  a  community  which  must  have  pure  drinking  water, 
which  yet  up  to  this  time  has  failed  to  secure  even  one  water 
basin  from  danger  of  pollution.     Lynn  has  come  nearest  to 


352    METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION   OF  1892-93    [1892 

it.  In  the  Fells  they  are  working  towards  it,  but  the  ridic- 
ulous town  boundary  difficulty  there  prevents  concerted 
action. 

Here  is  a  community,  said  to  be  the  richest  and  most  en- 
lightened in  America,  which  yet  allows  its  finest  scenes  of 
natural  beauty  to  be  destroyed  one  by  one,  regardless  of  the 
fact  that  the  great  city  of  the  future  which  is  to  fill  this  land 
would  certainly  prize  every  such  scene  exceedingly,  and  would 
gladly  help  to  pay  the  cost  of  preserving  them  to-day. 

Compare  the  two  maps  —  one  showing  the  opportunity, 
the  other  the  miserable  present  result. 

Do  not  the  facts  speak  for  themselves  ?  Is  it  not  evident 
that  present  methods  are  too  slow  and  inefficient  ?  Can  this 
community  afford  to  go  so  slowly  ?  Is  not  some  form  of  joint 
or  concerted  action  advisable  at  once  ? 

Thirteen  other  gentlemen  addressed  the  meeting,  all  of 
them  in  favor  of  concerted  action.  The  following  vote  was 
unanimously  adopted :  "  That  the  chairman  and  secretary 
with  five  others  whom  they  may  join  with  them  be  a  com- 
mittee to  prepare  a  memorial  to  the  legislature  calling  atten- 
tion to  the  needs  of  the  Boston  district  as  respects  the  pro- 
vision of  public  open  spaces,  and  to  report  the  same  to  a  new 
meeting  of  this  body."  The  chairman  announced  the  com- 
mittee as  follows  :  The  chairman  and  secretary,  and  Messrs. 
Philip  A.  Chase  of  Lynn,  Robert  T.  Paine  of  Waltham,  F. 
P.  Bennett  of  Everett,  Desmond  Fitzgerald  of  Brookline, 
and  Horace  E.  Ware  of  Milton.  Mr.  Ware  subsequently 
resigned  from  the  committee,  and  Mr.  A.  J.  Bailey  of  Bos- 
ton was  chosen  in  his  place.  The  committee  was  a  strong 
one.  Before  the  end  of  December  it  had  agreed  that  the 
object  to  be  aimed  at  should  be  a  commission  to  inquire  and 
report:  A  month  later  Charles  wrote  thus  of  this  meeting: 
"  A  majority  of  the  towns  and  cities  within  eleven  miles  of 
Boston  were  represented  by  their  park  commissioners  or  other 
officers ;  and  so  general  was  the  desire  for  immediate,  effec- 
tive, and  comprehensive  action  towards  the  reservation  of 
ample  public  open  spaces,  that  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
draft  a  memorial  to  the  legislature,  asking  for  prompt  action 
in  this  direction."  (From  the  First  Annual  Report  of  the 
Trustees  of  Public  Reservations.) 

The  Trustees  themselves  by  their  Standing  Committee  sent 
the  following  petition  to  the  General  Court :  — 


^T.  32]  THE  PETITION  FOR  AN  INQUIRY  35S 

The  undersigned  petitioners  respectfully  represent  that  the 
seashores,  the  river-banks,  the  mountain-tops,  and  almost  ail 
the  finest  parts  of  the  natural  scenery  of  Massachusetts  are 
possessed  by  private  persons,  whose  private  interests  often 
dictate  the  destruction  of  said  scenery  or  the  exclusion  of  the 
public  from  the  enjoyment  thereof.  In  the  opinion  of  the 
undersigned,  the  scenes  of  natural  beauty  to  which  the  people 
of  the  Commonwealth  are  to-day  of  right  entitled  to  resort 
for  pleasure  and  refreshment  are  both  too  few  in  number 
and  too  small  in  area  ;  and,  therefore,  your  petitioners  respect- 
fully ask  that  an  inquiry  be  instituted  by  your  honorable 
bodies  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  what  action,  if  any, 
may  be  advisable  in  the  circumstances. 

The  next  step  was  to  procure  numerous  petitions  from  citi- 
zens of  the  metropolitan  district,  in  aid  of  the  petitions  sent 
in  by  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations  and  by  the  asso- 
ciated Park  Commissions  and  committees.  In  consviltation 
with  his  associates  on  the  Trustees'  Standing  Committee  and 
the  committee  appointed  at  the  meeting  of  December  16th, 
Charles  prepared  printed  blank  petitions,  and  sent  them  to 
all  town  and  city  officers  in  the  metropolitan  district,  and  to 
one  hundred  interested  persons,  with  a  note  asking  for  sig- 
natures. The  result  was  that  several  thousand  citizens  sup- 
ported the  application  to  the  legislature.  The  legislature 
appointed  a  "  Joint  Special  Committee  on  Public  Reserva- 
tions," and  this  committee  ordered  a  public  hearing  on  March 
8th.  It  fell  to  Charles  to  make  the  preparations  for  this 
hearing ;  as  appears  from  the  following  passage  in  a  note 
to  his  wife  written  at  the  end  of  February :  "  Yesterday 
my  committee  meeting  was  a  farce,  —  nobody  agreeing  with 
anybody  else,  —  and  finally  resulted  as  usual,  namely,  in  an 
appeal  to  me  to  invite  speakers  to  appear  at  the  hearing  on 
March  8th,  to  speak  myself,  and  to  make  sure  of  an  attend- 
ance by  sending  out  postal  cards."  Charles  made  the  open- 
ing address,  and  among  other  good  argimients  brought  out 
with  great  distinctness  the  two  principal  difficulties  which 
beset  the  subject,  as  follows  :  — 

.  .  .  Massachusetts  as  a  whole  is  a  beautiful  land.  Its 
surface  is  diversified,  its  seashore  is  pictui'esque,  its  ponds 
and  streams  are  clear,  its  air  is  good.  Already  the  world  is 
well  acquainted  with  these  facts,  and  citizens  of  the  great 


354    METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION  OF  1892-93     [1892 

cities  of  the  less  favored  parts  of  our  country  are  coming  in 
ever  greater  numbers  to  enjoy  the  beauty  of  the  land  and  to 
build  houses  in  the  Berkshire  hills  and  by  the  sea. 

Moreover,  the  numerous  cities  of  Massachusetts  are  grown 
so  large  and  crowded,  that  all  of  our  citizens  who  can  afford 
it  seek  the  country  or  the  seashore  for  a  month  or  more 
every  year.  All  these  people  invariably  purchase  for  their 
new  houses  just  the  prettiest  spots  they  can  find,  and  when 
they  have  bought  them,  they  naturally  want  them  for  their 
very  own  ;  and  they  seek  to  prevent,  as  they  have  a  perfect 
right  to  do,  the  intrusion  of  other  people. 

Thus  we  find  a  state  of  things  which  may  be  summarized 
as  follows :  1st.  The  great  towns  are  rapidly  ovei'growing  and 
destroying  the  scenes  of  natural  beauty  adjacent  to  them; 
and  2d.  People  escaping  from  the  towns  ai-e  as  rapidly  oc- 
cupying for  private  purposes  the  remoter  spots  of  special 
beauty. 

The  result  is  that  the  great  mass  of  the  townspeople  of 
the  State,  and  they  will  always  be  much  the  larger  part  of 
the  State's  population,  are  more  and  more  shut  out  from  the 
beauty  and  the  healing  influence  of  Nature's  scenery,  and  are 
more  and  more  shut  up  in  their  tenements  and  shops.  Is  this 
for  the  advantage  of  the  State  ? 

...  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  location  of  large 
public  reserves  should  be  determined  chiefly  with  reference 
to  the  inclusion  therein  of  the  finest  scenery  of  each  region 
or  district.  Now,  the  park  act  limits  the  field  of  action  of 
our  park  commissioners  to  the  bounds  of  their  respective 
towns  and  cities,  while  it  is  self-evident  that  these  boundaries 
bear  no  relation  to  the  scenery  of  the  district  they  divide. 
Indeed,  the  boundaries  of  our  towns  are  very  apt  to  bisect  the 
prettiest  passages  of  scenery,  as  where  the  line  follows  the 
channel  of  a  river  or  brook  the  banks  of  which  are  beautiful. 
In  these  cases  it  is  at  present  practically  certain  that  neither 
town  will  act  to  take  the  banks,  for  it  would  be  senseless  for 
one  to  act  without  the  other,  and  one  or  the  other  is  almost 
sure  to  feel  that  its  burden  of  expense  is  out  of  proportion  to 
the  benefit  to  accrue  to  it.  Under  the  park  act,  a  board  of 
park  commissioners  will  seldom  make  open  spaces  near  the 


^T.  32]     THE   APPOINTMENT  OF  THE   COMMISSION        353 

boundary  of  their  town  or  city,  even  though  the  best  lands 
for  the  purpose  are  to  be  found  there,  and  even  though  a 
dense  population  needs  them  there.  Under  the  park  act,  no 
park  board  can  take  lands  outside  the  arbitrary  town  bound- 
ary, even  though  a  fine  site  for  a  park  lies  adjacent  to  the 
boundary  near  their  own  centre  of  population,  and  so  remote 
from  the  population  of  the  adjacent  township  that  its  park 
board  will  never  want  to  buy  or  take  the  place. 

The  appointment  of  a  temporary  commission  to  inquire 
what  was  most  needful  and  practicable,  and  to  report  a  plan 
of  operations  to  the  next  General  Court,  was  advocated  by 
many  speakers  at  the  hearing,  and  no  opposition  to  the  gen- 
eral project  was  developed.  It  was  evident  to  the  Comuiittee 
that  action  by  the  legislature  was  desired  by  a  large  body  of 
intelligent  and  public-spirited  citizens,  many  of  whom  might 
fairly  be  called  leaders  of  the  people.  On  March  11th 
Charles  attended  by  request  a  meeting  of  the  Joint  Com- 
mittee of  the  legislature,  and  on  the  IStli  he  wrote  a  letter  to 
Senator  Fernald  enclosing  a  first  draught  of  the  desired  act. 
He  kept  in  communication  with  the  promoters  of  the  bill 
both  within  and  out^^ide  the  legislature.  The  Metropolitan 
Park  Commission  bill  first  passed  the  Senate  April  12,  but 
was  finally  enacted  by  the  House  May  27,  and  by  the  Senate 
June  1,  and  was  approved  by  the  Governor,  June  2,  1892. 

Thereupon  Charles  wrote  repeatedly  to  Governor  Russell, 
and  called  upon  him,  suggesting  names  for  the  commission. 
Two  out  of  the  three  persons  first  selected  by  the  Governor 
declining  to  serve,  Charles  sounded  on  the  subject  four  other 
gentlemen  in  succession,  all  of  whom  found  themselves  unable 
to  undertake  the  work.  On  the  5th  of  July  he  proposed  tlie 
function  to  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  who  on  the  next 
day  consented  to  serve.  The  Commission  was  named  on  July 
9th  as  follows:  Charles  Francis  Adams  of  Quincy,  Philip 
A.  Chase  of  Lynn,  and  William  B.  de  las  Casas  of  Maiden. 
The  Board  was  a  strong  one,  and  immediately  commanded 
public  confidence. 

It  was  not  yet  nineteen  months  since  Charles  made  his  first 
assault  on  a  public  official  in  favor  of  legislative  action  to 
procure  a  scheme  for  a  metro])olitan  system  of  public  reserva- 
tions. Governor  William  E.  Kussell  was  a  fellow-townsman 
of  Charles,  and  both  had  grown  up  as  boys  in  Cambridge, 
and  been  educated  at  Harvard  College.  It  was  by  reason  of 
this  long  acquaintance,  and  of  friendly  relations  between  the 


356    METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION  OF  1892-93     [1892 

two  families,  that  Charles  ventured  to  write  Governor  Rus- 
sell the  following  letter  :  — 

19  Dec.  '90. 

Hon.  W.  E.  Russell. 

My  dear  Sir^  —  Let  me,  with  no  bumptious  or  presuming 
intentions,  suggest  a  topic  for  your  Address  :  and,  if  I  cast 
my  notes  into  the  form  of  a  paragraph  of  the  Address,  you 
will  understand  it  is  only  because  that  seems  the  easiest  way 
to  write  them  out. 

Within  five  miles  of  Beacon  Hill  is  seated  much  the  largest 
body  of  population  in  Massachusetts.  This  population  is 
rapidly  growing,  and  as  it  grows  it  becomes  more  and  moi'e 
crowded.  The  best  building-ground  is  already  occupied,  and 
much  wet  and  unhealthy  land  is  being  built  upon.  Within 
a  comparatively  few  years  there  will  be  a  continuous  dense 
city  between  the  State  House  and  the  Neponset  River,  the 
Chestnut  Hill  Reservoir,  the  Fresh  Pond  Reservoir,  Medford, 
and  Maiden :  and  if  nothing  is  done  to  prevent,  much  of  this 
great  city  will  consist  of  low-lying  and  badly  drained  slums. 

What  provision  is  being  made  within  this  metropolitan 
district  for  securing  those  public  open  spaces  which  the  ex- 
perience of  all  great  cities  has  proved  to  be  essential  to  the 
welfare  of  crowded  populations  ?  It  is  obvious  that  no  ade- 
quate provision  of  this  sort  is  either  thought  of  or  attempted. 
The  City  of  Boston  is  creating  a  limited  sj^stem  of  public 
pleasure  drives  and  parks,  but  the  other  municipalities  within 
the  metropolitan  district  are  allowing  their  few  remaining 
open  estates  to  be  divided  and  built  upon  one  by  one  and 
year  by  year.  The  excellent  public  park  Act  of  1882  re- 
mains for  these  cities  and  towns  a  dead  letter :  and  why  ? 
Largely  because  of  local  jealousies.  One  city  refuses  to  seize 
its  opportunity  to  obtain  for  all  time  a  charming  natural  park 
which  the  loving  care  of  an  old  family  has  preserved,  because 
it  fears  that  the  people  of  the  adjoining  city  will  enjoy  what 
it  has  paid  for.  The  towns  are  influenced  by  similar  selfish 
fears,  and  the  very  wards  within  the  cities  are  similarly  jeal- 
ous of  each  other. 

There  seems  to  be  no  remedy  for  this  state  of  things  except 
the  establishment  of  some  central  and  impartial  body  capable 


^T.  32]  A  QUICK  ACHIEVEMENT  357 

of  disregarding  municipal  boundaries  and  all  local  considera- 
tions, and  empowered  to  create  a  system  of  public  reserva- 
tions for  the  benefit  of  the  metropolitan  district  as  a  whole. 
This  central  body  need  do  no  more  at  first  than  acquire  the 
necessary  lands.  Futux-e  generations  will  "  improve  "  them  as 
they  may  be  needed  :  and  they  will  be  glad  of  the  opportunity. 
The  planning  of  the  similarly  difficult  undertaking  which 
the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  Commissioners  now  have  in  hand 
was  entrusted  by  the  General  Court  to  the  State  Board  of 
Health,  and  I  earnestly  recomnaend  that  the  same  efficient 
Board  be  requested  by  the  j^resent  legislature  to  report  a  plan 
or  scheme  for  a  metropolitan  system  of  public  reservations. 
The  Board  of  Health  will  undoubtedly  be  able  to  devise 
a  scheme  which,  while  providing  suitable,  well-arranged,  and 
convenient  open  spaces,  shall  at  the  same  time  forefend  the 
district  from  much  of  the  danger  to  which  the  building  of 
cheap  structures  on  wet  lands  might  expose  it.  No  question 
more  neai'ly  affects  the  welfare  of  that  large  part  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  Commonwealth  which  is  seated  in  sight  of  this 
State  House. 

Much  more  might  be  said  and  said  better,  as  to  the  oppor- 
tunity for  the  creation  of  characteristic  and  therefore  interest- 
ing open  spaces  afforded  by  the  many  salt  creeks,  rivers,  and 
marshes  of  the  district,  etc. ;  but  I  refrain  from  assaulting 
you  further! 

The  objects  set  forth  in  this  letter  and  the  arguments  for 
legishitive  action  are  the  same  as  those  which  determined  the 
appointment  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  of  1892  ; 
only  the  agent  in  the  inquiry  is  different. 

This  quick  achievement  of  a  ])ublic  object  by  the  efforts, 
in  the  main,  of  one  public-spirited,  well-informed,  and  zealous 
young  man,  availing  himself  of  a  strong  sentiment  already 
in  existence,  combining  the  various  resources  of  a  few  per- 
sons who  were  already  thoroughly  awake  to  the  importance 
of  the  interests  at  stake,  taking  counsel  with  judicious  and 
thoughtful  friends,  winning  the  support  and  personal  help  of 
busy  men  in  high  stations,  and  concentrating  at  e;ich  vital 
point  the  influence  of  thousands  of  good  citizens,  is  an  en- 
couraging example  of  legitimate  eft'orts  to  procure  beneficent 
legislation  under  republican  institutions. 


CHAPTER  XX 

WRITINGS   IN   1891   AND   1892 

Readers  of  poetry  see  the  factory  village  and  the  railway,  and  fancy 
that  the  poetry  of  the  landscape  is  broken  up  by  these  ;  but  the  poet 
sees  them  fall  into  the  great  order  not  less  than  the  beehive  or  the 
spider's  geometrical  web.  Nature  adopts  them  very  fast  into  her  vital 
circles,  and  the  gliding  train  of  cars  she  loves  like  her  own.  —  Ralph 
Waldo  Emerson. 

During  the  two  years  and  a  quarter  occupied  by  the  cam- 
paign for  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations  and  that  for 
the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  Charles  did  not  altogether 
give  over  his  writing  for  the  press.  The  first  of  the  papers 
which  constitute  this  chapter  was  written  in  the  period  of 
the  agitation  for  the  Trustees,  the  next  four  while  he  was 
urging  a  Metropolitan  Park  inquiry,  and  the  last  two  just 
after  the  appointment  of  the  preliminary  Metro])olitan  Park 
Commission.  Taken  together,  they  undoubtedly  enhanced 
Charles's  reputation  as  an  expert  in  landscape,  and  a  writer 
on  landscape  subjects. 

MUSKAU  —  A   GERMAN   COUNTRY   PARK. 

Jan.  28,  '91. 

The  River  Neisse  flows  with  no  great  rapidity  from  its 
source  in  the  highlands  which  divide  Germany  from  Austria 
to  its  meeting  with  the  Oder  in  the  plains  southeast  of  Berlin. 
Its  total  length  is  perhaps  one  hundred  miles,  or  about  that 
of  our  New  England  Merrimac  or  Housatonie.  In  the  lower 
half  of  its  course  it  traverses  an  exceedingly  sandy  region, 
out  of  which  the  river  has  carved  a  shallow  and  crooked  val- 
ley. Occasionally  a  cheerful  meadow  lies  along  the  stream, 
but  the  banks  or  hills  which  bound  the  valley,  and  all  the 
uplands  beyond,  are  covered  with  a  dismal  and  monotonous 
forest  of  Pines.  The  region  has  few  natural  advantages  and 
little  natural  beauty. 

In  1785,  in  the  moated  house  of  the  Count  or  Lord  of  a 


iET.  31]  A  GREAT  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECT  359 

part  of  this  forest-country,  was  born  a  boy  who  was  destined 
to  work  a  wonderful  revolution  in  the  scenery  of  his  native 
valley,  and  by  so  doing  to  awaken  througliout  Germany  an 
interest  in  designed  landscape  which  is  still  active  and  grow- 
ing. This  boy,  Ludwig  Heinrich  Hermann  von  Puckler, 
became  a  restless  youth,  who  first  attempted  at  Leii:)sic  the 
study  of  law,  then  tried  and  abandoned  the  military  life,  and 
finally  declined  to  enter  even  the  civil  service  of  his  country, 
because,  as  he  said,  "my  liberty  is  too  dear  to  me." 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  set  out  on  a  round  of  travels 
which  occupied  four  years.  He  saw  Vienna,  Munich,  Swit- 
zerland, Venice,  Rome,  Naples,  southern  France,  Paris,  and 
the  lands  between,  for  all  his  journeying  was  done  either  on 
foot  or  on  horseback.  In  1812  he  was  cordially  received  by 
Goethe  in  Weimar ;  and  in  the  following  year,  under  the 
Duke  of  Saxe- Weimar,  he  was  military  governor  of  a  post  in 
the  Netherlands.  When  peace  was  established,  he  made  his 
first  visit  to  England,  where  he  saw  the  landscape  works  of 
Brown  and  Repton  ;  and  in  1815,  his  father  having  died,  he 
at  last  turned  homeward  to  his  Staudesherrschaft  of  Muskau, 
on  the  River  Neisse. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  idea  of  improving 
the  surroundings  of  his  home  and  village  had  been  cherished 
by  Piickler  during  all  his  wanderings.  His  letters  show  his 
intense  interest  in  both  natural  and  humanized  scenery ;  and 
they  make  it  evident  that  the  sight  of  the  great  works  then 
lately  accomplished  in  England  had  only  made  him  the  more 
eager  to  begin  the  arduous  task  he  had  set  himself. 

This  task  was  nothing  less  than  the  transformation  of  the 
almost  ugly  valley  of  the  Neisse  into  a  vale  of  beauty  and 
delight ;  and  the  great  distinction  of  his  idea  lay  in  the  fact 
that  he  proposed  to  accomplish  this  transformation  not  by 
extending  architectural  works  throughout  the  valley,  —  not 
by  constructing  mighty  terraces,  mile-long  avenues,  or  great 
formal  water-basins,  such  as  he  had  seen  in  Italy,  at  Ver- 
sailles and  at  Wilhelmsh(5he,  — but  by  quietly  inducing  Na- 
ture to  transform  herself.  He  would  not  force  upon  his  native 
landscape  any  foreign  type  of  beauty ;  on  the  contrary,  his 
aim  was  the  transfiguration,  the  idealization  of  such  beauty 
as  was  indigenous.  ^ 


360  WRITINGS   IN  1891  AND  1892  [1891 

In  the  picture  galleries  of  Europe  he  had  seen  the  first- 
fruits  of  the  young  art  of  landscape  painting.  In  common 
with  the  painter,  he  had  found  in  the  study  of  the  beauty  of 
Nature  a  source  of  pure  joy  which  the  men  of  the  Renaissance 
had  failed  to  discover.  Somewhere  and  somehow  he  had 
learned  the  landscape  painter's  secret,  that  deepest  interest 
and  finest  beauty  spring  from  landscape  character  ^charac- 
ter strongly  marked  and  never  contradicted.  In  England  he 
had  seen  this  truth  illustrated  by  actual  living  landscape,  for 
Repton's  parks  were  simply  the  idealization  of  characteristic 
English  scenery. 

Accordingly  we  find  Piickler,  on  his  return  to  Muskau, 
•intent  upon  including  in  one  great  landscape  scheme  his 
Schloss,  his  village,  his  mill,  his  alum  works,  and  all  the  slopes 
and  levels  which  enclose  them  —  intent  upon  evolving  from 
out  the  confused  natural  situation  a  composition  in  which  all 
that  was  fundamentally  characteristic  of  the  scenery,  the  his- 
tory, and  the  industry  of  his  estate  should  be  harmoniously 
and  beautifully  united. 

One  circumstance  greatly  favored  the  happy  accomplish- 
ment of  his  design  —  namely,  the  very  fact  that  he  had  to  do 
with  a  valley,  and  not  with  a  plain  or  plateavi.  The  irregu- 
larly rising  land  skirting  the  river-levels  supplied  a  frame  for 
his  picture ;  the  considerable  stream,  flowing  through  the 
midst  of  the  level,  with  here  and  there  a  sweep  toward  the 
enclosing  hills,  became  the  all-connecting  and  controlling  ele- 
ment in  his  landscape.  Well  he  knew  that  what  artists  call 
"  breadth  "  and  "  unity  of  effect  "  would  be  fully  assured  if 
only  he  abstained  from  inserting  impertinent  structures  or 
other  objects  in  the  midst  of  this  hill-bounded  intervale. 

On  the  other  hand,  his  difficulties  were  many  and  great. 
To  restore  the  unity  of  the  river-level  just  mentioned,  he  had 
to  buy  and  remove  a  whole  street  of  village  houses  which 
extended  from  the  town  square  to  the  mill.  To  perfect  the 
levels  themselves  required  the  removal  of  the  wild  growth 
from  many  acres  and  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  the 
soil.  To  carry  the  park  lands  completely  around  the  village, 
so  as  to  make  the  latter  a  part  of  the  perfected  scene,  and  to 
otherwise  rectify  the  boundaries  of  his  estate,  required  the 


^T.  31]       MUSKAU  — A  COUNTRY  PARK         361 

purchase  of  some  2000  Morgen  of  land.  Moreover,  the  hill- 
slopes  behind  the  village,  where  the  Count  particularly  wanted 
a  background  of  rich  verdure,  were  so  barren  they  would 
hardly  grow  even  Pines,  so  that  these  and  many  of  the  other 
upland  slopes  of  the  estate  had  to  be  improved  at  much  cost 
and  trouble. 

In  the  valley  the  preexisting  but  confused  elements  of 
breadth  and  peace  and  dignity  were  to  be  developed  and  en- 
hanced. In  the  thickets  of  the  lowlands  and  along  the  bases 
of  the  hills  were  found  many  large  Oaks  and  Lindens  wliich 
helped  much  to  give  char-acter  to  the  intervale.  In  the  upland 
regions  the  original  tangle  of  knolls,  dells,  and  glades  was  to 
be  made  still  more  pleasantly  intricate  by  opening  the  wood 
here  and  closing  it  there,  and  by  breaking  and  fringing  the 
original  Pine  forest  with  a  great  variety  of  appropriate  trees 
and  shrubs.  This  work  of  introducing  more  cheerfulness  and 
variety  proceeded  gradually  with  the  happiest  results.  To- 
day the  crooked  ways  which  follow  the  hidden  dells  in  the 
woods  are  as  charming  in  their  way  as  is  the  central  valley  of 
the  Neisse,  while  the  roads  which  lead  along  the  edges  of  the 
heights  and  command  views  of  the  valley  are  the  most  delight- 
ful of  all.  It  would  be  difficult  to  make  choice  between  the 
view  from  the  low-lying  Schloss  over  the  quiet  meadows  to 
the  semicircle  of  hills  beyond  the  river,  and  the  reverse  view 
from  these  hills  looking  across  the  stream  and  the  intervale 
to  where  the  turrets  of  the  Schloss  and  the  long  row  of  village 
roofs  lie  close  together  under  the  edge  of  the  dark  woods 
which  crown  the  western  range  of  heights.  When  his  thirty 
years  of  pleasant  toil  were  passed,  Piickler  tells  us  he  was  one 
day  showing  his  results  to  a  very  intelligent  and  discriminat- 
ing lady  of  his  acquaintance,  who  told  him  "  very  modestly  " 
that  she  had  little  knowledge  of  the  art  of  designing  parks, 
and  that  she  could  recall  many  scenes  grander  and  more  pic- 
turesque than  the  one  now  before  her ;  "  but  here,"  she  said, 
"  what  strikes  one  first  and  gives  one  most  delight  is  the 
repose  which  pervades  the  whole  scene ;  "  and  the  Count  adds 
that  no  praise  ever  pleased  him  more. 

The  accompanying  plan  (for  the  original  draught  of  which 
I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  Carl  Bolle  of  Berlin)  must  serve  to  ex- 


362  WRITINGS   IN   1891   AND   1892  [1891 

plain  the  general  arrangement  of  the  estate.  Within  the  park 
are  included  not  only  the  chateau  and  its  gardens,  pleasure 
grounds,  and  appurtenances  of  all  sorts,  but  also  the  very- 
ancient  castle  hill,  the  old  Schloss  of  the  Count's  more  imme- 
diate predecessors,  the  close-built  village  of  Muskau,  with  its 
churches,  schools,  shops,  etc.,  many  acres  of  ploughed  land 
owned  and  cultivated  by  the  villagers  with  other  acres  farmed 
by  the  Count,  a  Pine  woods  hotel  and  sanitarium,  an  arbore- 
tum and  nursery,  a  woodland  cottage  called  "  the  English 
house,"  used  as  a  holiday  resort  by  the  townspeople,  a  large 
grist-mil],  an  alum  mine,  the  ruin  of  the  oldest  church  in 
Lausitz,  and  more  than  one  ancient  graveyard.  In  most 
directions  the  park  has  no  definite  boundary.  It  flows  into 
the  ordinary  Pine  forest  on  many  sides,  and  in  several  direc- 
tions the  country  roads  are  "  parked  "  for  many  miles. 

Always  keeping  in  mind  his  general  scheme,  Piickler  was 
occupied  during  thirty  years  in  extending  his  works  and  de- 
veloping the  details.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  suddenly 
sold  his  creation  !  Muskau  passed  to  Prince  Frederick  of  the 
Netherlands.  He  who  had  become  Prince  Piickler-Muskau 
was  obliged,  like  many  a  landscape  painter,  to  confess  himself 
a  victim  of  his  love  of  beauty.  In  his  zeal  for  his  art  he  had 
outrun  his  resources.  At  the  age  of  sixty  he  retired  to  his 
lesser  manor  of  Branitz,  where  he  wrote  his  invaluable  books 
and  passed  a  peaceful  old  age,  varied  by  many  journeys  and 
many  visits  to  the  country-seats  of  friends.  He  died  in  1873. 
'  All  Germany  has  long  held  him  in  high  honor.  In  Eng- 
land, the  "  Letters  of  a  German  Prince,"  as  the  translation 
of  his  "  Brief e  eines  Verstorbenen  "  was  entitled,  passed 
through  several  editions,  and  remains  to  this  day  the  best 
foreign  delineation  of  the  England  of  his  early  manhood. 
His  essays  on  landscape  were  long  since  translated  into 
French,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  may  yet  appear  in 
English,  for  they  contain  a  very  clear  presentation  of  the 
elements  of  landscape  design,  as  well  as  many  lively  descrip- 
tions of  his  work  at  Muskau. 

The  significance  for  us  Americans  of  this  work  at  Muskau 
is  very  obvious.  To  be  sure,  at  least  one  third  of  our  great 
country  is  so  arid  that  luxuriant  vegetation  must  depend  on 


($trmanii 


CXFLAIiAT/ON 


9   S tables, 
to    Upper  Bridge 


J   Town  Sauare. 
Z   OldCaslle. 

3  Caslle.  11  Double  Bridge. 

4  Church.  IZ  Lou,er  Bridge .^ 

5  Theatre.  13  WorJimans  Villafje. 

6  Hotel  and  l//aler Cure.  14  English  Mouse. 

7  7tli.ll.  15  Faianerie. 
a    Kitchen  garden.  16  ^riore tu n . 


— I  • 


iET.  31]        ARCHITECTURE   AND   LANDSCAPE   ART  363 

irrigation ;  and,  where  this  is  the  case,  a  pleasure  ground  be- 
comes an  oasis  to  be  sharply  marked  off  from,  and  contrasted 
with,  the  surrounding  waste.  Spanish  models  will  help  us 
here.  But  the  other  half  of  our  continent  presents  verdurous 
scenery  of  many  differing  types,  from  the  rocky  Pine  woods 
of  Quebec  to  the  Palmetto  thickets  of  Florida.  Throughout 
this  varied  region  there  is  a  woeful  tendency  to  reduce  to  one 
conventional  form  all  such  too  meagre  ])ortions  of  the  original 
landscape  as  are  preserved  in  private  country-seats  and  pub- 
lic i:>arks.  What  shall  check  this  tiresome  repetition  of  one 
landscape  theme  ?  When  shall  a  rich  man  or  a  club  of  citi- 
zens, an  enlightened  town  or  a  pleasure  resort,  do  for  some 
quiet  lake-shore  of  New  England,  some  long  valley  of  the 
AUeghanies,  some  forest-bordered  prairie  of  Louisiana,  what 
Piickler  did  for  his  valley  of  the  Neisse  ?  He  preserved 
everything  that  was  distinctive.  He  destroyed  neither  his 
farm  nor  his  mill,  nor  yet  his  alum  works ;  for  he  understood 
that  these  industries,  together  with  all  the  human  history  of 
the  valley,  contributed  to  the  general  effect  a  characteristic 
element  only  second  in  importance  to  the  quality  of  the  nat- 
ural scene  itself. 

Our  countrymen  are  beginning  to  manifest  an  appreciation 
of  landscape  painting  ;  let  them  show  the  genuineness  of  their 
appreciation  by  preserving  and  enhancing  the  beauty  of  the 
actual  landscape  in  which  their  lives  are  passed. 

[Paper  before  the  Boston  Society  of  Architects,  October  2,  1391.] 
LANDSCAPE  GARDENING  IN  ITS  RELATIONS  TO  ARCHITECTURE. 
Gardening  and  Building  are  sister  arts,  but  in  their  pro- 
gress towards  the  perfectness  of  the  fine  arts,  Building  is  ever 
in  the  lead.  "  Men  learn  to  build  stately  sooner  than  to  gar- 
den finely,  as  if  gardening  were  the  greater  perfection,"  wrote 
Bacon,  centuries  ago  ;  and  so  true  is  this  to-tlay  that  most 
persons  are  wholly  ignorant  of  the  possibilities  of  artistic 
work  with  earth  and  grass  and  foliage.  Even  our  professors 
of  artistic  building  seem  slow  to  perceive  the  full  stature  and 
dignity  of  the  sister  art.  I  have  heard  a  famous  architect 
sponk  of  gardening  as  the  "  handmaid  "  of  fine  building,  and 
•anjther  great  man  has  quoted  to  me  with  approval  the  saying 


364  WRITINGS  IN   1891   AND   1892  [1891 

of  the  French,  that  fine  gardening  is  the  "  sauce  "  of  archi- 
tecture, —  a  saying  which  would  be  insulting,  if  it  did  not  so 
plainly  reveal  the  speaker's  ignorance  and  prejudice. 

If  we  would  perceive  with  clearness  the  real  sisterhood  of 
the  arts  in  question,  it  is  only  necessary  to  take  one's  stand 
at  a  certain  point  of  view,  —  a  point  which  some  men  find 
hard  to  reach,  because  a  journey  back  towards  childhood  is 
involved.  We  must  forget  for  the  time  our  narrow  technical 
knowledge  and  our  acquired  ideas  concerning  art  and  archi- 
tecture. We  must  try  to  look  upon  the  world  with  the  eyes 
of  youth.  If  we  can  do  this,  what  a  glorious  prospect  unrolls 
itself  before  us  !  A  world  of  scenery  of  indescribable  variety, 
interest,  and  beauty  ;  oceans,  mountains,  hills,  valleys,  and 
running  waters  transfigured  daily  by  the  glory  of  the  rising 
and  the  setting  sun.  In  the  midst  of  this  wonderland  stands 
man,  and  we  are  more  astonished  at  him  than  at  all  the  rest. 
We  find  him  in  primitive  ages  apparently  unconscious  of  the 
beauty  around  him,  living  precariously  upon  wild  nature,  and 
causing  little  or  no  change  in  the  appearance  of  the  wilder- 
ness around  him.  When  at  last  he  is  forced  to  increase  his 
food  supply,  he  takes  some  wild  thing  like  maize  and  plants 
it  in  the  glades  of  the  forest,  and  stores  the  crop  in  granaries 
set  up  on  stakes.  When  he  desires  to  shelter  himself,  he 
contrives  frail  tents  like  the  Bedouins  or  the  Indians,  or  he 
walls  the  mouths  of  cailon  caves,  or  he  builds  earthen  pueblos, 
hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  the  arid  soil  on  which  they 
stand.  When  he  is  awed  by  death  and  the  forces  of  nature, 
he  sets  up  Druid  stones,  and  raises  long,  serpent  mounds,  and 
builds  the  Pyramids.  As  he  comes  to  cultivate  the  earth,  he 
works  marked  changes  in  scenery.  He  fells  the  woods,  and 
marks  off  fields,  and  draws  lines  of  roads  across  the  country. 
He  builds  farmsteads  of  as  many  types  as  there  are  different 
climates,  and  different  social  circumstances.  He  quarrels 
with  his  neighbors,  and  builds  castles.  He  trades  with  his 
neighbors,  and  builds  towns.  He  prospers,  and  builds  pal- 
aces. He  glows  with  faith,  and  builds  cathedi^als.  Fields, 
orchards,  roads,  bridges,  farmsteads,  villages,  towns,  palaces, 
temples,  all  play  their  part  in  the  new  scenery  —  the  human- 
ized scenery  —  of  the  earth ;  and  mother  Nature,  adopting  as 


^T.  32]  HUMANIZED  SCENERY  365 

her  own  all  these  works  of  her  wonderful  child,  makes  with 
them  landscapes  vastly  richer  in  meaning  and  pathos  than 
any  she  can  show  us  in  her  primeval  wildernesses. 

"Know'st  thou  what  wove  you  woodbird's  nest 
Of  leaves  and  feathers  from  her  breast  ? 
Or  how  the  sacred  piue-tree  adds 
To  her  old  leaves  new  myriads  ? 
Such  and  so  grew  these  holy  piles, 
While  love  and  terror  laid  the  tiles. 
Earth  proudly  bears  the  Parthenon 
As  the  best  gem  upon  her  zone, 
And  morning  opes  in  haste  her  lids 
To  gaze  upon  the  Pyramids. 
O'er  England's  abbeys  bends  the  sky 
As  on  its  friends  with  kindred  eye. 
For  Nature  gladly  gave  these  place, 
Adopted  them  into  her  race. 
And  granted  them  an  equal  date 
With  Andes  and  with  Ararat." 

Here  we  reach  the  point  of  view  of  which  I  spoke.  Stand- 
ing here,  we  perceive  that  of  all  man's  works  upon  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  —  his  useful  fields,  his  orchards,  his  lanes  and 
cottages,  his  avenues  and  palaces,  his  temples  of  the  gods,  — 
none  can  be  separated  from  the  natural  and  historical  condi- 
tions which  give  birth  to  them  and  surround  them.  None 
can  be  cut  out,  and  then  adjudged  to  be  either  beautiful  or 
ugly.  We  cannot  separate  them  if  we  woidd.  The  humble 
cottages  of  the  English  lanes,  the  towered  villages  of  the 
Italian  hills,  and  the  red  farmsteads  of  Sweden,  are  all  beau- 
tiful ;  each  in  its  own  place,  under  its  own  sky,  set  in  its  own 
landscape.  And  the  same  is  true  of  even  the  loftiest  works 
of  architecture,  such  as  the  Pyramids,  the  Parthenon,  and  the 
Abbey.  None  of  these  noble  or  charming  buildings  are  beau- 
tiful in  and  of  themselves  alone,  although  the  world  and  the 
architects  have  sometimes  seemed  to  think  so.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  truth  is  that  these  works  of  men  are  of  necessity 
but  parts  of  landscape;  and  they  are  beautiful  just  as  the 
works  of  pure  nature  are  beautiful,  according  as  they  express 
their  origin,  their  growth,  and  their  purpose,  and  as  they  help 
or  harm  the  expression  of  the  particular  landscape  of  which 
they  are  a  part. 


366  WRITINGS   IN   1891   AND   1892  [1891 

If  this  is  true,  much  of  importance  follows.  We  of  the 
modern  world,  with  our  inevitable  self-consciousness  and  our 
world-wide  view,  can  no  longer  build  and  garden  accord- 
ing to  traditional  and  inherited  types  as  did  our  fathers.  We 
discover  new  and  strange  types  in  foreign  lands,  and  we  want 
to  try  them  in  our  own  land.  Thus  men  have  built  Greek 
temples  in  the  moist  English  park-lands,  and  have  made 
pleasure  grounds  in  the  Chinese  style.  We  make  a  series  of 
similar  experiments,  and  then  at  last  we  see  our  folly,  and  we 
turn  with  a  new  eagerness  to  discover,  if  we  can,  the  essen- 
tial, the  vital,  the  permanent  elements  in  the  scenes  which 
most  delight  us.  What  is  it,  we  ask,  which  moves  us  when 
we  call  to  mind  the  churchyard  and  church  of  Lincolnshire, 
the  park  and  mansion  of  Devon,  or  the  green  and  the  elms 
and  the  simple  buildings  of  our  own  Hadley  or  Deerfield  ?  I 
think  there  can  be  but  one  answer.  The  beauty  of  such 
scenes  —  for  each  remembrance  is  the  remembrance  of  a 
scene,  and  not  of  a  building  only  —  lies  in  their  unity  and 
harmony  of  expression. 

Such  beauty  will  hardly  grow  of  itself  for  us  in  this  New 
World  and  in  this  modern  day.  If  we  want  it,  we  shall  have 
to  work  for  it  through  that  arduous  process  which  is  called 
designing.  At  the  beginning  we  must  try  to  picture  to  our- 
selves the  end,  and  our  constant  aim  must  be  to  make  all  that 
we  do  eontiibute  to  the  effect  of  the  whole ;  and  the  whole 
which  we  aim  to  produce  can  nevermore  be  a  building  only. 
The  site,  the  scene,  the  "  landscape,"  and  the  building  must  be 
studied  as  one  design  and  composition.  No  other  course  is 
open  to  those  who  have  once  seen  what  we  have  seen.  There 
is  no  other  way  of  winning  the  beauty  we  desire. 

Here  again  we  stand  where  we  cannot  avoid  seeing  behind 
the  fair  figures  of  Gardening  and  Building  a  third  figure  of 
still  nobler  aspect,  —  the  seldom-recognized  mother  of  all  that 
is  best  in  the  sisters,  —  the  art  which,  for  want  of  a  better 
name,  is  sometimes  called  Landscape  Architecture.  If  it  be 
true  that  the  art  which  arranges  for  use  and  beauty  that  part 
of  a  scene  or  landscape  which  is  not  a  building  is  fully  as 
important  as  the  art  which  devises  the  building  itself,  —  if 
it  be  true  that  Gardening  which  works  with  gravel,  soil,  grass, 


^T.32]     THE  NATURAL  AND  THE  NEEDFUL      367 

herbs,  aiul  trees  is  the  sister  of  Building  which  works  with 
stones,  bricks,  and  wood,  —  then  it  follows  that  the  art 
which  conceives  of  the  product  of  Gardening  and  Building  as 
a  unified  scene  or  landscape  is  an  art  which  is  of  even  greater 
moment  than  either  of  the  assisting  sisters.  Evidently  Land- 
scrape  Architecture  must  riglitly  conceive  the  whole  before 
Gardening  and  Building  can  rightly  conceive  or  design  their 
i-espective  parts.  The  mother  art  must  lay  out  the  main  lines 
before  the  sister  arts  can  work  to  their  best  advantage. 

Does  it  not  behoove  artist  builders  to  think  of  these  things 
oftener  ?  Should  they  not  be  ever  ready  to  assist  the  slow 
progress  of  tlie  artist  gardeners,  and  in  company  with  the 
latter  should  they  not  strive  always  for  that  perfect  unity  of 
general  effect  which  is  the  flower  of  landscape  architecture  ? 
And  for  our  encouragement  let  it  be  understood  that  whoever 
designs  the  arrangement  of  the  buildings,  ways,  and  green 
things  of  a  farmstead,  a  country-seat,  a  village,  a  college,  a 
world's  fair,  or  any  other  scene  of  human  activity  in  such  a 
way  that  beauty  shall  in  the  end  spring  forth  from  the  happy 
marriage  of  the  natural  and  the  needful,  is  a  successful  land- 
scape architect,  whether  he  calls  himself  by  that  long  name 
or  not. 

At  a  meeting  of  tlie  New  York  Farmers,  January  19,  1892, 
the  subject  for  the  evening  was  "  Arboriculture  for  the  Farm, 
the  Village,  and  the  Highway."     Charles  said:  — 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen,  —  Arboriculture  is  a 
long  word  and  a  long  subject.  I  suppose  it  is  the  whole 
science  and  art  of  growing  trees  for  timber,  for  firewood,  for 
shelter,  for  the  prevention  of  destructive  erosion,  and  last  but 
not  least,  for  the  beauty  of  trees  individually  and  in  masses. 
I  must,  of  course,  choose  some  one  section  of  this  wide  field ; 
and  so  I  shall,  by  your  leave,  give  my  time  to  a  brief  discus- 
sion of  arboriculture  in  its  relations  with  landscape  —  mean- 
ing by  the  term  "  landscape "  the  visible  surroundings  of 
men's  lives  on  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

It  sometimes  seems  as  if  beauty  in  the  surroundings  of  life 
were  not  appreciated,  or  even  desired,  here  in  our  America. 
The  man  who  goes  so  far  as  to  paint  his  house  and  to  "  fix 


368  WRITINGS  IN   1891   AND   1892  [1892 

up  "  his  place  is  reviled  as  a  "  dude  "  in  many  parts  of  our 
country.  A  certain  brave  scorn  of  beauty  seems  to  charac- 
terize most  of  the  people  of  our  new  West. 

On  tlie  other  hand  we  see,  when  we  come  to  study  the 
matter,  that  if  the  experience  of  the  past  counts  for  anything, 
there  is  a  power  in  beauty  which  works  for  joy  and  for  good 
as  nothing  else  in  this  naughty  world  does  or  can.  And  when 
we  come  to  see  this  clearly,  we  are  at  once  compelled  to 
abandon  our  indifference  and  to  substitute  therefor  the  eager 
desire  of  old  Plato,  "  that  our  youth  might  dwell  in  a  land  of 
health  amid  fair  sights  and  sounds."  Alas,  that  "fair  sights" 
do  not  spring  up  spontaneously  around  our  modern  lives 
as  they  seem  to  have  done  in  the  Old  World.  In  the  long 
settled  corners  of  Europe,  men's  fields,  lanes,  roads,  houses, 
churches,  and  even  whole  villages  and  towns,  seem  to  combine 
with  nature  to  produce  scenery  of  a  more  lovable  type  than 
nature  working  alone  can  offer  us.  With  us  the  contrary  is 
too  often  the  fact.  Our  buildings,  fences,  highways,  and  rail- 
roads, not  to  speak  of  our  towns,  are  often  scars  which  mar 
the  face  of  nature  without  possessing  any  compensating  beauty 
of  their  own.  It  is  evident  that  beauty  in  the  surroundings 
of  life  is  not  to  be  had  in  this  modern  day  without  taking 
thought,  and  exercising  vigilance.  And  our  thought  and  our 
vigilance  must  be  rightly  directed,  or  it  will  defeat  our  pur- 
pose. Many  a  man,  becoming  suddenly  conscious  of  a  desire 
for  beauty,  has  attempted  to  attain  his  heart's  wish  by  for- 
bidden and  impossible  ways.  Thus  country  roadsides  have 
been  "  slicked  up  "  until  all  beauty  has  been  "  slicked  "  out 
of  them.  Noble  growths  of  native  trees  have  fallen  victims 
to  the  desire  for  the  beauty  of  exotics.  Village  mansions 
of  the  dignified  old  style  have  given  place  to  the  frivolities 
which  are  named  for  Queen  Anne.  Trim  formal  flower  gar- 
dens have  been  rooted  up  to  make  way  for  the  modern  garden- 
er's curves  and  scattered  beds.  Men  seem  slow  to  learn  the 
truth  of  the  old  saying,  "  All 's  fair  that 's  fit,"  or  that  corol- 
lary thereof  which  best  expresses  the  truth  of  my  subject, 
"  All  that  would  be  fair  must  be  fit." 

This  is  the  principle  which  ought  to  govern  us  in  our  tree- 
planting  as  well  as  in  aU  else  which  affects  the  scenery  of 


£T.  32]         A  NEW  ENGLAND   VALLEY  IMPROVED  3G9 

our  lives.  Fiekls,  lanes,  and  roads  should  be  laid  out  so  as  to 
fulfil  the  requirements  of  convenience,  while  conforming  to  the 
facts  of  topography.  Buildings  should  be  designed  so  as  to 
fulfil  and  express  their  several  purposes.  Ground  about 
buildings  should  be  similarly  and  straightforwardly  adapted 
to  the  uses  and  enjoyments  of  real  life,  with  no  regard  to  any 
fanciful  or  a  priori  notions  of  what  such  ground  should  look 
like  or  contain.  So  when  we  come  to  the  most  effective  means 
of  modifying  the  scenery  about  us,  the  felling,  preserving,  or 
planting  of  trees,  our  principle  will  constrain  us  to  cut,  and 
save,  and  plant  for  good  reasons  only,  and  not  from  considera- 
tion for  mere  passing  fashion  or  foolish  love  of  display. 

Let  me  illustrate  this  fundamental  principle  by  briefly 
noting  the  main  points  in  regard  to  the  way  in  which  trees 
and  shrubs  have  been  used  in  a  typical  New  England  valley 
where  the  eyes  of  the  inhabitants  have  been  opened.  I  shall 
describe  nothing  imaginary,  although  I  may  put  together 
things  which  are  to  be  seen  in  two  or  three  separate  places. 

Of  course  we  arrive  at  our  valley  by  the  railroad ;  and  the 
railroad  banks  themselves  herald  the  approach  to  our  station, 
for  behold,  they  are  actually  planted  !  Not  with  Forsythias 
and  Japan  Quinces,  —  how  absurd  such  plants  would  look 
upon  these  gravel  banks,  —  but  with  shrubby  Cinquefoil, 
Dyer's  Greenweed,  Bayberry,  Sweet  Fern,  and  other  humble, 
but  tough  and  hardy  plants.  When  we  reach  the  station,  we 
find  not  only  a  decent  unpretentious  building  with  substantial 
platforms,  and  neat  driveways  and  gravel  spaces,  but  also  a 
fair  spread  of  grass  with  three  or  four  great  Sugar  Maples  for 
shade  —  a  contrast,  indeed,  to  the  usual  North  American  sta- 
tion-yard, which  commonly  resembles  a  cattle-pen  more  than 
anything  else  ;  a  contrast  also  to  that  other  type  of  station 
ground  in  which  the  station  master  sets  out  Geraniums  sup- 
plied by  the  companj'-,  although  the  fundamental  separation 
of  grass-land  from  gravel  space  has  not  yet  been  made. 

From  the  railroad  platform  we  at  once  command  a  view  of 
our  valley.  The  village,  with  a  mill  or  two,  lies  below  us  at 
the  mouth  of  a  gap  in  the  northern  hills.  Southward  the 
valley  widens  to  contain  a  fresh  green  intervale.  Opposite 
us  the  west  wall  of  the  valley  is  an  irregular  steep  slope  of 


370  WRITINGS   IN   1891   AND   1892  [1892 

rising  woods  with  numerous  hill  farms  scattered  along  the 
more  level  heights  above.  The  eastern  wall  upon  which  we 
stand  consists  below  the  railroad  of  a  long  and  dense  wood, 
and,  above  the  tracks,  of  rolling  and  airy  uj^lands  which  have 
been  occupied  by  city  men  for  country  houses.  The  central 
intervale,  the  flanking  woods,  the  village  gathered  at  the  val- 
ley's head,  the  whole  scene  before  us  possesses  unity  and 
beauty  to  a  degree  which  interests  us  at  once.  And  how  was 
this  delightful  general  effect  produced?  Simply  by  intelli- 
gent obedience  to  the  requirements  of  human  life  in  this 
valley.  The  village  was  placed  where  it  is  for  the  sake  of 
using  the  great  water  power  which  rushes  from  the  gap  in  the 
hills.  The  Intervale  was  cleared  and  smoothed  for  raising  per- 
fect hay.  The  steep  side-hills  have  been  maintained  in  woods 
because  they  are  too  steep  for  agriculture,  and  because  if  they 
were  cleared  of  trees,  their  sands  and  gravels  would  be  washed 
down  upon  the  fertile  land  of  the  intervale.  It  is  in  such 
ways  as  these  that  the  every-day  forces  of  convenience,  use, 
and  economy  conspire  to  produce  beauty,  and  beauty  of  a 
higher  and  more  satisfying  type  than  that  which  founds  itself 
upon  caprice,  or  pomp,  or  fashion. 

The  truth  of  all  this  is  well  illustrated  by  the  details  as 
well  as  by  the  total  effect  of  the  valley  before  us.  If  we 
descend  towards  the  village,  we  find  the  footpath  leaving  the 
highway,  and  following  a  swift  brook  down  through  the  wood, 
while  the  road,  in  order  to  find  an  easier  grade,  makes  a  long 
zigzag  through  the  woods .  to  the  south.  Trees  and  bushes 
crowd  the  sides  of  the  road  thus  freed  from  the  stiff  accom- 
panying sidewalk,  while  the  footpath  gains  exemption  from 
the  dust  of  the  road,  and  has  all  the  beauty  of  the  brookaide 
in  addition.  We  learn  incidentally  that  all  this  wooded  slope 
is  the  property  of  the  township,  that  it  is  called  the  Town 
"Wood,  and  that  it  was  the  gift  of  some  of  the  men  who  live 
above  the  railroad. 

At  the  foot  of  the  slope,  footpath  and  highway  join  again, 
and  proceed  across  the  level  valley  as  a  straight  village  street, 
adorned  with  rows  of  trees,  and  broad  grass  strips,  and  side- 
walks which  conform  themselves  to  the  slight  ups  and  downs 
of  the  ground.     Here  is  just  as  much  stiffness  and  straight- 


£T.  32]  SENSIBLE   AND   SIMPLE   PLANTINGS  371 

ness  as  is  necessary  and  fitting,  and  not  a  bit  more.  Here  is 
no  mimicking  of  the  curbings,  and  the  strict  grades  which  are 
necessities  only  in  city  streets.  Here,  also,  the  street  trees 
are  neither  Gingkoes,  nor  Koelreuterias,  nor  Magnolias,  but 
American  Elms. 

In  the  heart  of  the  village  we  find  a  town  square  planted 
with  Elms  in  symmetrical  rows.  Fronting  on  the  square  is 
the  town  hall,  —  a  resi^ectable  building,  —  and  back  of  it  rises 
a  steep  rocky  slope  with  a  high  rock  at  the  top,  where  a  bon- 
fire burns  every  4th  of  July.  The  rocky  bank  has  recently 
been  planted  with  Pines  and  Hemlocks,  which  in  a  few  years 
will  make  a  dense,  dark  background  for  the  town  hall.  Then 
straight  away  south  from  the  hall  and  the  square  runs  the 
broad  main  street  of  the  town,  an  avenue  of  Rock  Maples, 
young  as  yet,  but  promising  a  noble  vista  in  twenty  years  or 
less ;  for  the  southern  end  of  the  long  avenue  opens  upon  the 
sunny  meadows  of  the  intervale ;  so  that  a  man  standing  in 
the  public  square  will  look  under  the  boughs  of  the  trees 
away  to  the  south  for  miles.  Until  lately  there  was  a  barn 
standing  in  the  line  of  this  vista  and  hiding  the  open  inter- 
vale. The  removal  of  the  barn  by  a  public-spirited  man  has 
established  the  permanence  of  the  outlook,  because  the  lands 
beyond  are  so  moist  that  they  can  never  be  built  upon. 

I  should  like  to  speak  of  the  generally  sensible  and  simple 
planting  of  the  house  grounds,  of  the  good  specimen  trees  in 
the  yard  of  the  principal  school,  of  the  fine  gorge  above  the 
gap  in  the  hills,  where  the  mill  company  has  preserved  the 
woods  for  the  protection  they  afford  to  the  canal  and  its  re- 
taining-banks,  of  the  way  in  which  the  intelligent  preserva- 
tion of  trees  along  even  the  tiniest  brooks  of  the  neighboring 
hill  farms  has  resulted  in  unusual  beauty  of  farm  scenery,  as 
well  as  in  the  prevention  of  that  extravagant  washing  away 
of  soil  which  results  from  carrying  ploughing  to  the  edges  of 
watercourses.  All  through  this  district  it  is  most  interesting 
to  note  how  beauty  has  resulted  from  the  exercise  of  common 
sense  and  intelligence. 

When  we  turn  the  other  way,  and  climb  the  hill  above  the 
railroad  station,  we  find  a  charming  winding  road,  the  sides  of 
which  are  irregularly  overgrown  with  trees,  shrubs,  climbers, 


372  WRITINGS  IN   1891   AND   1892  [1892 

and  herbaceous  plants.     The  footpath  is  there ;  but  it  dodges 
in  and  out,  and  goes  here  below  a  knoll  and  there  on  top,  and 
does  not  stick  to  the  roadside  like  a  city  sidewalk  by  any 
manner  of  means.     Every  now  and  then  we  pass  the  entrance 
of  some  city  man's  country  estate,  —  there  must  be  a  dozen  or 
twenty  such  estates  in  this  fine  hillside,  —  and  in  the  course 
of  a  summer  afternoon  we  make  the  round  of  them.     Pre- 
sumably all  these  gentlemen  have  distinctly  intended  to  pre- 
serve or  create  beauty  in  the  surroundings  of  their  country 
homes.     It  is  very  interesting  to  see  the  several  methods  they 
have  followed,  and   the  various  results  obtained.     Some  of 
these  estates  seem  very  beautiful  to  us,  while  others  are  far 
less  interesting.     After  allowing  for  all  differences  of  natural 
opportunity,  can  any  general  reason  for  this  contrast  in  re- 
sults be  found  ?    It  is  obvious  at  once  that  the  most  beautiful 
of  these  places  are  not  those  upon  which  the  most  money  has 
been  spent,  not  those  in  which  natural  conditions  have  been 
most  completely  revolutionized,  not  those  which  display  the 
greatest  number  of  kinds  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  herbs,  not 
those  in  which  the  gardener  has  scattered  flower  beds  in  all 
directions.     After  studying  these  places,  it  is  plain  that  the 
most  beautiful  are  those  in  which  the  general  arrangement, 
and  the  saving  and  planting  of  trees,  have  been  made  to  de- 
pend upon  those  same  considei'ations  of  convenience,  easiness, 
and  fitness  which  we  found  produced  the  beauty  of  the  valley. 
Arboriculture,  when  it  is  practised  to  produce  timber,  to  jire- 
vent  erosion,  or  to  form  collections  of  all  growable  species,  is 
an  interesting  and  noble  occupation  for  mind  and  for  capital ; 
but  when  it  is  practised  to  enhance  the  beauty  of  the  scenery 
of  every-day  life,  it  must  consent  to  be  guided  by  that  keen 
feeling  for  fitness  which  is  the  essence  of  what  is  called  good 
taste. 

[From  The  Nation,  May  5,  1S92.'\ 

TJie  Formal  Garden  iii  England.     By  Reginald  Blomfield 

and  F.  Inigo  Thomas.     Macmillan  &  Co.     1892. 

This  is  an  awakening  book.     Its  plea  is  for  design  in  the 

surroundings  of  houses.     It  insists  that  the  house  and  the 

ground  around  the  house  should  be  arranged  in  relation  to 


^T.  32]  ENGLISH  HOUSE  GROUNDS  373 

each  other.  It  maintains  the  irrefutable  proposition  that 
really  satisf3'ing  beauty  in  the  immediate  surroundings  of 
men's  lives  upon  this  earth  must  spring,  not  from  any  imi- 
tated likeness  to  wild  nature,  nor  yet  from  any  impracticable 
conformity  to  tlie  ideals  of  landscape  painters,  but  simply 
from  the  harmonious  adaptation  of  land  and  buildings  to  the 
uses  and  enjo^nnents  of  real  life. 

It  seems  strange  that  an  obvious  truth,  now  universally 
accepted  as  respects  buildings,  should  still  need  to  be 
preached  in  its  application  to  the  ground  surrounding  build- 
ings. Ground  near  a  house  must  generally  be  devoted  to 
purposes  of  use  and  enjoyment  quite  like  the  purposes  which 
the  house  itself  is  designed  to  serve.  If  the  house  has  its 
hall,  its  drawing-room,  its  billiard-room,  and  its  laundry,  the 
ground  near  the  house  must  have  its  apj)roach-road,  its  gar- 
den, its  tennis-court,  and  its  drying-yard.  These  are  all  arti- 
ficial things,  demanding  formal  lines  and  the  subjugation  of 
nature  as  emphatically  as  a  building.  They  ought  to  be 
planned  so  as  to  make  with  the  building  one  design  and  com- 
position. 

In  the  book  before  us  these  ideas  are  deduced  and  illus- 
trated from  a  study  of  the  old  gardens  of  England.  The 
writer  and  the  draughtsman,  who  are  the  joint  authors  of  the 
book,  have  evidently  travelled  widely  in  search  of  good  ex- 
amples of  the  ancient  style  of  house  grounds,  and  they  have 
been  rewarded  for  their  pains  by  the  discovery  of  many 
charming  places,  possessing  fore-courts,  house-courts,  base- 
courts,  terraces,  bowling-greens,  and  walled  gardens  composed 
of  "  knots,"  parterres,  pleaching,  arbors,  "•  palisades,"  and 
hedges.  In  these  gardens  grow  Gillyflowers,  Columbines, 
Sweet  Williams,  Hollyhocks,  and  Marigolds,  Lady's  Slip- 
pers, London  Pride,  Bachelor's  Buttons,  Love-in -a-]\Iist,  and 
Apple-of-Love ;  peacocks  parade  their  Ivied  walls,  and  Daisies 
stud  their  velvet  lawns.  The  seclusion,  the  repose,  the  min- 
gling light  and  shade,  the  blending  colors,  the  sweet  odors, 
and,  above  all,  the  perfect  fitness  of  these  old  gardens,  con- 
spire to  make  them  lovable  and  delectable  beyond  compare. 
They  are  well  described  and  happily  illustrated  in  tliis  book, 
so  that  the  reader  can  but  sympathize  with  the  righteous 


374  WRITINGS   IN   1891   AND   1892  [1892 

wrath  which  the  authors  vent  upon  the  men  who  destroyed 
hundreds  of  such  places  in  the  last  years  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. 

What  was  the  origin  of  the  mood  or  fashion  which  occa- 
sioned this  lamentable  destruction,  and  gave  birth  to  the 
pseudo-naturalistic  style  of  treating  ground  about  houses  that 
is  even  yet  in  vogue  ?  Our  authors  do  not  attempt  a  philo- 
sophical answer  to  this  question  ;  but  they  give  us  an  instruc- 
tive sketch  of  the  history  of  garden  design  from  the  days  of 
the  mediaeval  "  Romance  of  the  Rose,"  through  the  fresh  and 
simple  style  of  the  English  Renaissance,  to  the  elaborate 
extravagances  of  the  Restoration,  and  the  consequent  reac- 
tion which  assisted  in  the  establishment  of  the  self-styled 
"  art  of  landscape  gardening." 

The  prophets  and  practitioners  of  the  naturalistic  school, 
from  Whately,  Uvedale  Price,  and  Repton  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, to  Messrs.  Robinson  and  Milner  of  the  i^resent  day,  are 
here  handled  without  gloves.  They  are,  indeed,  too  sweep- 
ingly  assailed  ;  for  beyond  the  vicinity  of  the  house  and  gar- 
den lies  a  broad  field  in  which  only  naturalistic  treatment  is 
appropriate.  Yet,  as  respects  gardens,  what  follows  is  true 
enough : — 

"  Presumably,  Mr.  Robinson's  dictum,  that  '  walks  should 
be  concealed  as  much  as  possible  and  reduced  to  the  most 
modest  dimensions,'  is  based  on  the  state  of  a  virgin  forest ; 
the  argument  perhaps  running  thus  :  Because  in  a  virgin 
forest  there  are  no  paths  at  all,  let  us  in  our  acre  and  a  half 
of  garden  make  as  little  of  the  paths  as  possible."  "  But  it 
is  not  easy  to  state  the  landscape  gardener's  principles,  for 
his  system  consists  in  the  absence  of  any,  and  most  modern 
writers  lead  off  with  hearty  abuse  of  formal  gardening,  after 
which  they  incontinently  drop  the  question  of  design  and  go 
off  at  a  tangent  on  horticulture  ;  and  yet  it  is  evident  that  to 
plan  out  a  garden  the  knowledge  necessary  is  that  of  design, 
not  that  of  growing  a  gigantic  Gooseberry." 

Even  the  latest  books  on  landscape  gardening,  the  English 
Milner's  and  the  American  Parsons's,  treat  of  trees,  shrubs, 
herbs,  and  other  things,  rather  than  of  design  in  the  sur- 
roundings of  houses.  Our  private  and  public  gardens  also, 
with  their  necessarily  unnatural  and  yet  studiously  informal 


^T.  32]  TO  IMPROVE   OUR  VILLAGES  375 

arrangements,  betray  the  same  lack  of  feeling  for  design. 
Our  time  is  certainly  out  of  joint  as  respects  this  art,  and  for 
this  reason  this  straightforward  book  is  peculiarly  valuable 
and  welcome. 

[From  the  Youth's  Companion,  June  2,  1S92.] 
BEAUTIFUL   VILLAGES. 

Every  part  of  our  great  country  has  its  own  type  of  ugly 
village.  "  Down  East "  there  is  the  "  rough  and  ready"  kind 
of  settlement,  where  ledges  protrude  in  the  highways  and 
plank  walks  straggle  from  rock  to  rock.  "Down  South" 
there  are  roads  of  deep  sand,  dooryards  full  of  weeds,  and 
stray  hogs  and  chickens  all  about.  "Out  West"  there  is  the 
abominable  "  sham  front,"  and  the  bleak  emptiness  of  the 
wide,  straight,  and  windy  dirt  road. 

It  would  be  easy  to  particularize  the  many  disorderly  and 
unbeautiful  elements  in  our  small  towns.  It  would  be  pos- 
sible to  specify  the  causes  of  all  this  ugliness,  and  the  excuses 
which  may  be  made  for  it;  but  I  propose  to  pass  by  all  this, 
and -dwell  on  the  direct  question,  "What  may  be  done  to 
improve  the  appearance  of  our  villages  ?  " 

In  the  first  place,  as  the  village  is  made  up  of  the  estates 
of  individuals,  each  owner  should  do  as  well  as  he  can  with 
his  own  portion  of  the  general  scene.  Reform  must  begin  at 
home.  The  smallest  lot  betrays  its  owner's  tidiness  or  shift- 
lessness.  Its  gravel  ways  may  or  may  not  be  neatly  kept. 
Its  grass  may  or  may  not  be  tended,  and  its  buildings  may  or 
may  not  be  clean  and  fresh.  The  smallest  house  and  house- 
yard  also  shows  at  a  glance  its  occupant's  good  sense  or  folly. 
The  sensible  villager  will  not  imitate  the  narrow  houses,  the 
stone  curbings,  and  the  paved  paths  of  cities.  If  a  farmer, 
he  will  not  try  to  hide  his  barns  as  though  ashamed  of  them. 
If  he  seldom  needs  to  drive  to  his  house  door,  he  will  not 
make  a  gravel  road  for  show  alone,  but  drive  on  the  grass. 

In  improving  his  place  he  will  be  guided  by  his  special 
needs  and  his  sense  of  fitness.  No  real  beauty  of  building, 
village,  city,  or  of  any  product  of  man's  art,  is  attained  in  any 
other  way.  Generally  the  simplest  arrangement  of  roads  and 
paths  is  the  best  possible.     When  these  are  nicely  built,  you, 


376  WRITINGS  IN   1891  AND   1892  [1892 

my  reader,  may  next  see  what  you  can  do  to  improve  the 
appearance  of  your  lot  by  means  of  planting. 

If  the  place  has  a  naked  appearance,  a  few  bushes  massed 
about  the  angles  of  the  buildings,  along  the  base  of  the  piazza 
or  along  the  boundary  of  the  property,  will  change  the  scene 
at  once.  Many  owners  of  small  places  plant  trees  when  they 
should  plant  shrubs.  Tall  trees  do  not  clothe  the  nakedness 
of  the  earth  ;  but  the  evergreen,  the  berry-bearing,  and  the 
bright-twigged  shrubs  clothe  the  ground  even  in  winter.  The 
shrubs  should  not  be  dotted  all  over  the  lot.  For  the  best 
efi'ect  they  should  be  massed  about  the  edges  of  the  grass 
spaces,  generally  with  the  plants  of  each  kind  together.  A 
single  place  treated  skilfully  in  this  manner  has  often  led  to 
the  transformation  of  a  neighborhood. 

After  your  private  lot  is  thus  set  in  order,  you  will  attend 
to  your  frontage  on  the  street.  Probably  you  will  need  to 
begin  by  forbidding  the  abuse  of  the  public  way  before  your 
house.  Do  not  allow  the  road  to  be  used  as  a  dumping- 
ground  for  cans  and  ashes,  or  as  a  rooting-ground  for  pigs. 
If  a  sidewalk  is  necessary,  make  it  of  good  and  lasting  ma- 
terials. Lay  down  between  it  and  the  travelled  way  a  grass 
strip  of  as  great  width  as  possible.  This  travelled  way,  the 
central  part  of  the  highway,  should  be  no  wider  than  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  for  the  care  of  a  wide  way  is  expensive,  and 
the  glare  and  dust  from  it  are  disagreeable.  If  the  ground 
is  uneven,  the  road  grade  may  need  to  be  eased  by  some 
cutting  or  filling,  but  the  footpath  and  the  grass  strip  should 
rise  above  the  road  or  fall  below  it,  if  the  natural  surface  of 
the  ground  can  be  more  closely  followed  by  so  doing. 

If  any  fine  trees,  bushes,  or  rocks  chance  to  stand  upon  your 
frontage,  you  should  preserve  them  if  possible.  If  you  must 
l^lant  new  trees,  you  should  set  them  in  a  row,  if  your  grass 
strip  is  straight  and  level ;  if  it  is  curved  or  rough,  you  should 
scatter  them. 

In  short,  you  should  treat  your  frontage  as  well  as  your  lot 
according  to  the  teachings  of  common  sense,  and  not  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  "  fashion  "  or  the  advice  of  the  friend 
who  may  tell  you  that  a  stone  curb,  an  asphalt  walk,  a  retain- 
ing-wall,  and  a  gilt  iron  fence  will  be  "  the  proper  thing." 


^T.  32]  BEAUTIFUL  VILLAGES  377 

By  the  time  you  have  completed  these  unpretentious  and 
inexpensive  improvements,  your  neighbors  will,  perhaps,  be 
filled  with  zeal  to  do  likewise ;  and  you  and  they  may  soon 
be  forming  a  village  society  to  encourage  the  like  good  work 
throughout  the  place.  This  society  may  well  assist  in  the 
l^lanting  of  the  roadsides  where  the  land-owners  are  too  poor 
to  do  much.  It  may  offer  jjrizes  for  neatness  and  good  design 
in  house  grounds.  It  may  occasionally  save  from  destruction 
a  fine  tree,  or  a  bold  ledge,  or  some  other  landmark  of  the 
neighborhood.  It  may  help  the  town  or  village  officers  to 
spend  the  appropriations  for  "  roads  and  bridges  "  in  ways 
w^hich  will  enhance,  and  not  destroy,  the  chai-acteristic  beauty 
of  the  place. 

About  the  post-office  and  "  the  store,"  or  along  the  street 
of  shops,  it  may  be  necessary  to  have  considerable  level  gravel 
spaces  and  somewhat  broad  sidewalks,  but  in  the  rest  of  the 
village  you  are  fortunately  free  from  the  bondage  of  straight 
lines  and  straight  grades.  The  roads  and  footpaths  should 
turn,  broaden,  contract,  rise,  or  fall  as  may  be  easiest  in  each 
particular  locality  ;  for  it  is  just  this  pliant  conformity  to 
natural  conditions  which  is  the  vital  element  in  the  beauty  of 
all  the  loveliest  villages  in  the  world. 

The  village  society  may  well  protect  the  neighborhood  from 
that  monstrous  form  of  advertising  which  defaces  buildings, 
fences,  rocks,  and  ledges.  The  people  should  be  educated  to 
forbid  advertisers  the  use  of  their  structures,  and  all  wlio  ply 
the  brush  without  legal  right  should  be  summarily  dealt  with. 
Villages  which  are  ambitious  to  attract  summer  visitors  should 
be  particularly  careful  to  suppress  this  increasing  nuisance. 

In  Massachusetts,  and  jiresumably  in  other  States,  the  vil- 
lage society  is  privileged  to  attend  to  the  improvement  and 
decoration  of  public  grounds  owned  by  the  township.  Here 
again  is  work  which  calls  for  the  exercise  of  the  nicest  sense 
of  fitness.  Nothing  is  beautiful  which  is  not  fitting.  If  the 
ground  to  be  treated  is  a  quiet  resting-place  or  a  "  lover's 
lane,"  it  should  be  dealt  with  in  a  style  quite  different  from 
that  fitting  a  place  for  band  concerts.  In  our  villages  the 
value  of  public  open  spaces  is  hardly  realized  as  yet ;  perhaps 
because  we  have  so  few  which  are  attractive.    Let  our  village 


378  WRITINGS   IN   1891   AND   1892  [1892 

societies  show  us  what  pleasing  outdoor  parlors  our  village 
commons  can  be  made,  what  delightful  public  footpaths  we 
may  have  along  our  streams,  and  what  attractive  possessions 
public  hill-tops  are.  , 

Under  our  democratic  township  and  village  systems,  what- 
ever the  people  will  to  do  can  be  done.  If  a  village  lies 
along  a  lake,  and  the  people  come  to  wish  to  own  the  bank, 
so  that  they  and  their  guests  may  there  enjoy  the  loveliest 
walk  in  all  the  neighborhood,  nothing  can  prevent  the  con- 
summation of  their  wish,  when  it  is  once  expressed  by  vote 
in  town  or  village  meeting.  Several  sea-coast  townships  of 
New  England  have  lately  laid  out  "  ocean  drives."  Several 
Western  townships  have  reserved  their  river-bluffs  for  public 
use.  Several  Southern-  villages  cherish  old  groves  of  Live 
Oaks  or  of  Pines.  But  the  movement  toward  providing 
public  reservations  at  the  public  charge  is  really  only  just 
now  beginning. 

Many  town  meetings  are  still  frightened  at  the  word 
"  park,"  and  some  have  been  known  to  reject  proffered  gifts 
of  land.  Opposition  to  pai-ks  will  die  away  as  the  people 
learn  that  public  groves,  river-banks,  glens,  and  hill-tops  are, 
when  rightly  handled,  exceedingly  inexpensive  in  proportion 
to  their  yield  of  pleasure  to  the  native-born,  their  attractive- 
ness to  outsiders,  and  their  consequent  return  of  money  to  the 
township. 

On  the  17th  of  August,  1892,  Charles  spoke  on  Public 
Reservations  before  the  Boston  Boot  and  Shoe  Club  at  a  meet- 
ing the  Club  held  in  Lynn  Woods,  and  made  one  point  which 
he  did  not  often  urge  :  — 

.  .  .  Within  the  district  to  be  covered  by  the  investigations 
of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  I  have  seen  a  dozen 
supremely  delightful  places  wholly  destroyed  within  the  last 
few  years.  In  these  cases  our  opportunity  for  action  has  not 
only  come,  but  it  has  gone  and  gone  forever.  Meanwhile, 
another  and  only  less  distressing  fate  awaits  or  falls  to  such 
spots  of  beauty  as  escape  the  destroyer.  They  become  en- 
closed for  private  gain  or  pleasure.  You  and  I  and  all  of  us 
are  shut  out,  in  order  that  one  man  may  enjoy  the  beauty  of 


asT.  32]  FINE  SCENERY  PROFITABLE  379 

this  sea  beach,  or  this  pond  shore,  or  this  hill-top,  or  else  that 
we  may  pay  liim  for  the  privilege  of  viewing  that  which  he 
has  fenced  in.  How  long  can  we  afford  to  allow  the  finest  of 
nature's  pictures  here  in  Massachusetts  to  be  tlius  destroyed 
or  enclosed  ? 

AVitliout  stopping  to  consider  the  evil  effects  upon  civiliza- 
tion, the  wounds,  as  I  may  say,  to  art,  and  morals,  and  re- 
ligion, which  must  follow  this  blotting  out  of  beauty  from 
the  surroundings  of  life,  let  me,  since  I  am  speaking  to  busi- 
ness men,  call  your  attention  to  the  business  aspect  of  this 
question.  In  the  country  and  seaside  districts  of  ]Massa- 
chusetts,  the  summer  resort  business  is  the  best  business  of 
the  year.  No\y  the  history  of  our  summer  resorts  has  been 
decidedly  peculiar.  Nahant  over  here  once  possessed  large 
hotels.  Newport  was  also  a  hotel  town.  Bar  Harbor,  in 
Maine,  filled  many  huge  hotels  every  year  for  a  considera- 
ble period  of  years ;  but  last  year  and  this  year  the  large 
hotels  of  that  town  have  been  entirely  closed,  and  I  very 
much  doubt  if  they  ever  open  again.  Who  wants  to  visit 
any  resort  where  the  seashore,  or  such  other  scenery  as  there 
may  be  in  the  neighborhood,  is  owned  and  occupied  by  private 
citizens  who,  if  they  admit  you  to  their  lands,  do  so  grum- 
blingly,  or  for  a  fee  ?  It  is  evident  that  our  hotel  men,  and 
all  people  interested  in  the  development  of  this  great  business 
of  the  summer  resort,  must  go  to  work  to  preserve  their  goose 
of  the  golden  egg,  that  is  to  say,  the  fine  scenery  in  their 
neighborhood.  Even  in  the  case  of  towns  of  cottages,  would 
not  every  estate  owner  be  the  richer,  if  it  were  possible  for 
him  to  have  access  at  any  time  to  every  finest  spot  within  his 
neighborhood  ?  As  a  matter  of  business,  the  proprietors  and 
projectors  of  summer  colonies  ought  to  take  account  of  this. 

The  bookstores  are  filled  with  books  in  praise  of  the  beauty 
of  nature,  and  the  picture  galleries  are  full  of  pictures  thereof. 
Meanwhile  we  are  destroying  and  losing  every  day  the  real 
pictures  which  the  Almighty  painted ;  although  we  have  no 
longer  any  excuse  for  that  form  of  destruction. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  WORK  OF  THE  METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION 
OF   1892 

You  will  hear  that  the  first  duty  is  to  get  land  and  money,  place 
and  name.  ...  If ,  nevertheless,  God  have  called  any  of  you  to  explore 
truth  and  beauty,  be  bold,  be  firm,  be  true.  —  Ralph  Waldo  £m£B- 

SON. 

Charles  was  appointed  landscape  architect  to  the  Com- 
mission in  August.  He  was  not  quite  thirty-three  years  old  ; 
but  he  had  been  in  practice  five  years  and  a  half,  and  had 
given  public  evidence  of  possessing  business  capacity,  artistic 
skill,  an  interesting  style  in  writing,  and  an  unexampled 
knowledge  of  the  metropolitan  district.  Mr.  Adams  had 
seen  a  sample  of  his  professional  work  in  his  report  on  the 
proposed  new  town  of  Garfield,  Utah  ;  Mr.  Chase  had  been 
intimately  associated  with  him  in  all  the  work  of  the  Stand- 
ing Committee  of  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations ;  both 
these  gentlemen  manifested  great  confidence  in  him  from  the 
first,  and  came  to  feel  for  him  a  sort  of  paternal  admiration 
and  affection. 

When  the  chairman  of  the  Commission  asked  him  in 
August  to  describe  his  conception  of  the  organization  and 
work  of  the  Commission,  Charles  wrote  briefly  about  the. 
duties  of  the  secretary  and  the  legal  adviser,  and  of  his  own 
function  as  follows  :  "  Your  landscape  architect  will  view  and 
map  the  existing  public  areas  of  your  district,  and  the  works 
proposed  by  the  local  boards.  .  .  .  You  will  expect  from  him 
a  preliminary  report  descriptive  of  the  areas  which  in  his 
opinion  should  be  '  resumed '  (to  use  the  Australian  phrase) 
by  the  public.  This  report  will  cover  the  whole  of  your  dis- 
trict, no  account  being  taken  of  the  municipal  boundaries, 
and  it  will  be  illustrated  by  a  general  map  on  a  small  scale." 
This  map,  and  others  that  he  had  in  mind,  were  from  the 
beginning  important  in  Charles's  eyes ;  he  suggested  in  this 
letter  to  the  chairman  that  $1000  be  reserved  for  printing 
the  map  or  maps. 

From  the  middle  of  September  through  the  autumn,  the 


^T.  32]  THE   MAIN   LINES   OF  ACTION  381 

Commission  iu  company  with  Secretary  Baxter  and  Charles 
visited  every  point  of  landscape  or  park  interest  within  ten 
miles  of  Boston,  Charles  planning  most  of  the  trips,  and  set- 
ting forth  in  an  unobtrusive  and  attractive  way  his  thoughts 
about  the  merits  and  value  of  each  scene  or  prospect,  and  the 
possible  serviceableuess  of  each  proposed  reservation. 

On  October  6th,  in  another  letter  to  the  chairman,  he  wrote 
as  follows :  — 

...  As  I  conceive  it,  the  scientific  "  Park  system  "  for  a 
district  such  as  ours  would  include  —  (1)  Spaces  on  the 
ocean  front.  (2)  As  much  as  possible  of  the  shores  and 
islands  of  the  Bay.  (3)  The  courses  of  the  larger  tidal 
estuaries  (above  their  commercial  usefulness),  because  of  the 
value  of  these  courses  as  pleasant  routes  to  the  heart  of  the 
city  and  to  the  sea.  (4)  Two  or  three  large  areas  of  wild 
forest  on  the  outer  rim  of  the  inhabited  area.  (5)  Numer- 
ous small  squares,  playgrounds,  and  parks  in  the  midst  of  the 
dense  jDopulations. 

Local  and  private  action  cfin  do  much  under  the  fifth  head  ; 
but  the  four  other  heads  call  loudly  for  action  by  the  whole 
metropolitan  community.  With  your  approval,  I  shall  make 
my  study  for  the  Commission  on  these  lines. 

He  soon  saw  that  it  would  be  very  important  that  the  Re- 
port of  the  Commission  should  present  forcibly  to  the  eye,  (1) 
specimens  of  the  beautiful  scenes  in  the  district  which  might 
still  be  ])reserved  or  restored ;  (2)  specimens  of  the  accom- 
plished destruction  of  natural  beauty  ;  (3)  maps  and  diagrams 
to  exhibit  the  nature  and  relations  of  each  reservation  pro- 
posed, and  the  equitable  distribution  of  the  reservations  over 
the  district.  Pie  began  to  seek  appropriate  photographs  on 
the  3d  of  October  ;  but  finding  that  many  of  the  objects  he 
most  wanted  to  represent  had  not  been  photographed,  or  at 
least  that  photographs  of  them  were  not  in  the  market,  he 
sent  out  the  following  notice  :  — 

METROPOLITAN   PARK   COMMISSION. 

The  undersigned  is  collecting  for  the  above  named  Com- 
mission one  hundred  representative  views  of  landscape  near 
Boston.  Pictures  of  the  following  localities  are  particularly 
desired :  — 


382       METROPOLITAN   PARK  COMMISSION   OF   1892     [1892 

A.  Nahant  Rocks,  Revere  Beach,  the  Outer  Islands,  Nan- 
tasket  Beach,  and  Cobasset  Rocks. 

B.  The  Inner  Islands  of  the  Bay,  and  the  yachting. 

C.  The  salt  marshes,  and  the  fresh-water  reaches  of  the 
Saugas,  Mystic,  Charles,  and  Neponset  rivers. 

D.  The  rocks,  hills,  and  woods  of  the  Fells  and  the  Blue 
Hills. 

Prints  from  obtainable  negatives  should  be  sent  to  the 
undersigned  before  the  end  of  November.  All  prints  received 
will  be  returned,  and  those  the  negatives  of  which  are  de- 
sired for  the  Commission's  report  will  be  designated.  The 
cost  of  sending  and  returning  prints  and  negatives  will  be 
paid,  and  every  picture  in  the  report  will  be  credited  to  its 
maker. 

This  measure  not  yielding  negatives  enough,  he  wrote  many 
letters  to  friends  who  were  amateur  photographers,  and  to 
professional  photographers  as  well,  asking  for  photographs  of 
particular  objects.  His  efforts  had  but  very  moderate  suc- 
cess. It  was  especially  difficult  to  get  "  uglifications ; "  for 
nobody  had  photographed  them  or  wanted  to.  The  report  of 
the  Commission  contained  thirty-one  illustrative  plates,  with 
three  fifths  of  which  Charles  was  measurably  content. 

For  the  maps  and  diagrams  he  already  possessed  the 
materials,  or  knew  where  to  find  them  ;  and  under  his  direc- 
tion fourteen  such  illustrations  were  prepared  for  the  Report. 
The  map  of  the  metropolitan  district  to  accompany  his  own 
report  was  begun  in  his  office  on  November  7th.  His  ex- 
perience with  the  Map  of  the  Country  about  Boston,  pub- 
lished' by  the  Appalachian  Mountain  Club  in  1890,  facilitated 
his  present  task.  The  new  map  was  on  the  same  scale  as 
that  of  1890,  and  extended  a  little  farther  to  the  north,  but 
not  so  far  to  the  west.  To  include  all  the  reservations  that 
Charles  proposed  to  recommend,  it  was  not  necessary  that  the 
map  should  extend  farther  west  than  Waltham  and  Wellesley. 
This  map,  on  which  the  existing  and  the  proposed  reserva- 
tions were  entered,  was  the  strongest  argument  the  Commis- 
sion had  in  support  of  their  general  scheme.  It  showed  con- 
vincingly that  the  scheme  was  equitable,  economical,  and 
adequate.  It  remains  to  this  day  (1902)  a  recognized  author- 
ity on  the  subject  of  the  Metropolitan  Reservations. 

Charles  had  his  own  part  of  the  Commission's  work  well 
started  by  the  middle  of  November ;  but  his  interest  in  the 


a:t.  33]  THE  PROPHETIC   MAP  — PICTURING  383 

work  extended  quite  beyond  his  own  function  as  landscape 
architect.  He  talked  much  with  Secretary  Baxter,  and  Mr. 
Reno,  the  legal  adviser  of  the  Board,  and  with  the  members 
of  the  Commission  separately,  and  he  attended  by  invitation 
all  tlie  meetings  of  the  Commission  itself,  —  not  only  the  field 
meetings,  but  the  later  ones  at  which  the  act  to  be  recom- 
mended to  the  legislature  was  under  discussion. 

On  the  14th  of  November  he  sent  to  the  chairman  memo- 
randa on  the  "  machinery  "  problem  which  covered  the  fol- 
lowing points  :  the  name,  —  Metropolitan  Open  Spaces  Cora- 
mission  ;  the  number  of  members,  —  seven,  one  to  be  ap- 
pointed each  year  ;  appointment  by  the  Governor  ;  no  salary 
for  members  of  the  Commission  ;  powers,  —  to  employ  needed, 
officials  and  servants,  to  cooperate  with  local  boards,  to  ex- 
ercise the  right  of  eminent  domain  ;  resources,  —  (1)  for 
purchase  and  original  construction.  State  bonds  with  provi- 
sion for  interest  and  sinking  fund  through  an  annual  levy  on 
each  city  and  town,  fixed  by  commissioners  appointed  every 
five  years  by  the  Supreme  Court,  —  (2)  for  maintenance  and 
other  annual  charges,  the  Commission  to  estimate  these  ex- 
penses in  advance  for  a  period  of  three  years,  and  the  State 
Treasurer  to  collect  annually  from  each  city  and  town  of  the 
district  its  percentage  of  the  total  annual  levy  for  this  object, 
the  percentage  to  be  the  same  as  that  decreed  for  interest  and 
sinking  fund.  These  memoranda  suggest  a  more  decided 
distinction  between  first  cost  and  maintenance  than  found 
favor  with  the  Commission  and  the  legislature.  Charles's 
suggestion  was  more  conservative  than  the  Act  which  became 
law  ;  and  in  after  years  he  felt  great  concern  at  the  delay  in 
levying  the  assessments  on  the  nmnicipalities  of  the  district. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  collection  of  money  for  Metropolitan 
Park  purposes  has  been  made  from  the  towns  and  cities  of 
the  district  up  to  January  1,  1902.  The  closing  paragraph 
of  Charles's  letter  to  the  chairman  was  as  follows :  "  All  this 
I  know  is  outside  my  proper  field,  and  1  submit  it  only  for 
what  it  may  be  worth.  !^Iy  special  work  I  take  to  be  the 
picturing  by  printed  words,  photographs,  and  maps  of  those 
open  spaces  which  are  still  obtainable  near  Boston.  If  this 
picturing  cannot  be  made  vivid  enough  to  command  the  at- 
tention of  the  people  and  the  legislature,  there  will  be  no  use 
in  fussing  over  the  details  of  the  legal  machinery." 

To  this  "  picturing  "  he  gave  the  greater  part  of  his  time 
for  the  next  ten  weeks.  He  had  in  hand,  however,  several 
other  pieces  of  work  which  demanded  attention  during  the 
same  busy  weeks.     He  wrote  the  principal  parts  of  the  Sec- 


384       METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION  OF  1892    [1892 

ond  Annual  Report  to  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations, 
and  edited  the  whole  document  of  63  pages,  and  also  wrote 
the  Report  of  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations  on  the  Pro- 
vince Lands  (House,  No.  339,  February,  1893).  The  Second 
Annual  Report,  just  mentioned,  contained  a  valuable  list  of 
all  the  public  open  spaces  of  Massachusetts,  arranged  alpha- 
betically by  the  names  of  the  cities  and  towns,  and  including 
statistics  of  population  and  area,  the  source  of  each  reserva- 
tion, and  the  nature  of  the  title. 

At  the  request  of  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  as  chair- 
man of  the  Park  Commissioners  of  the  city  of  Quincy,  he 
had  studied  during  the  autumn  the  interests  of  Quincy  as 
regards  shore  reservations  ;  and  he  now  sent  in  an  interesting 
report  on  that  subject  dated  January  2,  1893.  At  the  same 
time  he  was  making  plans  for  several  private  places,  and  was 
giving  advice  on  others.  He  also  gave  days  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  map  of  New  England  which  the  Appalachian  Moun- 
tain Club  thought  to  publish.  The  amount  of  work  he  did 
in  these  months  would  be  very  surprising,  were  it  not  evident 
that  for  much  of  it  he  was  thoroughly  prepared  long  before- 
hand. He  was  putting  into  practice  principles  and  methods 
mastered  years  before,  or  he  was  apj^lying  knowledge  and 
skill  long  since  acquired. 

Charles's  report  to  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  of 
1892  is  dated  January  2,  1893 ;  but  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mission was  not  presented  until  February  1st.  The  text  of 
his  report  occupied  only  twenty-five  pages.  It  was  subse- 
quently reprinted  in  a  separate  edition  with  all  the  diagrams, 
maps,  and  photographic  illustrations  to  which  the  text  re- 
ferred. It  is  repi'oduced  here  in  full  except  that  the  photo- 
graphic illustrations  are  omitted  :  — 

To  THE  Metropolitan  Park  Commission. 

Gentlemen^  —  You  have  asked  me  to  report  to  you  upon 
the  opportunities  presented  by  the  neighborhood  of  Boston 
for  the  creation  of  such  public  open  spaces  as  may  best  pro- 
mote the  health  and  happiness  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
metropolitan  district.  I  have  given  my  best  attention  to  the 
problem,  and  now  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  paper, 
asking  you  to  excuse  its  manifest  shortcomings,  in  view  of  the 
great  breadth  of  the  field  it  essays  to  cover. 


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^T.  33]        THE   CAPABILITIES   OF  THE   DISTRICT  385 

IXTRODUCTION. 

The  life  history  of  humanity  has  proved  nothing  more 
clearly  than  that  crowded  populations,  if  they  would  live  in 
health  and  happiness,  must  have  space  for  air,  for  light,  for 
exercise,  for  rest,  and  for  the  enjoyment  of  that  peaceful 
beauty  of  nature  which,  because  it  is  the  opposite  of  the  noisy 
ugliness  of  towns,  is  so  wonderfully  refreshing  to  the  tired 
souls  of  townspeople. 

Most  of  the  greatest  centres  of  the  population  of  the  world 
have  now  accepted  the  teachings  of  bitter  experience,  and 
have  provided  themselves  with  the  necessary  and  desirable 
open  areas,  albeit  at  immense  expense  and  with  great  diffi- 
culty. The  accompanying  diagrams  show  the  extent  of  the 
public  open  spaces  now  existing  in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris 
and  of  London,  in  comparison  with  those  now  existing  near 
Boston.  "  Experience  keeps  a  dear  school,  but  fools  will 
learn  in  no  other,"  said  Benjamin  Franklin.  Shall  Franklin's 
birthplace  play  the  fool's  part  ?  Presumably  this  is  the  ques- 
tion which  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  and  the  people 
of  the  metropolitan  district  will  ask  the  General  Court  to 
answer. 

If,  then,  it  be  determined  that  the  metropolitan  district  of 
Boston  shall  be  wise,  and  shall  provide  itself  with  ample  open 
spaces  while  it  may  yet  do  so  at  small  expense,  upon  what  con- 
siderations should  the  selection  of  lands  for  public  open  spaces 
be  based  ?  Obviously  this  question  cannot  be  answered  intelli- 
gently without  a  somewhat  detailed  study  both  of  the  natural 
or  geographical  features  of  the  district  in  question,  and  of  the 
manner  in  which  crowded  settlement  has  affected  these  natural 
features  to  the  advantage  or  injury  of  the  population  con- 
cerned. When  such  a  study  shall  have  brought  forth  the 
facts  in  the  case,  it  will  be  possible  to  deduce  therefrom  the 
considerations  which  should  govern  the  scientific  selection  of 
lands  for  public  open  spaces ;  and  it  will  then  only  remain  to 
review  the  existing  open  spaces,  and  to  propose  new  reserva- 
tions in  the  light  of  the  considerations  so  established.  In 
other  words,  this  report  falls  naturally  into  three  parts,  as 
follows :  — 


386        METROPOLITAN   PARK  COMMISSION   OF  1892     [1893 

Part  I.  —  A  summary  of  tlie  physical  and  historical  geo- 
graphy of  the  metropolitan  district 
Part  II.  —  A  study  of  the  way  in  which  the  peculiar  geo- 
graphy of  the  metropolitan  district  ought  to 
govern  the  selection  of  the  sites  of  public 
open  spaces. 
Part  III.  —  A  review  of  the  opportunities  which  still  pre- 
sent themselves  for  creating  new  open  spaces 
in  accordance  with  the  governing  considera- 
tions just  laid  down. 

PART    FIRST. 

The  Rock  Foimdation.  —  Underneath  the  whole  region  — 
under  the  sea,  the  rivers,  the  woods  —  lie  the  rocks  of  the 
crust  of  the  earth.  The  oldest  and  hardest  of  these  rocks, 
beside  underlying  the  whole  district,  stand  up  in  two  con- 
spicuous though  broken  ridges,  —  that  which  extends  from 
Waltham  to  Cape  Ann,  sometimes  called  the  Wellington 
Hills,  and  that  which  from  the  earliest  settlement  has  borne 
the  name  of  the  Blue  Hills.  The  northern  mass  of  rock, 
though  broken  in  many  places  by  deep  transverse  valleys, 
such  as  those  of  the  Mystic,  Maiden,  and  Saugus  rivers,  gen- 
erally presents  to  the  south  a  steep,  wall-like  front,  about  one 
hundred  feet  in  elevation.  In  its  eastern  extension  its  high- 
land surface  is  exceedingly  rough,  broken  into  rocky  knobs 
and  narrow  hollows,  now  and  then  rising  into  exceptionally 
high  summits,  such  as  Bear  Hill  (three  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  feet)  in  Stoneham,  and  Burrill's  Hill  (two  hundred  and 
eighty-five  feet)  in  Lynn.  The  southern  rock-mass  of  the 
Blue  Hills  differs  from  the  northern  in  that  it  is  carved  into 
a  dozen  rounded  and  partially  separated  hills,  steepest  on 
their  south  sides,  and  varying  in  elevation  above  the  sea 
from  three  hundred  to  more  than  six  hundred  feet,  being  the 
highest  hills  standing  thus  near  the  coast  of  the  continent 
from  Maine  to  Mexico. 

Between  these  much-worn  stumps  or  roots  of  ancient  moun- 
tains —  the  Wellington  Hills  and  the  Blue  Hills  —  lies  a 
region  some  fifteen  miles  wide,  in  which  the  primitive  rocks 
which  form  these  mountain  stumps  have  been  depressed  so 


JET.  33]      THE  ROCK   HILLS  —  THE  GLACIAL   HEAPS         387 

far,  and  the  secondary  rocks  which  lie  upon  the  primitive 
rocks  have  been  worn  down  so  deep,  that  the  sea  has  flowed 
over  both  and  formed  Boston  Bay.  Not  that  the  waters  of 
the  bay  wash  against  shores  of  rock.  Ou  the  contrary,  the 
points  within  this  region  where  the  sea  meets  the  rocks  are 
very  few,  the  most  conspicuous  being  the  ocean  fronts  of 
Swampscott  and  Cohasset,  Nahant,  the  outer  ishinds,  and 
Squantum.  Such  rocks  as  do  appear  above  the  surface  within 
the  Boston  basin  are  of  mixed  kinds  ;  among  them  the  various 
slates  of  Quincy,  Cambridge,  and  Somcrville,  and  the  con- 
glomerate or  pudding-stone  which  forms  Squaw  Kock  at 
Squantum  and  the  great  bosses  of  ledge  which  protrude  in 
spots  in  Roxbury  and  elsewhere.  But  generally  throughout 
this  depressed  region  there  is  no  solid  rock  in  sight.  Even 
the  rivers  rarely  discover  any,  except  at  their  several  so-called 
"  falls."  Another  material,  which  must  next  be  examined, 
forms  almost  all  the  seashore,  the  river-banks,  and  the  dry 
land  of  the  space  between  the  massive  uplifts  of  the  AVelliug- 
ton  and  the  Blue  Hills. 

The  Glacial  Iluhhisli.  —  Dumped  in  various  sorts  of  heaps, 
alike  upon  the  uplifted  and  the  depressed  parts  of  the  rock 
foundation  of  the  district,  lies  an  enormous  quantity  of  clay, 
gravel,  and  stones  of  all  sizes  and  kinds,  —  stuff  which  the 
moving  ice-sheets  of  successive  glacial  periods  bore  away  from 
northern  regions.  The  largest  of  these  heaps  form  very  con- 
spicuous objects  in  the  scenery  of  the  district,  being  great 
rounded  hills  of  symmetrical  form,  such  as  are  numerous  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Chelsea  and  all  about  Boston  harbor. 
Lesser  heaps  take  the  form  of  steep  mounds  and  narrow  and 
long  ridges,  often  enclosing  bowl-like  hollows  from  which 
there  is  only  an  underground  escape  for  water.  More  impor- 
tant are  the  large  areas  in  which  the  glacial  material  has  been 
worked  over  by  running  waters  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce 
almost  level  plains,  which,  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  steep  hills, 
are  almost  free  from  boulders  of  large  size.  It  is  w^th  this 
material,  dumped  in  these  various  forms,  that  the  region 
where  the  ledge  rocks  are  sunk  is  filled  and  brought  above 
the  level  of  the  sea. 

The  Fresh  Waters.  —  Upon  the  surfaces  already  described 


388        METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION  OF  1892    [1893 

—  the  well-rubbed  rocks  and  the  rounded  heaps  of  glacial 
wreckage  —  fall  rain  and  snow,  which  gathers  itself  into 
streams,  and  sets  out  for  the  sea.  But  the  course  of  the  waters 
throughout  all  this  region  is  difficult  and  tortuous  in  the 
extreme.  Turned  this  way  and  that  by  the  accumulations  of 
glacial  stuff,  the  streams  follow  few  sharply  defined  valleys, 
but  wander  about  in  an  unusually  aimless  manner.  In  the 
highland  parts  of  the  district  rain-waters  are  caught  in  rock- 
rimmed  hollows,  or  in  basins  formed  by  dams  of  glacial  drift, 
from  which  they  can  escape  only  by  overflowing  the  rim  or 
dam.  Thus  almost  every  hollow,  even  at  two  hundred  feet 
above  the  sea,  contains  a  pond,  or  a  swamp  which  is  a  clogged 
pond,  while  along  the  courses  of  the  brooks  and  rivers  similar 
morasses  appear  at  frequent  intervals.  Even  the  Charles 
River,  the  largest  stream  of  the  region,  suffers  in  its  course 
from  just  these  difficulties.  At  Dedham  it  is  suddenly  turned 
aside  from  a  short  route  to  the  sea  by  way  of  the  Neponset 
valley ;  and  then  at  Newton  Upper  Falls  the  hard  rock 
which  it  has  there  chanced  to  hit  upon  serves  as  a  dam,  which 
makes  a  great  swamp  of  all  the  lowlands  for  several  miles  up- 
stream. It  need  hardly  be  added  that,  however  it  may  be 
with  respect  to  healthfulness,  with  respect  to  scenery  these 
retardations,  of  the  waters  in  ponds  and  swamps  are  a  very 
valuable  and  charming  addition  to  a  landscape  already  won- 
derfully varied  and  picturesque. 

The  Sea.  —  Eastward  on  a  clear  day,  from  almost  any  of 
the  numerous  rock  or  gravel  hill-tops  of  the  district,  is  seen 
the  distant  horizon  of  the  sea,  —  sometimes  a  long  field  of 
blue  spread  across  the  whole  fifteen  miles  from  the  Roaring 
Bull  of  Marblehead  to  the  Black  Rock  of  Cohasset,  and  some- 
times only  a  bowl-shaped  patch  lying  between  some  near  or 
distant  elevations  of  the  mainland. 

The  ocean  rocks  of  Marblehead  and  Cohasset  guard  the 
entrance  to  Boston  Bay.  Sweeping  between  them  with  an 
unbroken  surface,  the  salt  waters  presently  meet  with  many 
and  various  obstructions,  which  everywhere  betray  the  marks 
of  the  destructive  or  constructive  energy  of  the  waves.  The 
rock  island  of  Nahant  has  been  gnawed  into  by  the  surf  until 
its  coast  is  ragged  and  picturesque  in  the  extreme ;  but,  in 


^T.  33]  THE    SEA  — HUMAN   OCCUPANCY  389 

return,  the  sea  has  formed  out  of  the  waste  of  the  land  a 
beautiful  beach,  which  makes  a  pei-fect  causeway  connecting 
the  island  with  the  main.  One  step  further  inland,  and  similar 
evidences  of  the  work  of  the  sea  appear  on  every  hand.  Here 
the  waters  meet  the  foremost  of  those  great  hills  of  clay  and 
stones  which  the  ice  age  bequeathed  to  the  present.  Grover's 
Cliff,  Winthrop  Great  Head,  Great  Brewster  Island,  Point 
Allerton,  and  Strawberry  Hill  still  stand  boldly  in  the  front 
against  the  sea,  although  they  are  now  but  fragments  of  their 
originally  symmetrical  masses.  From  the  feet  of  their  steep 
bluffs,  long  curving  beaches,  built  by  the  sea,  stretch  away  to 
unite  themselves  with  the  next  adjacent  mounds  or  hills,  or 
else  to  join  in  never-ending  conflict  with  some  strong  tidal 
current,  as  at  Shirley  and  Hull  guts. 

The  waves  as  they  roll  inland  along  the  converging  coasts 
of  the  bay  are  ever  bringing  fresh  material  wherewith  to  close 
the  remaining  gaps  and  shut  up  the  port  of  Boston  ;  but  the 
flowing  and  ebbing  tides  are  fortunately  as  constantly  at  work 
to  keep  the  entrance  open,  so  that  no  appreciable  narrowing 
of  the  passages  is  accomplished.  Once  inside  Point  Shirley 
and  Point  Pemberton,  the  now  stilled  waters  play  around 
numerous  other  hills  of  the  kind  geologists  call  dx-umlins,  here 
cutting  a  steep  bluff  out  of  the  side  or  end  of  one  of  them ; 
here,  by  building  beaches,  linking  two  or  three  together  to 
form  an  island  or  a  stretch  of  coast ;  or  here  again  reaching 
far  inland  between  the  hills  to  receive  the  fresh  waters  of 
brooks  and  rivers.  Finally,  behind  the  beaches  and  in  all 
the  stillest  parts  of  the  tidal  region,  the  growth  of  grasses  on 
the  muddy  flats  has  resulted  in  the  building  up  of  widespread 
and  open  levels  of  salt  marsh,  in  which  the  tidal  currents  are 
able  to  keep  open  only  a  few  sinuous  channels.  On  the  north 
the  marshes  and  the  salt  creeks  extend  to  the  very  feet  of  the 
rock  highlands.  Westward  the  salt  water  of  Charles  River 
reaches  inland  six  miles  from  the  State  House.  On  the  south 
the  estuaries  and  marshes  of  the  Neponset  and  of  Weymouth 
Fore  and  Back  rivers  present  beautiful  pictures  of  mingled 
land  and  water.  This  flowing  of  the  sea  about  the  half- 
sunken  drumlins  has  produced  scenery  which,  were  it  not  so 
familiar,  would  be  considered  wonderfully  varied  and  fine. 


390       METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION  OF   1892     [1893 

The  Effects  of  Human  Occiqyancy.  —  Into  this  region  of 
marvellously  commingled  waters,  marshes,  gravel-banks,  and 
rocks  came  the  English  colonists  of  the  seventeenth  century  ; 
and,  from  Miles  Standish  of  Plymouth  to  Thomas  Morton 
of  Merrymount,  every  man  among  them  had  only  praise  for 
the  scenery.  To  Standish,  after  he  had  landed  at  Squantum 
and  voyaged  up  Mystic  River,  the  i-egion  seemed  "  the  para- 
dise of  all  these  parts,"  and  he  very  naturally  wished  the 
Plymouth  people  "  had  there  been  seated."  For  Morton  the 
educated  sportsman,  the  blue  waters,  the  salt  meadows,  and 
the  great  woods  which  framed  the  coves  of  marsh  grass  with 
a  wall  of  varied  verdure  composed  a  great  free  hunting-park, 
the  like  of  which  all  England  could  not  boast. 

The  annihilation  of  the  native  red  men  by  a  plague  had  left 
the  country  comparatively  safe,  and,  although  the  first  houses 
of  Boston  were  built  on  the  peninsula  of  Shawmut,  because 
of  its  advantages  in  case  of  attack.  Governor  Winthrop  and 
the  other  leaders  soon  took  up  large  outlying  estates,  while 
outlying  settlements  were  also  made  very  early.  The  steep 
drumlin  hills  of  Shawmut,  surrounded  and  even  divided  as 
they  were  by  the  tides,  afforded  but  little  opportunity  for 
tillage,  and  compelled  a  scattering  of  the  people ;  and  when 
this  took  place,  it  was  to  the  most  accessible  of  the  few  smooth 
parts  of  the  neighborhood  that  they  went.  Wherever  a  navi- 
gable river  or  creek  swept  past  a  gentle  slope  of  the  glacial 
drift,  there  a  settlement  was  made  ;  and  from  such  settle- 
ments grew  Lynn,  Medford,  Cambridge,  Watertown,  and  the 
other  older  townships  of  the  colony.  The  creeks  were  the 
first  I'oads  and  the  marshes  the  first  hay-fields.  So  reluctant 
were  the  colonists  to  attempt  the  subjugation  of  the  great 
woods  and  the  slopes  of  boulders  that,  when  the  ojien  spots 
near  at  hand  had  been  occupied,  hundreds  of  people  braved 
the  dangers  of  a  long  march  over  Indian  trails,  to  reach  and 
settle  in  the  soft  intervales  of  the  Connecticut  valley.  Had 
the  prairies  of  the  West  been  accessible,  the  rougher  pai-ts  of 
the  district  would  hardly  yet  have  been  tamed.  As  it  was, 
when  population  increased,  men  were  forced  to  take  up  axe 
and  crowbar  in  grim  earnest.  The  great  hills  of  boulder 
clay  had  to  be  made  cultivable ;  generation  after  generation 


^T.  33]  A  FLOOD   OF   POPULATION  391 

labored  with  the  trees  and  stones,  and  at  last  the  rounded 
hills  stood  forth  as  mounds  of  green,  marked  and  divided  by- 
walls  of  field  stones,  and  sometimes  crowned,  as  at  Clapboard- 
tree  Corner  in  Dedham,  with  the  white  churches  of  the  victors. 
Naturally  the  bounding  hills  of  rock  were  only  entered  for 
their  timber  ;  nothing  else  was  to  be  won  from  their  wild 
crags.  After  two  hundred  years  of  these  arduous  labors,  the 
neighborhood  of  Boston  was  a  lovely  land.  The  broad  or 
narrow  marshes  still  lay  open  to  the  sun  and  air,  through 
them  the  salt  creeks  wound  inland  twice  a  day,  about  tliem 
lay  fields  and  pastures  backed  by  woods  upon  the  steeper 
slopes,  and  across  their  sunny  levels  looked  the  windows  of 
many  scattered  houses  and  many  separate  villages. 

What  causes  brought  into  this  land  that  ever-increasing 
body  of  population,  the  coming  of  which  has  so  shattered  the 
idyllic  landscape  of  tlie  earlier  days,  it  is  not  for  me  to  at- 
tempt to  determine.  Whatever  its  causes,  a  flood  of  popula- 
tion, gathered  from  Europe,  Canada,  and  the  countiy  districts 
of  New  England,  has  poured  itself  into  the  Boston  basin,  and 
here  among  the  marshes  and  the  steep  hills  it  is  ti'ying  to 
build  for  itself  a  healthful  and  beautiful  city.  The  under- 
taking is  one  of  enormous  difficulty.  Add  to  the  problem  of 
Venice  a  tide  that  flows  and  ebbs  from  nine  to  eleven  feet 
instead  of  two,  a  jumble  of  hills  each  of  which  rises  steeply 
to  more  than  one  hundred  feet  of  elevation,  and  a  winter 
climate  which  locks  even  the  salt  waters  with  ice,  and  you 
have  the  problem  of  the  central  parts  of  greater  Boston. 

The  peculiar  intricacy  of  the  topography  caused  all  the  first 
streets  and  country  roads  to  follow  very  crooked  courses ;  and 
when  a  city  began  to  grow  here,  one  of  the  first  necessities 
was  better  means  of  communication  than  the  old  ways  which 
wound  around  the  hills  and  marshes  could  afford.  Accord- 
ingly long  bridges  and  causeways  were  thrust  out  across  the 
flats  in  all  directions,  and  from  their  terminations  turnpike 
roads  were  carried  far  into  the  inland  country.  In  order  to 
eke  out  the  scanty  building  land  in  the  heart  of  the  district, 
the  flats  along  the  causeways  and  in  the  coves  of  the  marshes 
had  next  to  be  filled  with  gravel  taken  from  the  nearest  hills, 
or  brought  in  later  days  from  distant  hills  by  railroad.   Upon 


392       METROPOLITAN   PARK   COMMISSION   OF  1892     [1893 

these  filled  lands  all  structures,  from  buildings  to  sewers, 
must  be  founded  on  driven  piles  or  otherwise  "  floated ;  " 
from  these  lands  there  is  no  fall  for  the  draining  off  of  storm- 
water,  except  when  the  tide  is  out ;  from  them  there  can  be 
no  way  of  removing  sewage  except  by  pumping  its  whole 
volume  up  to  such  a  level  as  will  deliver  it  to  the  ebb  tide. 
In  view  of  the  great  cost  of  all  these  works,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  population  and  manufacturing  have  in  many  places 
crowded  upon  even  unfilled  marshes,  trusting  to  dikes  to  keep 
the  waters  out ;  neither  is  it  any  wonder  that  the  regions  in 
which  these  wet  lands  are  at  present  but  partly  filled  and  but 
partly  built  upon  should  be  both  ugly  and  unwholesome. 

In  the  inland  parts  it  is  unfortunate  but  equally  natural 
that  the  wet  lands  along  the  streams  tend  to  become  built  upon 
in  the  same  cheap  and  unsightly  ways.  Factories  have  placed 
themselves  along  the  rivers  and  brooks ;  and  near  the  fac- 
tories, and  always  with  their  backs  to  the  stream,  are  built 
the  houses  or  tenements  of  the  employees.  Thus  a  once  pure 
stream  is  at  one  blow  made  both  foul  and  ugly.  So  also  with 
the  many  areas  of  ill-draii\ed  upland.  Wet  land  being  cheap, 
it  is  cheaply  built  upon,  to  the  detriment  of  both  the  health- 
fulness  and  the  beauty  of  the  district. 

As  to  the  original  drumlin  hills  of  the  distinct,  some  have 
been  wholly  dug  away  for  filling,  others  have  had  great  holes 
cut  out  of  them,  others  have  had  streets  run  up  them  at  steep 
grades,  and  houses  jDossessed  of  extra  floors  on  their  lower 
sides  stuck  all  over  them.  A  few  hills  of  this  difftcult  kind 
in  the  upland  regions  of  Brookline  have  been  so  skilfully  laid 
out  that  the  roads  are  easy  and  the  general  result  pleasing ; 
but  most  of  the  old  drumlins  have  been  badly  treated,  and 
the  result  is  ugliness  and  inconvenience. 

Lastly,  the  same  rock-hills,  which  baffled  the  men  who 
cleared  the  drumlins,  are  now  found  to  present  most  serious 
obstacles  to  the  easy  construction  of  cities.  In  addition  to 
their  exceeding  roughness,  the  very  hardness  of  their  rocks 
makes  the  necessary  excavations  for  streets,  cellars,  water- 
pipes,  and  sewers  very  expensive  ;  and  accordingly  the  larger 
rocky  regions  of  the  district  have  not  yet  been  seriously  in- 
vaded by  the  waves  of  population  flowing  against  their  feet. 


iET.  33]  BOSTON   RICHES   OF  SCENERY  393 


PART    SECOND. 

Assuming  now  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  this  strange 
city  of  the  marshes  and  the  hills,  we  must  next  inquire  in 
what  manner  the  peculiar  facts  of  the  situation  about  Boston 
should  influence  the  selection  of  permanent  open  spaces. 

We  have  found  that  the  metropolitan  district  of  Boston 
lies,  even  at  this  late  day,  between  two  wildernesses ;  on  the 
one  hand  the  untamed  heights  of  the  rock-hills,  on  the  other 
the  untamable  sea.  If  it  be  true  that  easy  access  to  the  re- 
fresliing  beauty  of  the  natural  world  is  of  the  greatest  benefit 
to  crowded  townspeople,  the  people  of  this  favored  district 
have  only  to  say  the  word,  and  to  pay  out  a  little  money 
annually  during  a  term  of  years,  and  this  best  of  possessions 
will  be  theirs  at  once  and  forever.  Here  the  busy  and  the 
poor  can  find  near  home  that  best  of  antidotes  to  the  poison- 
ous excitement  of  city  life,  which  the  rich  win  by  travel  or 
by  living  in  luxurious  country-seats.  From  every  one  of  the 
greater  of  the  encircling  hills,  even  from  the  inland  Prospect 
Hill  of  Waltham,  the  ocean  is  in  sight ;  and,  even  if  these 
wild  hills  were  not  interesting  in  themselves,  this  fact  alone 
would  make  them  valuable  to  the  public.  In  the  other  direc- 
tion the  open  sea  and  the  surf  on  the  shore  are  but  four  miles 
from  the  State  House :  on  a  quiet  night  after  a  storm  its 
note  can  be  heard  in  the  streets ;  its  flowing  tide  "  twice 
evei-y  day  takes  Boston  in  its  arms." 

Thus  has  nature  placed  and  preserved  at  the  very  gates  of 
Boston  riches  of  scenery  such  as  Chicago,  or  Denver,  or  many 
another  American  city  would  give  millions  to  create,  if  it  were 
possible.  Stupid  indeed  will  be  the  people  of  greater  Boston 
if  they  fail  to  perceive  and  attend  to  their  interests  in  this 
matter  before  the  opportunity  is  lost. 

We  have  further  found  that  the  inhabited  district  is  invaded 
in  many  crooked  directions  by  the  tides,  and  swamped  in  many 
other  parts  by  the  fresh  waters.  What  does  the  greatest  good 
of  the  greatest  number,  if  not  the  self-interest  of  the  land- 
owners of  such  parts,  demand  ? 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  good  building  land  is  scarce  in  the 
heart  of  the  district,  it  is  obviously  necessary  that  all  the 


394        METROPOLITAN   PARK  COMMISSION   OF  1892    [1893 

lesser  areas  of  mud-flat,  marsh,  and  swamp,  as  yet  remaining 
unfilled,  should  be  filled  as  soon  as  may  be,  thus  preventing 
whatever  nuisance  may  tend  to  arise  from  their  presence  in 
the  midst  of  the  city,  while  at  the  same  time  increasing  the 
area  of  taxable  real  estate.  On  the  other  hand,  such  filling, 
with  the  accompanying  obliteration  or  covering  of  ancient 
waterways,  must  not  be  carried  too  far,  for  it  has  its  great 
dangers.  The  large  watercourses,  both  salt  and  fresh,  can- 
not safely  be  meddled  with.  As  has  been  pointed  out  already, 
it  is  only  when  the  tide  is  out  of  the  Mystic  and  Charles 
rivers  that  extensive  areas  of  natural  and  artificial  lowland 
can  be  drained  of  storm-waters ;  if  their  natural  outlets  were 
filled  up,  these  areas,  with  all  their  streets  and  houses,  would 
inevitably  become  swampy.  As  to  the  fresh-water  streams, 
they  are  subject  to  floods  which  cannot  be  confined  within  any 
ordinary  conduits  or  covered  channels,  as  one  or  two  disastrous 
experiments  in  this  line  have  proved. 

If,  then,  these  larger  waterways  must  be  preserved  even  in 
the  midst  of  dense  populations,  how  shall  they  best  be  treated  ? 
Shall  they  continue  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past  and  present, 
to  be  abused,  polluted,  and  defaced  by  the  population  living 
on  their  banks  or  near  them  ?  Is  this  for  the  public  advan- 
tage ?  Shall  factory  waste,  sewage,  and  rubbish  of  all  sorts 
be  continually  poured  into  them,  and  then  allowed  to  rot  in 
the  sun  when  the  tide  goes  out,  or  the  water  is  drawn  off  to 
turn  the  wheels  of  factories  ?  Such  practices  can  hardly  be 
conducive  to  the  public  health  of  a  region  already  more  than 
threatened  with  malaria.  Such  practices  should  indeed  be 
impossible  in  every  civilized  community. 

Fortunately  for  greater  Boston,  most  of  her  streams  and 
ponds  may  still  be  rescued,  and  converted  from  evil  to  good 
uses.  Public  control  or  ownership  of  the  banks  of  the 
streams  will  work  their  cure,  and  ensure  their  permanent  pre- 
servation as  the  most  charming  of  the  many  charming  features 
of  Boston  scenery.  For  such  public  control  will  not  only 
tend  negatively  to  prevent  the  dangers  to  health  already  men- 
tioned, but  it  will  also  have  many  positive  good  results.  It 
will  give  an  added  value  to  adjacent  real  estate,  which  will 
ensure  its  occupation  by  good  houses  having  their  fronts,  and 


/EX.  33]      PUBLIC  OWNERSHIP  OF  WATERCOURSES         395 

not  their  back  yards,  turned  towards  water-side  roads.  It 
will  eventually  provide  a  whole  series  of  public  promenades 
and  playgrounds  for  the  use  of  the  population  which  tends 
to  crowd  into  the  valleys.  It  will  restore  and  preserve  the 
attractiveness  of  the  streams  for  that  large  class  of  citizens 
who  take  pleasure  in  boating.  It  will  also  provide,  since  the 
main  streams  flow  towards  the  heart  of  the  city,  a  series 
of  sorely  needed  pleasant  routes  leading  from  the  country, 
through  the  suburbs,  to  the  city,  and  even  to  tlie  bay  or  ocean 
side  beyond. 

Thus  we  find  that  the  rock-hills,  the  stream  banks,  and  the 
bay  and  the  sea  shores  are  the  available  and  the  valuable  sites 
for  public  open  sijaces ;  available  because  they  are  still  gen- 
erally unoccupied  and  cheap,  valuable  because  they  present 
both  the  grandest  and  the  fairest  scenery  to  be  found  within 
the  district. 

After  what  has  been  said,  it  hardly  needs  to  be  added  that 
the  metropolitan  district  can  no  longer  afford  not  to  take  pos- 
session of  its  inheritance  in  these  lands.  Private  ownership 
of  the  lands  referred  to  is  not  only  detrimental  to  the  public 
welfare  in  the  ways  already  mentioned,  but  it  is  also  thor- 
oughly bad  as  a  measure  of  public  financial  policy.  Private 
ownership  of  such  lands,  because  of  the  need  of  quick  returns, 
inevitably  tends  to  their  occupation  by  cheap  makeshift  struc- 
tures of  small  taxable  value ;  whereas  public  ownership  will 
so  enhance  values  that  the  whole  community  will  reap  a  profit 
in  the  end.  Once  the  lands  in  question  are  owned  by  the 
public,  the  woi-k  of  development  may  safely  wait. 

Only  one  other  word  needs  to  be  said  before  passing  to  a  re- 
view in  detail  of  the  existing  and  the  proposed  open  spaces. 
Playgrounds  for  children  and  j^outh  are  among  the  necessities 
of  modern  town  life.  Large  or  continuous  open  spaces,  like 
those  about  to  be  suggested,  will  provide  am])le  playground 
for  the  children  of  the  population  seated  near  them  ;  so  that 
smaller  squares,  gardens,  and  open-air  sitting-rooms  and  nurs- 
eries will  need  to  be  provided  only  in  those  crowded  districts 
which  the  larger  spaces  do  not  serve.  All  scientific  planning 
of  open  spaces  for  large  cities  proceeds  thus  from  the  greater 
to  the  less.     The  greater  spaces  are  of  first  account,  because 


396        METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION  OF  1892     [1893 

if  they  are  not  acquired  at  the  right  time  they  can  never  be 
had,  and  because  they  afford  not  only  fresh  air  and  play-room, 
which  is  all  that  small  spaces  can  offer,  but  also  those  free 
pleasures  of  the  open  world  of  which  small  spaces  can  give 
no  hint.  Moi'eover,  in  the  case  under  consideration,  the  pecul- 
iar subdivision  of  the  metropolitan  district  of  Boston  into 
thirty-six  separate  political  units  makes  it  unreasonable,  and 
indeed  impossible,  to  expect  that  these  units  should  act  as  one 
body,  or  pay  as  one  body,  for  more  than  the  principal,  leading, 
or  trunk-line  open  spaces  of  the  district.  Such  small  spaces 
as  will  be  needed  after  the  larger  spaces  are  provided  will 
have  to  be  acquired  by  the  action  of  local  authorities,  or  by 
the  cooperative  action  of  two  or  more  such  bodies ;  and,  since 
small  spaces  are  almost  entirely  of  local  benefit,  this  seems  to 
be  quite  as  it  should  be. 

PART    THIRD. 

The  foregoing  studies  have  led  to  the  conclusion  that  those 
large  or  continuous  open  spaces  which  will  most  benefit  the 
whole  population  of  the  metropolitan  district  are  situated  on 
the  rock-hills,  along  the  stream  banks,  and  on  the  sea  and  bay 
shores.  Now,  therefore,  it  becomes  a  pleasant  duty  to  exam- 
ine each  of  these  special  sections  of  the  district  in  some  detail, 
in  order  that  we  may  learn  to  what  extent  these  hills  and 
shores  are  already  dedicated  to  public  uses,  and  in  order  that 
we  may  determine  what  particular  parts  thereof  can,  with  the 
greatest  economy  and  advantage,  be  forthwith  added  to  the 
public  domain. 

The  Roclc-hills.  —  In  the  whole  length  of  the  northern 
rock-hills,  only  one  crowded  town  is  really  founded  upon  them, 
—  natnely,  Marblehead,  which  had  to  twist  its  crooked  lanes 
between  the  ledges  in  order  to  avail  itself  of  a  good  harbor. 
From  several  public  points  of  vantage  on  the  rocks  of  the 
shore  the  townspeople,  with  great  numbers  of  visitors  from  a 
distance,  annually  view  the  beautiful  pageants  of  the  yacht 
fleets  of  New  England. 

In  Swampscott,  the  next  township,  the  rock-hills  are  be- 
ginning to  be  occupied  by  houses  which  look  southward  to 
the  blue  waters  of  Nahant  Ba,y,  over  the  narrow  strip  of  drift 
lands  upon  which  stood  the  fishing  village  of  the  past. 


£T.  33]  THE   HILLS  — LYNN   WOODS  ^  397 

In  Lynn  the  original  settlers  occupied  a  somewhat  wider 
strip  of  coast  lands,  and  during  many  years  held  the  rocks  in 
their  rear  as  "commons."  When  at  last  they  were  divided, 
they  were  used  as  wood-lots.  Even  when  a  few  years  ago 
Lynn  had  become  a  city  of  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  the 
hills  were  still  as  uninhabited  as  ever ;  so  that  when  the  need 
of  a  public  water  supply  arose,  the  city  had  only  to  collect,  by 
means  of  a  few  dams  in  the  valleys,  the  uncontaminated  rain- 
fall of  her  own  wooded  highlands.  Meanwhile  many  citizens 
had  come  to  appreciate  the  great  value  to  a  crowded  popula- 
tion of  these  neighboring  wild  rocks  with  their  broad  views 
over  the  ocean,  the  ponds,  and  the  woods ;  and  soon  whatever 
lands  remained  between  the  tracts  acquired  by  the  water 
board  were  given  to  or  purchased  by  the  Lynn  park  board, 
and  through  it  dedicated  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  public. 
To-day  the  Lynn  Woods  embrace  some  two  thousand  acres, 
and  constitute  the  largest  and  most  interesting,  because  the 
wildest,  public  domain  in  all  New  England.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  we  exclude  the  expenditures  of  the  water  board,  the 
woods  have  cost  the  public  treasury  of  Lynn  only  thirty-five 
thousand  dollars.  About  one  hundred  jjublic-spirited  private 
citizens  have  contributed  in  gifts  of  land  and  money  the 
equivalent  of  another  thirtj'-five  thousand  dollars.  Thus  for 
the  small  sum  of  seventy  thousand  dollars  the  "  city  of  shoes  " 
has  obtained  a  permanent  and  increasingly  beautiful  posses- 
sion, which  is  already  bringing  to  her  a  new  and  precious 
renown. 

Westward  again,  beyond  the  deep-cut  valley  of  Saugus 
River,  the  next  great  body  of  the  highlands  contains  many 
fine  parts,  such  as  the  rough  hills  in  northern  Saugus,  the 
bold  frontal  elevations  which  overlook  the  great  marshes,  the 
charming  hollow  of  Swain's  Pond,  and  the  pretty  valleys  of 
the  brooks  which  flow  towards  Pranker's  Pond.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  real-estate  dealers,  who  will  soon  be  cutting  up 
this  region,  and  the  townships  which  include  it  in  their  limits, 
will  unite  upon  a  sensible  scheme  of  development,  by  which 
the  courses  of  the  brooks  and  the  highest  rocks  will  be  secured 
to  the  public,  thus  ensuring  the  perpetual  continuance  of  that 
picturesque  attractiveness  which  is  sure  to  lead  population 


398        METROPOLITAN   PARK   COMMISSION  OF  1892     [1893 

into  this  region  before  long.  Such  laying  out  of  lands  for 
sale  as  has  been  done  here  has  been  done  badly,  except  at 
Pine  Banks  on  the  edge  of  the  next  cross  valley  —  that  of 
Maiden  River  —  where  a  single  land-owner  has  built  many 
roads,  in  a  particularly  cliarniing  locality,  upon  lines  which 
properly  conform  to  the  topograjihy.  But  even  here  it  will 
be  necessary,  when  the  selling  of  house-lots  begins,  to  re- 
serve long  strips  and  blocks  of  open  ground,  if  that  beauty 
of  situation  which  gives  a  special  value  to  the  house  sites  is 
to  be  preserved. 

Just  beyond  the  once  charming  but  now  populous  vale  of 
Maiden  River  we  must  climb  a  rocky  cliff  in  order  to  enter 
the  next  wild  region,  once  called  the  Five  Mile  Woods,  but 
now  generally  known  as  the  Middlesex  Fells.  Unlike  the 
two  preceding  plateaux,  this  elevated  region  is  entirely  sur- 
rounded by  rapidly  growing  towns  and  cities,  whose  boimdary 
lines  meet  among  the  rocks.  Four  of  the  surrounding  munici- 
palities draw  water  from  its  valleys,  and  for  the  protection  of 
the  purity  of  the  waters  large  areas  of  land  have  lately  been 
converted  from  private  to  public  ownership.  Other  public 
holdings  of  the  region  are  Bear  Hill,  the  highest  summit,  con- 
trolled by  the  park  lioard  of  Stoneham,  and  Virginia  Wood, 
the  gift  of  the  late  Mrs.  Fanny  H.  Tudor  to  the  Trustees  of 
Public  Reservations.  In  short,  this  region  of  w^ild  rocks  and 
dells  is  now  in  the  same  condition  in  which  the  Lynn  Woods 
lay  before  the  park  board  knit  together  the  disjointed  pre- 
existing reservations  by  acquiring  the  intervening  and  sur- 
rounding lands.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Middlesex  Fells 
cannot,  under  existing  conditions,  be  broadly  united  into  one 
great  reservation,  because  they  lie  within  the  bounds,  not  of 
one  municipality,  but  of  five.  When  new  legislation  shall 
have  provided  an  instrument  by  which  the  unifying  work 
which  has  been  done  in  Lynn  may  be  accomplished  in  the 
divided  Fells,  the  people  of  Boston,  Cambridge,  Somerville, 
and  the  nearer  municipalities  will  soon  find  themselves 
possessed  of  a  common  domain  which,  with  its  Spot  Pond, 
its  Bear  Hill,  its  Pine  Hill,  and  its  many  less  conspicuous 
but  delightful  ponds,  pools,  brooks,  and  crags,  will  rival,  if 
it  will  not  surpass,  Lynn  Woods. 


-ET.  33]    MIDDLESEX  FELLS  —  PROSPECT  HILL      399 

"Westward  once  naore,  beyond  the  Mystic  River  valley,  the 
swelling  highlands  of  Winchester,  Arlington,  and  Belmont 
are  far  less  rugged  than  those  of  Lynn,  Saugns,  Melrose,  and 
the  Fells.  They  are  cultivable  in  most  parts,  while  in  Arling- 
ton the  so-called  Heights  have  become  a  subui'ban  colonv,  the 
inhabitants  of  which  can  see  the  New  Hampshire  mountains  in 
one  direction  and  the  ocean  in  the  other.  -Two  thirds  of  the 
way  over  to  the  Charles  Kiver  valley,  Beaver  Brook  issues 
from  the  highlands  through  a  miniature  gorge,  and  then  flows 
among  some  glacial  ridges  upon  which  stand  the  largest  sur- 
viving Oak-trees  of  our  district.  The  waterfall  in  the  little 
gorge  and  this  famous  grove  of  Oaks  should  certainly  be  pre- 
served :  but  this  cannot  be  accomplished  under  any  statutes 
now  in  force,  because  the  brook  is  the  dividing  line  between 
Belmont  and  AValtham.  Again,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Fells, 
an  instrumentality  new  to  our  community  is  needed. 

Still  following  along  the  front  of  the  highlands,  past  Owl 
Hill  and  Cedar  Hill,  it  is  not  until  the  heart  of  Waltham  is 
reached  that  any  present  need  of  a  large  open  space  appears. 
Here  is  a  rapidly  increasing  community,  which  is  fortunate 
in  finding  at  its  very  doors  both  a  pretty  river  and  a  great 
and  rugged  hill.  The  river's  surface  is  perhaps  twenty  feet 
above  the  average  level  of  the  sea ;  the  hill-top  one  mile  dis- 
tant from  the  I'ivcr  rises  to  an  elevation  of  four  hundred  and' 
sixty  feet.  One  who  stands  upon  it  looks  eastward  down 
the  Charles  River  valley  to  wiiere  the  golden  dome  of  the 
State  House  glistens  against  the  distant  blue  horizon  of  the 
sea.  The  slopes  of  the  hill,  still  preserved  from  ugly  sears, 
present  several  particularly  attractive  spots,  and  the  neigh- 
boring but  lesser  Bear  Hill  has  a  distinct  beauty  of  its  own. 
The  whole  tract  lies  within  the  bounds  of  Waltiiam,  so  that 
there  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  opening  of  a  reservation  on 
this  hill  through  local  action.  The  hill,  however,  is  so  well 
])laced,  both  with  reference  to  the  view  up  and  down  the 
Charles  valley,  and  with  respect  to  its  position  in  the  metro- 
politan district,  that  it  would  merit  the  attention  of  whatever 
metropolitan  parks  board  may  be  established. 

Leaving  Prospect  Hill  and  Bear  Hill,  it  is  but  a  short  dis- 
tance to  the  large  collecting  reservoir  owned  by  the  city  of 


400        METROPOLITAN   PARK  COMMISSION   OF  1892     [1893 

Cambridge.  Here  the  waters  of  Stony  Brook  are  held  in  a 
lono-  narrow  valley  before  setting  out  for  Cambridge  or  escap- 
ino-  to  the  Charles.  At  the  mouth  of  the  stream  is  the  stone 
tower  built  by  Professor  Horsford  to  mark  his  conception  of 
the  site  of  a  Norse  city ;  and  at  the  valley's  head  is  a  rocky 
passage  through  which  the  brook  enters  the  reservoir  with  a 
rush. 

The  point  now  reached  is  just  halfway  around  the  inland 
circuit  of  the  metropolitan  district;  in  other  words,  it  is  ten 
miles  due  west  from  the  State  House.  Moreover,  it  is  at 
the  meeting-})lace  of  the  Charles  Elver  and  the  northern 
highlands.  The  lower  reaches  of  the  river,  and  the  easy 
roads  of  its  valley,  lead  thence  through  populous  regions  to 
the  city,  while  the  upper  river  valley  leads  southeastward 
along  the  border  of  the  metropolitan  district  towards  the 
southern  highland  of  the  Blue  Hills.  So  central  a  situa- 
tion should,  if  possible,  afford  a  large  and  interesting  public 
recreation  ground,  and  it  is  most  fortunate  that  nature  has 
here  provided  all  the  elements  and  placed  them  ready  to  our 
hands.  If  to  the  charming  water  park  of  Charles  River  and 
Stony  Brook  there  be  added  not  only  Prospect  Hill  to  the 
north  of  the  reservoir  but  also  Doublet  Hill  on  the  south,  a 
very  satisfactory  reservation  will  be  obtained.  The  latter 
•hill,  while  not  so  high  as  Prospect,  commands  more  pleasing 
views  of  the  river  valley,  while  from  the  surface  of  the 
stream  it  is  itself  an  attractive,  and  sometimes  an  imposing, 
object. 

Passing  now  up  the  Charles  River  valley  toward  the 
southern  highlands,  it  is  well  to  stop  for  a  moment  at  the 
wonderful  little  gorge  of  Newton  Upper  Falls,  where  the 
river  cuts  its  way  through  ledges  clothed  with  hemlocks. 
The  narrow  stream  flows  swift  and  dark  between  quaintly 
broken  rocks,  and  the  great  stone  arch  which  bears  the  Sud- 
bury River  aqueduct  leaps  boldly  across  from  bank  to  bank. 
Like  the  brook  and  the  Oaks  at  Waverley,  this  is  a  spot  of 
uncommon  interest  and  beauty,  which,  because  it  lies  within 
the  bounds  of  three  municipalities,  can  be  preserved  for  the 
delight  of  the  public  only  by  some  cooperative  or  metropolitan 
agency. 


^T.  33]         BELLEVUE   HILL  — THE   BLUE   HILLS  401 

Where  Charles  River  makes  its  great  bend  in  Dedham,  we 
leave  the  stream  in  order  to  discover  the  southern  counter- 
part of  the  Fells.  As  Boar  Hill  in  Stoneham  is  eight  miles 
north  northwest  from  the  State  House  and  three  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet  high,  so  Bellevue  Hill  in  AVest  Roxbury 
is  seven  miles  south  southwest  and  of  practically  the  sajne 
elevation.  The  growing  suburbs  of  West  Roxbury,  Dedham, 
and  Hyde  Park  surround  it,  and  town  streets  are  even  now 
climbing  its  slopes  ;  but,  on  the  Hyde  Park  side,  there  still 
remains  a  large  area  of  exceedingly  rough  and  steep  land,  in 
the  midst  of  which  is  concealed  a  low-lying  pool  called  Muddy 
Pond.  From  the  summit  of  Belle\aie,  whence  the  sea  is  in 
full  view,  to  the  shore  of  this  pond  is  half  a  mile,  but  the 
descent  is  more  than  two  hundred  feet.  Halfway  down,  if 
we  pause  for  a  moment  on  the  Dedham  turnpike,  or  on  one  of 
the  many  jutting  ledges  of  rock,  we  shall  see  over  the  pond, 
the  pine  woods  of  the  valley,  a,nd  the  half-concealed  town 
of  Hyde  Park,  the  range  of  the  Blue  Hills,  — no  longer  the 
pale  blue  masses  which  we  saw  from  Lynn  Woods  and  the 
Fells,  but  near  by  and  sharply  cut.  This  striking  view, 
the  panorama  from  the  hill-top,  and  the  sheltered  wildness 
of  the  deep  valley  of  the  pond,  render  Bellevue  Hill  with  the 
Muddy  Pond  woods  the  most  valuable  open  space  now  obtain- 
able in  this  section  of  the  metropolitan  district.  This  is, 
however,  another  case  for  metropolitan  action,  for  the  bound- 
ary which  divides  Hyde  Park  from  Boston  also  divides  these 
woods. 

Crossing  the  Neponset  valley,  we  at  last  reach  the  Blue 
Hills,  —  the  "  mountains  "  of  the  metropolitan  district.  Al- 
though they  extend  hardly  one  fourth  the  length  of  the  north- 
ern  range  of  rock-hills,  their  average  elevation  is  three  times 
as  great.  So  considerable  a  barrier  do  they  present,  that  the 
railroads,  the  creators  of  suburbs,  have  avoided  them  entirely, 
—  witli  the  result  that  in  all  the  five  miles  from  the  eastern 
base  of  Rattlesnake  Hill  to  the  western  foot  of  the  Big  Blue, 
there  are  not  yet  a  half-dozen  buildings  standing  on  the  hills 
above  the  contour  of  two  hundred  feet.  There  are,  indeed, 
in  all  this  distance  only  two  roads  which  cross  the  range. 
From  end  to  end  the  wilderness  is  still  practically  continuous. 


402        METROPOLITAN   PARK  COMMISSION   OF  1892     [1893 

The  hunting  of  foxes  and  raccoons  is  still  carried  on  in  it. 
Its  separated  hills  are  far  larger,  if  no  bolder,  than  the  others 
we  have  seen.  The  notches  or  passes  between  the  hills  are 
often  deep  and  steep-sided,  and  the  views  down  the  side  val- 
leys to  the  sea,  or  out  over  the  seeming  plain  of  southeastern 
Massachusetts,  are  surprising  and  grand.  It  is  true  that  the 
original  forest  was  swept  away  years  ago,  and  its  substitute  of 
Oak  and  Chestnut  is  a  little  monotonous  ;  on  the  other  hand, 
the  highest  parts  of  all  the  hills  are  variously  clothed  with 
scrub  Oaks,  Cedars,  Pines,  and  other  toughest  growths,  while 
the  many  narrow  and  shady  defiles  shelter  other  species  of 
their  own,  among  them  the  Mountain  Laurel,  which  is  very 
rare  near  Boston.  If  the  people  of  metropolitan  Boston  care 
to  possess  in  common  a  park  such  as  any  king  would  be  proud 
to  call  his  own,  a  public  forest  possessed  of  vastly  finer  scen- 
ery than  any  of  the  great  public  woods  of  Paris  can  show,  a 
recreation  ground  far  surpassing  in  its  refreshing  value  even 
London's  Epping  Forest,  they  have  only  to  possess  them- 
selves of  the  still  cheap  lands  of  the  Blue  Hills.  Like  the 
other  highlands  which  have  been  mentioned,  these  hills  stand 
wholly  within  the  sweep  of  the  eleven-mile  radius  from  the 
State  House.  They  lie  south  of  Boston  as  the  Lynn  Woods 
lie  north  ;  and  if  it  is  well  for  the  public  to  possess  the 
northern  reservation,  it  will  be  even  better  for  it  to  own 
the  grander  southern  heights. 

Lastly,  and  speaking  with  reference  to  all  the  open  spaces 
thus  far  mentioned,  it  only  remains  to  point  out  that,  once 
they  are  acquired,  they  need  cost  little  for  maintenance  and 
nothing  for  improvement,  at  least  for  many  years.  They  are 
all  of  a  kind  which,  if  forest  fires  are  prevented,  will  take 
care  of  themselves.  Moreover,  their  first  cost  need  not  at  all 
alarm  the  taxpayers  of  the  district.  A  study  of  valuations 
and  acreage  would  seem  to  warrant  an  estimate  that  one  mil- 
lion dollars  will  more  than  suffice  to-day  to  purchase  all  the 
highlands  herein  named.  In  other  words,  there  are  needed 
only  as  many  dollars  as  there  are  inhabitants  of  the  metro- 
politan district.  This  being  so,  it  ought  not  to  be  long  before 
the  combined  action  of  the  metropolitan  population  shall 
make  the  hills  their  own. 


^T.  33]        PONDS  AND  STREAMS  — THE  MYSTIC  403 

The  Ponds  and  Streams.  —  When  it  comes  to  examining 
the  little  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  metropolitan  district,  their 
case  is  found  to  be  different  from  that  of  the  rock-hills.  Pop- 
ulation, which  has  everywhere  avoided  the  heights,  has,  like 
the  waters,  settled  in  the  valleys.  Indeed,  most  of  the  cen- 
tres of  suburban  populations  are  crowded,  like  Hyde  Park  and 
Waltham,  upon  the  very  banks  of  streams.  Thus  at  first 
sight  it  seems  as  if  the  proposed  resumption  of  the  banks  by 
the  public  were  already  impracticable,  if  not  impossible,  so 
great  must  be  the  expenditure  which  the  work  of  rescue  must 
entail.  On  the  other  hand,  as  already  pointed  out,  the  ad- 
vantages the  whole  community  would  reap  from  public  own- 
ership of  the  waterways  are  so  many  and  great  that  the 
endeavor  to  secure  them  cannot  be  abandoned  hastily  or 
without  a  careful  study  of  the  facts  and  the  possibilities. 

The  streams  as  they  flow  through  the  district  on  their  way 
to  the  sea  must,  therefore,  next  be  followed ;  and  for  this 
purpose  the  Mystic,  Charles,  and  Neponset  had  better  be 
taken,  rather  than  their  more  rural  mates,  the  streams  of 
Saugus  and  Weymouth. 

The  Abbajona,  as  the  upper  Mystic  River  is  called  in  Win- 
chester, is  already  by  no  means  a  clean  stream  ;  and  yet,  below 
the  last  of  the  tanneries  wliich  pollute  it,  the  appearance  of 
the  winding  rivulet  and  its  banks  is  quite  delightful,  particu- 
larly where  it  passes  under  a  quaint  little  bridge  to  find  its 
outlet  in  the  upper  Mystic  Lake.  Here  is  a  natural  pond  con- 
verted by  a  dam  into  a  collecting  reservoir  of  the  Boston  water 
works.  Its  shores  are  intricate  in  outline  and  attractively 
wooded,  but  much  of  this  attractiveness  may  be  destroyed  at 
any  time,  for  the  city  of  Boston  o-^ms  hardly  anything  more 
than  the  land  under  water.  Below  the  dam,  the  lower  lake  lies 
so  low  that  its  waters  feel  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide.  We 
are  still  eight  miles  in  a  straight  line  from  the  sea,  and  in  the 
mouth  of  one  of  the  gaps  in  the  northern  range  of  rock-hills ; 
yet  just  after  the  Mystic  River  has  quitted  this  lower  lake, 
there  appears  a  little  flat  of  salt  marsh  upon  either  hand,  and 
from  this  point  to  the  river's  mouth  this  green  border  of 
meadow  is  never  absent.  Down  to  Medfoi-d  the  marsh  on 
the  left  bank  is  bounded  by  a  fine  tree-clad  bluff  of  upland, 


404       METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION  OF  1892    [1893 

from  which  some  of  the  solid  mansions  of  a  hundred  years 
ago  still  look  southward  across  the  sunny  open  of  the  river. 
At  Cradock  bridge  buildings  are  crowded  to  the  water's  edge, 
and  just  below  the  bridge  is  the  head  of  navigation,  where 
ships  were  built,  while  there  was  still  ship  timber  in  the  Fells, 
and  where  now  an  occasional  schooner  discharges  a  freight  of 
coal,  lime,  or  lumber.  From  the  lower  wharf  the  view  south- 
eastward and  Boston-ward  includes  what  seems  an  ever- widen- 
ing salt  marsh,  through  which  the  channel  widens  in  broad- 
ening loops,  one  of  which  swings  out  of  the  sunlight  of  the 
meadows  into  the  shadow  of  the  steep  Winter  Hill  of  Som- 
erville.  Three  or  four  manufacturing  concerns,  of  the  sort 
which  require  cheap  lands  and  no  near  neighbors,  have  set  up 
buildings  on  the  marsh ;  but  there  is  no  considerable  settle- 
ment upon  the  river-bank  until  after  the  lesser  Maiden  Eiver 
has  entered  from  the  north  and  the  long  railroad  bridges 
have  been  passed.  Here  the  channel  becomes  deep  enough  to 
float  considerable  vessels,  and  a  huge  chemical  factory  and 
many  coal  "  pockets  "  are  seen.  Thus  far,  excepting  for  a 
short  distance  near  Cradock  bridge,  there  is  really  nothing  to 
prevent  the  reservation  of  the  banks  for  public  use,  and  ulti- 
mately, though  perhaps  many  years  hence,  the  construction  of 
a  river  road  which  would  provide  the  pleasantest  possible 
route  to  Boston  from  Medford,  Arlington,  and  Winchester 
and  all  the  towns  beyond.  Below  the  railroad  bridges  com- 
merce should  undoubtedly  possess  the  river  ;  so  that  travellers 
by  the  river  road,  if  bound  to  Boston,  will  have  to  make  their 
way  through  Charlestown,  or  over  that  boulevard  terminating 
in  Haymarket  Square  which  the  consolidation  of  the  rail- 
roads will  make  it  possible  to  lay  out,  approximately  on  the 
present  location  of  the  old  Boston  and  Maine  line. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  traveller  from  up  the  river  is 
bent  on  pleasure  and  desires  to  drive  to  the  sea,  it  will  not  be 
difficult  to  provide  him  with  an  easy  and  pleasant  way  cross- 
ing Maiden  River  near  its  mouth,  passing  by  the  head  of 
Island  End  Creek,  and  so  down  Snake  Creek  and  by  a  branch 
of  Belle  Isle  Creek,  to  the  southern  end  of  Revere  Beach. 
This  route  will  bring  the  ocean  beach  within  six  and  one  half 
miles  of    Cradock  bridge,   Medford,  within  seven  miles  of 


^T.  33]  SNAKE  CREEK  — CHARLES  RIVER  405 

Harvard  Square,  Cambridge,  and  within  correspondingly 
short  distances  of  many  other  places  whose  inhabitants  at 
present  never  think  of  driving  to  the  sea  because  of  the  miles 
of  pavement  which  must  be  traversed  on  the  way. 

Doubtless  the  feasibility  of  reserving  so  continuous  an  open 
space  will  largely  depend  upon  the  temper  of  the  owners  of 
the  river  lands.  If  they  can  see  their  own  advantage,  the 
needed  reservation  will  be  obtained  almost  as  soon  as  a  metro- 
politan parks  board  can  be  created.  If,  however,  for  any 
reason  the  continuous  space  should  prove  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, the  metropolitan  board  should  at  all  events  possess  itself 
of  the  valley  and  mouth  of  Island  End  Creek,  which  lies 
within  the  bounds  of  Chelsea  and  Everett,  and  is  the  only 
space  which  now  remains  convenient  to  the  populations  of 
those  two  growing  cities. 

Proceeding  now  to  Waltham,  Charles  River  should  be 
followed  in  its  course  through  the  very  middle  of  the  metro- 
politan district.  As  far  as  AVatertown  the  stream  is  of  fresh 
water,  flowing  tranquilly  through  lowlands.  A  few  large 
mills  are  seated  on  its  banks,  but  outside  of  the  closely  built 
parts  of  Waltham  and  Watertown  the  shores  are  generally 
quite  free  from  buildings.  Halfway  between  the  towns  is 
the  mouth  of  Cheese-Cake  Brook,  where  the  city  of  Newton 
is  practically  illustrating  the  treatment  which,  with  local 
modifications,  should  be  applied  to  all  the  larger  waterways  of 
the  district,  as  soon  as  the  lands  about  them  are  demanded  for 
building  purposes.  Instead  of  covering  the  stream  with  back 
yards  or  a  street,  the  watercourse  is  placed  in  an  open  strip 
of  grassy  or  bushy  ground,  upon  each  side  of  which  is  con- 
structed a  roadway  affording  access  to  houses  built  facing  the 
stream.  In  this  way  three  results  are  brought  about  at  once. 
The  pollution  of  the  stream  is  effectually  prevented,  a  hand- 
some thoroughfare  is  created,  and  the  value  of  adjacent  real 
estate  is  so  enhanced  that  it  much  more  than  makes  good  the 
subtraction  of  the  brook  banks  which  have  been  given  to  the 
public.  The  treasury  of  the  city  of  Newton  will  soon  be  more 
than  reimbursed  by  the  increase  of  the  taxable  values  along 
the  stream. 

Below  the  dam  at  Watertown  Charles  River  is  salt,  and 


406       METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION   OF  1892     [1893 

bordered  by  salt,  marshes  backed  by  more  or  less  distant  up- 
lands. Out  of  a  total  length  of  sixteen  miles  of  bank,  from 
Watertown  bridge  to  Craigie  bridge  and  back  again,  almost 
four  miles  are  already  controlled  by  public  or  semi-public 
agencies.  Among  the  rest  the  United  States  Arsenal,  the 
Cambridge  Cemetery,  the  Corporation  of  Harvard  College, 
and  the  City  of  Boston  all  own  long  frontages,  —  a  part  of 
Boston's  river  front  has  already  become  a  popular  promenade 
and  playground,  known  as  the  Charlesbank.  Moreover,  the 
percentage  of  the  remaining  frontage  occupied  by  costly  struc- 
tures is  very  small.  Most  of  the  marginal  proprietors  are 
still  at  liberty  to  do  what  they  choose  with  their  own.  It 
must  be  evident  to  them  that  the  use  of  the  river  for  shipping 
purposes  is  almost  at  an  end.  Navigation  by  masted  vessels 
cannot  be  continued  much  longer,  because  of  the  intolerable 
interruption  to  traffic  caused  by  the  opening  of  the  draws  of 
the  crowded  bridges.  This  being  admitted,  the  question  arises 
whether  the  most  profit  will  in  the  end  be  reajied  by  offering 
the  river  lands  to  the  builders  of  factories  and  slums,  or  by 
drawing  to  them  the  builders  of  good  private  and  apartment 
houses.  One  numerous  body  of  marsh  and  flat  owners  has 
already  staked  its  money  on  the  belief  that  the  most  profit 
is  to  be  derived  from  the  last-named  method  of  procedure. 
Acting  on  this  conviction,  the  Charles  River  Embankment 
Company  has  given  the  city  of  Cambridge  a  river-side  espla- 
nade two  hundred  feet  wide  and  five  thousand  feet  long,  in 
the  rear  of  which  it  is  building  a  series  of  fine  streets  which 
converge  upon  Harvard  bridge.  In  AVatertown  another  com- 
pany of  land-owners  is  about  to  lay  out  a  large  tract  of  river- 
side upland  upon  a  similar,  though  a  more  rural,  plan.  In 
Boston  around  the  so-called  Fens,  and  in  Brookline  and  Bos- 
ton along  the  improved  Muddy  River,  real  estate  is  already 
reaping  the  advantages  arising  from  the  successful  conver- 
sion of  a  damaging  nuisance  into  a  profit-making  attraction. 
What  has  been  done  in  these  last-named  places  can  gradually 
be  done  in  less  expensive  ways  along  Charles  River,  whenever 
a  metropolitan  commission,  free  to  act  in  several  cities  and 
towns,  shall  be  empowered  to  cooperate  with  the  local  land- 
owners in  pushing  forward  a  work  which  cannot  fail  to  profit 
both  the  land-owners  and  the  public. 


jiT.  33]  THE   NEPONSET  407 

For  the  descent  of  our  third  river  —  the  Neponset  —  the 
start  should  be  made  from  Dedham.  A  small  tributary  of 
the  Neponset,  called  Motlier  Brook,  has  here  been  artificially 
supplied  by  means  of  a  canal  with  an  overflow  of  water  from 
the  meandering  Charles,  so  that  we  find  a  good  canoe  stream, 
which,  in  the  course  of  two  charming  miles,  brings  us  among 
the  factories  of  the  town  of  Hyde  Park.  The  brook  flows 
crookedly  between  high  banks  of  trees  in  a  valley  surpris- 
ingly little  injured  by  the  occasional  factories  which  use  the 
water  power.  The  mills  are  still  half  concealed  by  trees,  and 
by  the  very  narrowness  and  crookedness  of  the  valley.  In 
some  parts  there  are  already  brookside  roads  having  fringes 
of  trees  between  them  and  the  water.  In  other  j^arts,  the 
banks  afford  beautiful  views  down  the  descending  valley  to 
the  Great  Blue  Hill  and  its  mates.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
Hyde  Park,  where  the  brook  joins  the  river,  we  have  a  strik- 
ing exhibition  of  the  abuse  of  streams.  The  river  is  here 
a  sewer,  and  its  bank  a  rubbish  dump  and  continuous  back 
yard. 

Passing  through  Mattapan  to  the  head  of  the  tide  at  the 
foot  of  Milton  Hill,  several  long-established  factories  are  met, 
but  no  very  evil  places.  Along  most  of  the  way  the  banks 
are  beautifully  fringed  with  trees  and  bushy  thickets,  and  in 
some  parts  the  desirable  river  roads  already  exist.  At  length, 
with  a  rush  between  two  great  brick  chocolate  mills,  the  fresh- 
water river  makes  a  sudden  turn,  and,  sweeping  around  a  last 
Pine-clad  point,  flows  out  to  join  the  tide  of  the  salt  marshes. 
Just  here  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  spots  in  the  whole 
neighborhood  of  Boston,  and  one  which  well  illustrates  the 
fact  that  the  evidences  of  human  industry,  such  as  the  wharves, 
sheds,  and  schooners  which  here  are  mixed  with  trees  and 
rocks,  may  often  be  very  helpful  to  the  effectiveness  of 
scenery. 

The  marshes  bordering  our  river  from  this  point  to  the 
lower  bridge  are  framed  with  woods,  and  especially  adorned 
by  two  wooded  knolls  or  islands.  As  yet  there  is  not  a  single 
building  to  mar  the  beauty  of  their  open  levels,  the  best  view 
of  which  is  had  from  near  the  Neponset  bridge,  where  the 
Oak  islands,  Milton  Hill,  and  the  Great  Blue  Hill  looming  in 


408       METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION   OF  1892     [1893 

the  distance,  compose  a  quiet  landscape  such  as  is  hardly  to 
be  found  elsewhere  within  our  district.  Beyond,  on  the  way 
to  Squantuui,  are  two  striking  rocky  knolls  covered  with  dark 
Cedars  and  surrounded  by  the  marsh,  and  then  a  winding 
marsh  road  is  traversed,  scarcely  raised  above  the  level  of  the 
waters  of  the  bay,  which  now  appear  on  either  hand. 

As  the  ocean  at  Revere  Beach  was  reached  by  a  ten-mile 
drive  from  Winchester  down  the  valley  of  Mystic  River,  so 
now  the  bay  shore  at  Squaw  Rock  is  reached  by  a  ten-mile 
drive  from  Dedham  down  the  lovelier  valley  of  the  Neponset. 
Halfway  between  these  northern  and  southern  riverways  we 
find  Charles  River,  leading,  by  another  course  of  ten  miles, 
from  Waltham  through  the  very  centre  of  the  metropolitan 
district  to  the  basin  just  west  of  the  State  House.  Nature 
appears  to  have  placed  these  streams  just  where  they  can  best 
serve  the  needs  of  the  crowded  populations  gathering  fast 
about  them.  Moreover,  if  action  is  taken  quickly  to  establish 
an  executive  body  charged  with  the  duty  of  defending  and 
asserting  the  interest  of  the  whole  community  in  the  right 
treatment  of  these  rivers,  there  will  not  be  found  to  be  any 
very  great  difficulty  in  acquiring  in  some  parts  that  public 
ownership  of  the  banks,  and  in  other  parts  that  simple  right 
of  way,  which  is  all  that  is  essential  at  present.  The  self- 
interest  of  the  river  land-owners  and  the  self-interest  of  the 
separate  river  towns  will  conspire  to  assist  such  a  new  board 
in  its  work.  A  great  benefit  to  the  public  would  practically 
be  assui'ed  from  the  start. 

There  remains  one  other  kind  of  inland  open  space  of  more 
than  local  yet  of  not  such  general  value  as  the  rivers,  —  the 
ponds  of  the  district,  about  which,  as  in  the  case  of  the  rivers, 
there  ought  generally  to  be  a  protecting  public  way,  even  if 
it  be  no  more  than  a  footpath.  Here  again  the  intelligent 
interest  of  speculative  land-owners  will  in  time  effect  some- 
thing, —  the  more  quickly  if  such  private  interest  can  be  en- 
couraged by  a  board  officially  representing  the  public  interest 
in  such  works.  What  can  be  done  is  well  illustrated  at  Lake 
Quannapowitt,  where  a  public  road  follows  a  tree-fringed  shore 
for  more  than  a  mile,  and  gives  access  to  the  boating  which 
the  lake  affords.     Most  of  the  ponds  are,  however,  too  small 


^T.  33]  THE   TREATMENT  OF  THE  RIVERS  409 

for  boating;  so  that  those  who  take  pleasure  in  that  sport 
make  use  of  the  Charles  River  between  Waltham  and  Ded- 
ham,  —  a  part  of  the  river  thus  far  omitted  because,  for  the 
purposes  of  this  report,  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  one  long  pond. 
From  Waltham  to  Newton  Lower  Falls  the  stream  is  still 
idyllic  in  its  beauty,  though  threatened  here  and  there  by 
monstrous  ugliness.  Hundreds  of  persons  from  Boston  and 
many  other  parts  of  the  district  are  to  be  found  here  every 
pleasant  afternoon  in  summer.  In  all  this  district  there  is 
no  other  place  where  quiet  boating  in  such  surroundings  can 
be  had. 

Must  all  this  beauty  of  the  upper  river,  with  all  its  valuable 
opportunities  for  recreation,  be  destroyed  ?  The  town  of 
Brookline  and  the  cities  of  Newton  and  Waltham  draw  their 
water  supplies  from  this  valley  ;  and  for  the  protection  of 
those  supplies  they  already  own  between  Waltham  and  Ded- 
ham  some  six  out  of  a  total  of  twenty  miles  of  river-bank. 
They  ought  to  own  much  more ;  and  as  in  the  Fells  a  metro- 
politan commission  might  do  the  public  great  service  by  join- 
ing the  domains  of  the  various  water  boards,  so  here  upon 
the  Charles  River  the  same  body  might  likewise  do  much 
for  the  public  by  encouraging  further  purchases,  by  accept- 
ing the  charge  of  gifts  of  lands,  and  by  showing  the  land- 
owners and  the  towns  the  many  dangers  both  to  health  and 
to  property  which  the  continued  private  ownership  of  the 
banks  will  entail. 

The  Bay  and  the  Sea.  —  As  already  seen,  about  one  fourth 
of  the  whole  area  swept  by  a  radius  of  fifteen  miles  from  the 
State  House  is  occupied  by  the  bay  and  the  open  ocean. 
Here,  accordingly,  is  Boston's  one  great  "  open  space,"  whence 
comes  her  famous  east  wind  with  many  another  blessing  in 
disguise.  Most  of  the  sheltered  bay  is  shallow,  yet  sufficiently 
deep  for  pleasure  craft  of  small  tonnage,  some  eight  hundred 
of  which  are  owned  in  the  metropolitan  district,  —  many  more 
than  can  be  counted  in  any  other  harbor  of  the  Atlantic  coast, 
not  excepting  the  grand  bay  of  New  York.  In  summer  the 
channels  among  the  islands  are  sometimes  fairly  thronged 
with  craft,  among  which  pass  the  pleasure  steamers  which  daily 
carry  thousands  to  the  fine  seashore  of  Nantasket  or  Nahant. 


410        METROPOLITAN   PARK  COMMISSION  OF  1892     [1893 

Viewing  these  pleasant  scenes  of  liealtliful  recreation,  it  is 
a  delight  to  think  that  all  is  as  it  should  be,  that  here  at  last 
is  a  section  of  the  district  where  nature  has  suj^plied  the  peo- 
ple with  the  best  sort  of  a  park,  —  an  inalienable  pleasure 
ground  such  as  cannot  be  enclosed  for  private  use,  cannot  be 
damaged,  and  cannot  be  improved.  Yet,  if  this  is  the  first 
thought,  the  second  is  of  ominous  tenor.  True  is  it  that  the 
waters  cannot  but  remain  free  to  all ;  but  can  the  same  be 
said  of  the  shores?  Upon  inquiry  it  will  be  learned  that  of 
all  the  ocean  shore  of  the  metropolitan  district,  only  Nahant 
Beach,  which  is  a  highway,  belongs  to  the  public.  Even 
within  the  bay  the  public  holdings  are  but  few.  To  be  sure, 
most  of  the  islands  belong  either  to  the  United  States  or  to 
the  City  of  Boston  ;  but  they  are  used  for  forts,  reformatories, 
hospitals,  and  poorhouses.  They  might  easily  be  clothed  with 
foliage,  to  the  great  improvement  of  the  scenery  of  the  bay ; 
but  they  cannot  well  be  given  over  to  the  use  of  the  general 
public.  On  the  bay  shore  of  the  mainland  only  the  city  of 
Boston  owns  any  public  spaces,  these  being  Wood  Island  at 
East  Boston,  the  Marine  Pai'k  and  the  Old  Harbor  Parkway 
at  South  Boston,  and  the  main  drainage  reservations  at  the 
Cow  Pasture,  Squaw  Rock,  and  Moon  Island.  Everybody 
recognizes  the  value  of  these  bay-side  spaces ;  they  are  more 
popular  than  any  of  the  other  great  works  of  the  Boston  park 
commission  ;  and  they  point  the  way  by  which  a  metropolitan 
park  commission  may  at  once  win  public  favor  and  support. 

Boston  has  now  done  nearly  all  that  can  be  done  upon  the 
shore  within  her  limits.  If  the  public  is  to  own  any  of  the 
ocean  front  and  any  more  of  the  bay  shore,  divided  as  both 
are  among  many  towns  and  cities,  it  can  only  be  through  the 
encouraging  and  helping  activity  of  a  metropolitan  park  com- 
mission. And  when  such  a  commission  is  established,  what 
should  be  its  first  work  upon  the  shore  ?  The  answer  is,  — 
the  acquirement  of  the  title  to  the  foreshoi-e  and  the  beach 
from  Winthrop  Great  Head  to  the  Point  of  Pines.  Winthrop 
Head  stands  almost  due  east  from  the  State  House,  and  looks 
eastward  and  seaward  halfway  between  the  promontories  of 
Nahant  and  Hull.  Between  it  and  Grover's  Cliff  the  beach 
is  already  o^vned  in  common  by  the  proprietors  of  the  crowded 


^T.  33]  REVERE   BEACH  — CONCLUSION  411 

houses  on  its  crest.  Grover's  Cliff  is  the  property  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  only  along  Revere  Beach  that  difficulty 
will  be  encountered  in  securing  free  public  access  to  the 
shore.  The  present  condition  of  this  fine  beach  is  a  disgrace. 
Two  railroads  and  a  highway  have  been  built  upon  it,  with- 
out regard  to  either  the  safety  and  convenience  of  the  public, 
or  the  development  of  the  highest  real-estate  values.  The 
railroads  cared  only  for  a  location  which  would  enable  them 
to  use  the  beach  as  an  attraction  to  draw  passengers.  No 
account  was  taken  of  the  fact  that  swarms  of  peo])le  must 
induce  a  demand  for  buildings,  and  so  the  buildings  have 
had  to  find  sites  where  best  they  could,  generally  between 
the  highway  and  the  sea.  A  thorough  reformation  is  called 
for  here  in  the  interest,  not  only  of  the  general  jniblic,  but 
also  of  the  beach  proprietors  and  the  treasury  of  Kevere. 
The  real  interests  of  the  railroads  demand  a  proper  arrange- 
ment of  the  beach.  Its  capabilities  as  a  place  of  residence, 
equipped  with  a  broad  esplanade  and  drive,  and  lined  with 
houses  and  hotels  facing  the  southeast  and  the  sea,  are  as  yet 
not  understood  ;  nevertheless,  the  time  is  coming  when  they 
will  be  understood,  and  when  that  public  control  of  the  shore 
which  can  now  be  brought  about  at  comparatively  little  cost 
will  be  appreciated  at  its  worth. 

CONCLUSION, 

The  circuit  of  the  rock-hills,  the  streams,  and  the  shores  of 
the  district  has  now  been  completed,  and  it  only  remains  to 
add  a  few  words  of  general  application. 

In  proposing  the  acquisition  of  the  particular  spaces 
named,  I  have  been  influenced  by  nothing  but  my  view  of  the 
public  needs,  and  my  estimate  of  the  district's  financial  powers. 
That  the  proposed  open  areas  lie  so  symmetrically  within  the 
district,  Lynn  Woods  mating  with  the  Blue  Hills,  the  Fells 
■with.  Muddy  Pond,  the  Oaks  with  the  Hemlock  Gorge,  and 
the  Mystic  River  with  the  Xeponset,  is  due  to  nature. 

As  to  the  bounds  of  the  proposed  areas,  I  have  not  at- 
tempted to  define  them  with  precision.  "When  the  time 
comes,  they  should  in  every  case  be  so  placed  that  the  street 
departments  of  the  several  towns  and  cities  may  find  it  easy 


412        METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION  OF  1892     [1893 

to  consti'uct  roads  immediately  adjacent  to  the  boundaries 
and  continuous  tlierewitli.  Doubtless  in  many  places  the 
abutting  land-owners  will  give  the  lands  which  may  be  needed 
for  such  roads  in  view  of  the  advantages  their  property  will 
derive  therefrom. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  well  to  point  out  that  the  cost  of 
the  maintenance  of  all  the  metropolitan  open  spaces  need 
not,  for  many  years  at  least,  exceed  the  expense  of  guarding 
them  from  forest  fires  and  other  forms  of  dejaredation ;  on 
tlie  other  hand,  if  the  community  should  wish  to  clean  the 
streams,  build  paths  or  roads,  or  do  any  other  proper  work 
within  the  reservations,  it  would  find  in  the  Park  Commis- 
sion an  instrument  to  do  its  bidding. 

I  desire,  before  closing,  to  express  my  thanks  to  the  engi- 
neers and  clerks  of  the  towns  and  cities  of  the  district  for 
the  information  which  many  of  them  have  kindly  furnished. 

The  bill  recommended  by  the  temporary  Metropolitan  Park 
Commission  was  favorably  rejjorted  by  the  Joint  Committee 
on  Public  Reservations;  but  was  somewhat  injured  in  the 
Finance  Committee  in  consequence  of  objections  made  with- 
out careful  consideration  in  the  supposed  interests  of  Medford. 

An  arbitrary  southern  boundary  for  the  Middlesex  Fells, 
consisting  of  two  straight  lines,  one  running  easterly  from 
the  southerly  base  of  Pine  Hill,  and  the  other  running  north- 
westerly from  the  same  point,  was  laid  down  in  the  bill.  This 
boundary,  running  over  hill  and  dale  without  the  least  regard 
to  the  lay  of  the  land,  was  absurd  in  itself,  and  was  distinctly 
injurious  both  to  the  reservation  and  to  Medford.  It  was 
improved  by  a  special  Act  of  the  legislature  in  1895  ;  but 
58  still  very  defective  from  every  point  of  view.  As  finally 
inacted,  the  statute  created  a  permanent  Commission  of  five 
members,  serving  without  salary,  and  provided  with  the 
powers  and  resources  needed  to  carry  out  at  their  discretion 
the  general  scheme  which  had  been  elaborated  and  published 
under  the  direction  of  the  temporary  Commission.  The  three 
members  of  the  temporary  Commission  were  all  made  mem- 
bers of  the  permanent  Commission,  so  that  a  continuity  of 
general  plan  and  purpose  was  assured. 

Considering  Charles's  agency  in  securing  both  the  tem- 
porary and  the  permanent  Metropolitan  Park  Commission, 
and  the  fact  that  millions  of  dollars  were  rapidly  spent  in 
carrying  out  the  recommendations  of  his  report  of  January  2, 


^T.  33]  NOTES   ON  THE   MAP  413 

1893,  the  charge  he  made  for  his  services  to  the  temporary- 
Commission  is  a  curiosity  :  — 

1  Feb.  '93. 

Metropolitan  Park  Commission. 

Professional  services  to  date : — including  field  studies  in 
the  metropolitan  district  of  Boston,  a  report  upon  the  oppor- 
tunities for  open  spaces  in  that  district,  superintendence  of 
the  making  of  a  map  of  the  district,  and  attendance  upon  the 
meetings  and  excursions  of  the  Commission,  $1000. 

He  also  collected  from  the  Commission  .$19  for  carfares 
and  carriages,  and  $5392  for  work  done  by  his  clerk  and 
draughtsman.  For  four  years  (1893-1897)  he  further  re- 
ceived, as  a  member  of  the  Olmsted  firm,  a  modest  compensa- 
tion for  his  assiduous  Metropolitan  Park  work. 

NOTES  ON  THE  MAP  ACCOMPANYING  THE  REPORT  OF 
JANUARY   2,    1893.1 

This  map  represents  the  neighborhood  of  Boston  on  a  scale  of  a  trifle 
more  than  one  mile  to  each  inch,  —  a  scale  to  which  the  people  of  the 
United  States  are  now  accustomed,  because  it  is  used  by  the  national 
geological  survey  for  all  its  maps  of  the  populous  regions  of  the  country. 
The  contour  lines  of  the  map  are  copied  from  the  original  sheets  in  the 
office  of  the  State  topograpliical  survey.  It  should  be  said  that  they  are 
but  roughly  sketched  and  inaccurate  in  many  places  ;  nevertheless,  they 
display  the  general  form  of  the  surface  and  the  relative  elevation  of 
different  parts  of  the  district  in  a  manner  not  otherwise  possible.  The 
rock-hills,  the  rounded  drnmlins,  the  wandering  streams,  the  marshes, 
the  salt  creeks,  and  the  wave-built  beaches  of  the  coast  are  all  clearly 
brought  out. 

Principal  highways  and  those  traversed  by  street  railways  are  shoAvn 
upon  this  map  by  double  lines  ;  all  other  streets  and  roads  by  single  lines. 
Where  streets  are  built  upon  filled  flats  or  marshes,  the  black  street  lines 
are  printed  over  the  marsh  color  ;  the  great  extent  of  the  low  and  filled 
lands  is  thus  indicated  at  a  glance. 

Railroads  are  shown  by  the  usual  convention,  and  the  crossings  of  the 
streets  are  distinguished  according  as  they  are  overhead,  underneath,  or 
at  one  grade. 

Existing  commons,  squares,  parks,  and  other  open  spaces  reserved  for 
public  recreation  or  for  the  protection  of  water  supplies,  and  having  an 
area  of  two  acres  or  more,  are  printed  in  green,  and  numbered  to  corre- 
spond with  the  key  on  the  next  page. 

Open  spaces  suggested  in  the  landscape  architect's  report  are  colored 
buff.     As  stated  in  the  report,  the  boundaries  of  these  spaces  have  not 

1  The  map  will  be  found  in  the  pocket  of  the  left-hand  cover;  in  the 
two-volume  edition,  in  the  pocket  of  the  right-hand  cover  of  Vol.  I. 


414        METROPOLITAN   PARK   COMMISSION  OF  1892     [1893 

been  studied  in  detail  ;  if  they  had  been,  the  small  scale  of  the  map 
would  preclude  showing  them.  The  scale  of  the  map  has  likewise  made 
it  necessary  to  print  the  buff  color  along  the  streams  and  in  some  other 
parts  without  regard  to  those  special  parcels  of  real  estate,  such  as 
cemeteries,  churches,  established  mills,  and  the  like,  which  a  metropol- 
itan commission  would  hardly  think  of  buying,  since  agreements  made 
with  their  owners  would  in  most  cases  accomplish  all  that  is  essential. 


KEY   TO   THE   FIGURES   ON   THE  MAP. 


OPEN   SPACES. 

1.  Boston  Common 

2.  Public  Garden 

3.  Commonwealth 

Avenue 

4.  Cliarlesbauk 

5.  Back  Bay  Fens 

6.  Blackstone  Sq. 

7.  Franklin  Sq. 

8.  Monument  Sq. 

9.  Charlestown  Hts. 

10.  Playgi-ound 

11.  Wood  Island 

Park 

12.  Commonwealth 

Park 

13.  Telegraph  Hill 

14.  Independence 

Square 

15.  Marine  Park 
IG.  Castle  Island 

17.  Rogers  Park 

18.  Chestnut  Hill 

Reservoir 

19.  Playground 

20.  Plaj!ground 

21.  Playground 

22.  Muddy  River 

Parkway 

23.  Old  Brookline 


CONTROLLED   BY 

Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Boston  Park  Comm'n. 
Boston  Park  Comm'n. 
Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Bunker  HiU  Monument 

Association. 
Boston  Park  Comm'n. 
Boston  Park  Comm'n. 
Boston      Park      Com- 
mission. 
Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Boston  Park  Comm'n. 
Boston  Park  Comm'n. 
Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Boston  Water  Board. 

Brookline  Selectmen. 
Brookline  Selectmen. 
Brookline  Selectmen. 
Boston  and   Brookline 

Park  Commissions. 
Boston  Water  Board. 


24.  Brookline  Res'vr    Brookline  Water  B'rd. 

25.  Fisher  Hill  Res'vr  Boston  Water  Board. 

26.  Madison    Square    Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Boston  Water  Board. 


27.  Orchard  Park 

28.  Parker  Hill 

Reservoir 

29.  Highland  Park 


OPEN   SPACES. 


CONTBOLLKD  BY 


30.  Washington  Park    Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 

31.  Fountain  Square    Boston  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 

32.  Jamaica  Pond          Boston  Park  Comm'n. 

33.  Arnold    Arbore-    Boston  Park  Comm'n. 

turn 

34.  Franklin  Park 

35.  Franklin  Field 
3C.  Dorchester  Park 
37.  Squaw  Rock 


38.  Moon  Island 


Merrymount  Park 
Faxon  Park 
Quiucy  Water  Re- 


Boston  Park  Comm'n. 

Boston  Park  Comm'n. 

Boston  Park  Comm'n. 

Boston  Improved  Sew- 
erage Department. 

Boston  Improved  Sew- 
erage Department. 

Quincy  Park  Comm'n. 

Quiucy  Park  Comm'n. 

Quincy  Water  Board. 


French's  Com'n      Braintree  Selectmen. 
Webb  Park  Weymouth  Park  Com- 


44.  Beals  Park 


Hull  Common 
Dedham  Com'n 
Boston  Parental 

School  Gr'nds 
Brookline  Water 

Works 
Brookline  Water 

Reserve 
Brookline  Water 

Reserve 
Newton    Water 

Reserve 
Needham  Com'n 


Weymouth  Park  Com- 
mission. 
Hull  Park  Comm'n. 
Dedham  Selectmen. 
Trustees. 

Brookline  Water  B'rd. 

Brookline  Water  B'rd. 

Brookline  Water  B'rd. 

Newton  Water  Board. 

Needham  Selectmen. 


52. 

53.  Waban  Hill  Res'vr  Newton  Water  Board. 

54.  Farlow  Park  Newton  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Newton  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
Weston  Selectmen. 


Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 


55.  Playground 

5G. 

57. 

58. 


River  Park, 

Weston 
Auburndale  Park    Newton  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
River  Park,  Au-    Newton  Department  of 

bumdale  Public  Grounds. 


^T.  33]  KEY  TO   THE  FIGURES  OX   THE   MAP 


415 


OPEN  SPACES. 

CONTROLLED   BY 

59 

Cambridge 

Cambridge  Water  B'rd. 

CO 

■Walthaiu  Water 
Works 

Waltham  Water  B'rd. 

Gl 

Waltham  Com- 

Waltham   Department 

mon 

of  Public  Grounds. 

62 

W.itertown 
Common 

Watertown  Selectmen. 

63 

United  States 
Arsenal 

National  Government. 

C4. 

Fresh  Pond  Re- 

Cambridge  Water  B'rd. 

65. 

Cambridge 

Cambridge  Department 

Common 

of  Public  Grounds. 

63. 

Broadway  Com- 

Cambridge Department 

mon 

of  Public  Grounds. 

07. 

Tlie  Esplanade 

Cambridge  Department 
of  Public  Grounds. 

C8. 

Central  HiU 

Somerville  Department 

Park 

of  Public  Grounds. 

69. 

Broadway  Park 

Soiiierville  Department 
of  Public  Grounds. 

70. 

Powder  House 

Somerville  Department 

Park 

of  Public  Grounds. 

71. 

Mystic  Res'vr 

Boston  Water  Board. 

72. 

Mystic  Water 
Works 

Boston  Water  Board. 

73. 

Arlington  Hts. 

Arlington  Selectmen. 

74. 

Arlingt'n  Water 
Reserve 

ArUugton  Water  B'rd. 

75. 

Lexington  Com- 
mon 

Lexington  Selectmen. 

7C. 

Boston  Water 
Reserve 

Boston  Water  Board. 

77. 

Winchester 
Common 

Winchester  Selectmen. 

78. 

Woburn  Park 

Wobum  Park  Comm'n. 

79. 

Winchester 
Water  Reserve 

Winchester  Water  B'd. 

80. 

Bear  Hill  Park 

Stoneham  Park    Com- 

mission. 
81.  Melrose,  Maiden    Joint  Water  Board, 
and     Medford 
Water  Reserve 


OFBN   SPACES. 

82.  Medford  Water 

Reserve 

83.  Virginia  Wood 

84.  Playground 

85.  Wakefield  Com- 

mon 
8G.  Lake  Park 
87.  Sewall's  Wood 

83.  Eastern     Com- 

89.  Waitt's  Mount 

90.  Maiden  Water 

Works 

91.  Chelsea  Com- 

mission 

92.  United      States 

Mai-iue  and  Na- 
val Ho.spitals 

93.  United  States 

Battery 

94.  United  States 

Battery 

95.  Lj-nn  Common 
90.  Lynn  Woods 

97.  Lynn  Water  Re- 

serve 

98.  Meadow  Park 

99.  Oceanside    Ter- 

race 

100.  Nahant  Long 

Beach 

101.  Nahant  Short 

Beach 

102.  Devereux 

Beach 

103.  Marblehead 

Park 

104.  Crocker  Rock 

103.  Fort  Sewall 
106.  Fort  Glover 


COSTRJLLED   BY 

Medford  Water  Board. 

Trustees  of  Public  Re- 
servations. 
Stoneham  Selectmen. 
Wakefield  Selectmen. 

Wakefield  Selectmen. 
Melrose      Park     Com- 
mission. 
Melrose     Park     Com- 


Maldeu  Water  Board. 
Maiden  Water  Board. 

Chelsea  Department  of 

Public  Grounds. 
National  Government. 


National  Government. 

National  Government. 

Lynn  Park  Comm'n. 
Lynn  Park  Comm'n. 
Lynn  Water  Board. 

Lynn  Park  Comm'n. 
Lymi  Park  Comm'n. 

Nahant  Selectmen. 

Nahant  Selectmen. 

Marblehead  Selectmen. 

Marblehead  Park  Com- 
mission. 

Marblehead  Park  Com- 
mission. 

Marblehead  Selectmen. 

Marblehead  Selectmen. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

FAMILY  LIFE  — JOINING  THE  OLMSTED  FIRM 

The  supreme  end  of  Chiistiau  endeavor  is  not  to  look  away  to  an 
inconceivable  heaven  beyond  the  skies,  and  to  spend  our  life  in  pre- 
paring for  it ;  but  it  is  to  realize  that  latent  heaven,  those  possibilities 
of  spiritual  good,  that  undevelojied  kingdom  of  righteousness  and  love 
and  truth,  which  human  nature  and  human  society  contain.  — Sekmon 
1,  Scotch  Sekmons. 

While  Charles  was  thus  gaining  strength  and  influence  in 
his  beloved  profession,  his  family  life  was  develoi)ing  very 
happily.  When  he  brought  his  wife  to  Massachusetts  after 
their  marriage  in  Colorado,  it  was  to  his  father's  house  in 
Cambridge  that  they  came  ;  and  there  the  first  child  —  Ruth 
—  was  born.  This  event  was  announced  to  his  friend  Roland 
Thaxter  (who  had  already  named  a  boy  for  Charles)  in  the 
following  terms  :  "  Dear  R. :  A  small  daughter  arrived  here 
last  evening  at  nine  thirty,  said  to  be  perfectly  lovely  by 
those  who  know !  At  any  rate  she  weighs  eight  pounds  and 
is  well  formed  ;  and  both  she  and  her  mother  are  doing  well. 
My  respects  to  your  young  man  and  his  mother.  I  hope  all 
is  serene  in  your  life  and  surroundings.  Affectionately, 
C.  E." 

By  the  spring  of  1891  Charles  and  his  wife  saw  their  way 
to  maintaining  a  modest  establishment  of  their  own ;  but  they 
wanted  an  interesting  prospect  from  their  windows,  and  ready 
access  to  Boston  by  steam-cars ;  and  Charles  had  a  distinct 
inclination  towards  the  neighborhood  of  the  Blue  Hills.  To- 
wards the  end  of  April  they  found  a  house  near  the  top  of  the 
southerly  slope  of  Brush  Hill  which  fulfilled  in  fair  measure 
their  desires,  and  into  this  house  they  moved  on  May  1st. 
The  whole  vicinity  found  great  favor  in  Charles's  eyes,  because 
of  the  many  delightful  prospects  it  afforded  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year.  Many  persons  think  of  the  New  England  country 
as  beautiful  in  May,  or  in  midsummer,  or  in  October,  but 
dreary  the  rest  of  the  year ;  but  for  Charles  the  wintry  scene 
was  beautiful  too,  and  he  enjoyed  his  walks  and  drives  through 
the  Blue  Hill  reofion  as  much  in  winter  as  in  summer.     He 


.ET.  33]  THE   HOME   AT  BRUSH   HILL  417 

especially  liked  walking  in  tlio  country  after  a  light  fall  of 
snow  or  of  sleet. 

In  April,  1892,  the  family  moved  a  few  hundred  feet  to 
another  house  belonging  to  the  same  owner  on  the  same  hill- 
side, but  better  placed  as  regards  outlook.  This  second  house 
on  Brush  Hill  was  old  and  low-studded,  but  more  interesting 
than  the  first,  and  more  appropriate  for  a  landscape  architect. 
A  few  good  trees  stood  near  it,  and  it  commanded  a  prospect 
in  which  the  foreground  and  the  middle  distance  were  as 
interesting  as  the  fine  background  of  wooded  hills.  Here  a 
second  daughter  —  Grace  —  was  born. 

The  household  was  a  simple  one  at  first ;  they  had  no  horse, 
and  Charles  walked  to  and  from  the  station  at  Hyde  Park, 
about  a  mile  distant.  In  1892  (October),  Charles's  net 
earnings  having  doubled  since  1890,  they  felt  warranted  in 
setting  up  a  horse  and  wagon  and  a  man  ;  and  thereafter  they 
lived  in  a  simple  but  easy  and  comfortable  fashion,  exercising 
a  pleasant  hospitality,  and  getting  the  open  air  at  all  seasons 
by  driving  as  well  as  walking.  Husband  and  wife  delighted 
equally  in  long,  slow,  country  drives,  and  often  enjoyed  them 
together  on  Sundays  and  holidays.  Frequently,  however, 
Charles  used  his  free  days  for  walks  through  the  country, 
either  alone  or  with  a  friend  interested  in  botany,  ornitho- 
logy, or  scenery.  His  legs  were  long,  and  his  weight  was 
small  for  his  height ;  so  that  he  could  walk  for  hours  at  a 
rapid  rate.  This  power  of  walking  fast  and  far  was  of  real 
service  to  him  in  his  profession,  particularly  in  his  Metropoli- 
tan Park  work. 

Charles  changed  his  office  twice  before  1893.  After  three 
years  in  his  delightful  rooms  at  No.  9  Park  Street,  he  moved 
to  50  State  Street,  in  order  to  get  his  accumulating  plans  and 
papers  into  a  fii-e-proof  building,  and  to  make  himself  more 
accessible  to  the  well-to-do  business  men  who  might  become 
his  clients ;  and  again  after  three  years  he  moved  thence 
across  the  street  to  53  State  Street,  to  get  more  room  and  a 
better  exposure  for  the  summer  season.  This  last  removing 
took  place  on  December  1,  1892,  during  the  greatest  pres- 
sure of  his  work  for  the  preliminary  Metropolitan  Park  Com- 
mission. 

Charles  now  had  his  family  and  his  office  established  very 
much  to  his  mind,  and  his  prospects  looked  bright  in  all  re- 
spects ;  but  a  great  change  was  imminent,  which  was  to  affect 
his  place  of  residence  as  well  as  his  professional  surround- 
ings. On  the  13th  of  January,  1893,  Mr.  Harry  Codman, 
the  junior  partner  in  the  firm  of  F.  L.  Olmsted  &  Co.,  sud- 


418    FAMILY   LIFE  — JOINING  THE  OLMSTED   FIRM     [1893 

denly  died  at  Chicago,  where  he  had  been  directing  with  the 
greatest  acceptance  the  admirable  work  planned  by  that  firm 
for  the  World's  Fair.  That  work  was  well  advanced,  but 
still  required  a  great  deal  of  attention  ;  and  much  other  impor- 
tant work  was  in  the  hands  of  the  firm.  Within  a  few  da3^s 
both  Mr.  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  and  Mr.  John  Charles 
Olmsted  urged  Charles  to  come  to  their  assistance  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm.  This  proposal  pleased  Charles  greatly  as  an 
evidence  of  confidence  in  him  on  the  part  of  one  who  had 
been  his  master  in  the  landscape  art ;  and  he  saw  clearly  the 
possibilities  of  advancement  in  his  profession  which  connec- 
tion with  the  principal  landscape  firm  in  the  country  pre- 
sented. At  the  same  time  he  much  preferred  to  be  profes- 
sionally independent ;  and  when  he  consulted  privatel}^  a  few 
well-informed  friends,  the  weightiest  advice  was  decidedly  in 
favor  of  complete  independence  on  his  part.  Nevertheless, 
before  Februar}^  1st  he  had  decided  to  join  the  Olmsted  firm  ; 
and  on  March  1st  he  actually  became  a  partner,  and  began 
to  work  in  the  Olmsted  office  at  Brookline,  having  previously 
devoted  two  weeks  and  a  half  (February  5th-23d)  to  visiting 
works  in  charge  of  the  firm  at  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  Louis- 
ville, Hot  Springs,  Ark.,  St.  Louis,  Detroit,  and  Erie,  Pa., 
and  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  gentlemen  concerned  in 
the  several  undertakings.  It  was  Charles's  strong  sense  of 
obligation  to  Mr.  Olmsted,  his  high  respect  for  Mr.  Olmsted's 
career  as  a  landscape  artist,  and  his  belief  that  he  himself 
could  be  useful  to  the  firm,  which  determined  this  important 
step  on  his  jjart,  taken  against  his  inclination,  and  with  a  per- 
fectly clear  vision  of  the  inevitable  drawbacks  to  this  valua- 
ble connection  with  an  experienced  firm  whose  methods  and 
usages  were  presumably  somewhat  firmly  fixed,  and  were  in 
some  respects  different  from  his  own. 

The  family  continued  to  live  at  Brush  Hill  until  the  end  of 
April,  1894,  and  were  even  then  loath  to  leave  their  beautiful 
situation  there,  although  it  took  Charles  a  full  hour  to  go 
from  his  house  to  the  Olmsted  office,  and  although  they  had 
found  a  house  in  Brookline  which  commanded  a  singularly 
beautiful  view  over  the  Brookline  reservoir  towards  Boston, 
and  was  also  not  far  from  the  Olmsted  office.  This  house 
was  near  the  junction  of  Warren  and  Dudley  streets.  It  was 
sunny  and  wholesome,  and  had  several  acres  of  sloping  land 
to  the  east  and  south  of  it.  Thither  the  family  moved  at  the 
end  of  April,  1894 ;  and  soon  they  all  became  much  attached 
to  this  new  residence,  which  was  handsome  in  itself,  and  was 
also  in  a  desirable  neighborhood.  Two  more  little  girls  — 
Ellen  Peabody  and  Carola  —  were  born  in  this  house. 


^T.  34]  THE   HOME   IN   BROOKLINE  419 

The  family  life  was  now  even  happier  than  at  Brush  Hill ; 
because  the  husband  could  often  take  luncheon  at  home  as  well 
as  breakfast  and  dinner,  the  house  bein<;^  within  an  easy  walk 
of  the  office.  Moreover,  income  increased ;  so  that,  as  the  fam- 
ily increased  in  size,  more  service  and  more  intelligent  could 
be  paid  for.  The  only  drawback  was  that  Charles  wa?  obliged 
to  be  absent  from  home  oftener  and  for  longer  periods  after 
he  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Olmsted,  Olmsted  & 
Eliot  than  before. 

A  serene  hajipiness  lay  at  the  roots  of  Charles's  life ;  cares 
increased,  but  they  were  shared,  and  joys  increased  wonder- 
fully, and  were  doubled.  The  wife  had  need  of  this  new 
home.  Since  her  marriage  she  had  lost  father  and  sister  and 
a  dear  uncle,  the  father  of  her  most  intimate  friend.  That 
friend,  who  was  a  member  of  Mrs.  Beadle's  party  in  Europe 
in  1885-86,  had  died  just  before  Mary  was  engaged  to 
Charles.  Of  Mary's  immediate  family  there  remained  only 
her  younger  brother  Horace,  who  was  now  studying  for  the 
ministry.^ 

^  Horace  Tracy  Pitkin,  A.  B.  (Yale)  1892,  studied  for  the  ministry  at 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  Xew  York  (1893-189G),  and  at  Northfield, 
Mass.,  in  the  summer  vacations  ;  went  to  China  as  a  missionary  in  No- 
vember, 1896,  travelling  thither  slowly  through  Europe  and  India  ;  sent 
his  wife  and  baby  home  suddenly  from  Shanghai  in  April,  1900  ;  returned 
himself  to  his  post  at  Paoting-fu  ;  and  was  murdered  by  the  Boxers  about 
July  1,  1900,  with  two  American  women  missionaries,  Miss  Gould  and 
Miss  Morrill. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  IN  SELECTING  PUBLIC  RESERVA- 
-       TIONS  AND  DETERMINING  THEIR  BOUNDARIES 

The  object  of  sucli  pleasure  grounds  is  chiefly  this,  —  they  serve  the 
people  for  exei-cise,  for  enjoyment  of  the  life-giving  open  air,  for  jovial 
social  intercourse,  and  for  mutual  approaehment  of  all  classes,  which 
here  in  the  lap  of  fair  Nature  meet  and  refresh  themselves,  and  in 
simple  enjoyments  learn  to  dispense  with  other  less  beneficial  delecta- 
tions of  city  life. 

The  People's  Garden  is  therefore  in  a  doiible  sense  a  very  rational, 
beneficent,  and  instructive  gymnastic  school  for  mind  and  body ;  and 
consequently  belongs  among  those  most  needed  inventions  of  creative 
art  which  a  wise  and  humane  government  should  favor  and  protect. 
F.   L.  VON  SCKELL,   1825. 

The  permanent,  executive,  Metropolitan  Park  Commission 
was  fully  organized  and  ready  for  work  by  the  1st  of  August, 
1893.  Messrs.  Olmsted,  Olmsted  &  Eliot  were  appointed 
its  Landscape  Architects,  and  were  requested  to  advise  the 
Commission  at  once  concerning  the  best  boundaries  for  five 
of  the  reservations  which  Charles  had  proposed  in  his  report 
of  January  2,  1893,  to  the  preliminary  Commission,  namely, 
the  Beaver  Brook,  Blue  Hills,  Middlesex  Fells,  Revere  Beach, 
and  Stony  Brook  reservations.  Although  the  firm  was  here- 
after the  official  adviser  of  the  Commission,  the  whole  of  the 
Metropolitan  Park  work  which  came  to  the  firm  remained  in 
Charles's  hands  ;  he  did  the  preliminary  study  of  the  bound- 
aries, gave  the  directions  to  the  surveyors,  wrote  the  reports 
in  the  firm's  name,  and  attended  the  meetings  of  the  Commis- 
sion. He  began  his  explorations  in  the  middle  of  August, 
and  started  six  parties  of  surveyors  in  September ;  but  two 
journeys  to  the  West,  one  as  far  as  Kansas  City,  and  the 
other  to  the  World's  Fair,  and  a  short  vacation  at  Mt.  Desert 
prevented  steady  work  on  the  boundaries  until  October  16th, 
when  he  began  to  give  nearly  all  his  time  to  the  demarcation 
of  the  five  reservations.  By  that  time  his  work  and  that 
of  the  surveyors  was  much  facilitated  by  the  falling  of  the 
leaves.  His  method  was  to  go  on  foot  along  the  approximate 
boundary  he  was  studying,  having  in  hand  the  best  existing 


^.T.  33]  PRINCIPLES   OF  PARK  SELECTION  421 

map  of  the  neighborhood,  and  accompanied  by  the  local  sur- 
veyor in  charge  of  that  section,  or  by  some  resident  in  the 
vicinity  who  was  acquainted  with  the  properties  and  the  lay 
of  the  land.  On  the  spot  he  made  notes  and  sketches  which 
enabled  the  surveyor  to  place  the  proposed  boundary  on  the 
map  in  a  tentative  way.  This  having  been  done,  Charles 
revisited  the  boundary  as  mapped,  to  revise  and  confirm  his 
first  ideas,  and  to  make  notes  for  a  written  description  of  the 
boundary,  and  for  an  oral  advocacy  of  it  before  the  Commis- 
sion. Within  sixty  days  he  studied  in  this  way  about  thirty 
miles  of  park  boundaries,  brought  to  completion  the  surveys 
and  maps  which  were  indispensable  preliminaries  to  any  defi- 
nite action  by  the  Commission,  and  wrote  the  first  detailed 
reports  on  the  Beaver  Brook,  Revere  Beach,  Middlesex  Fells, 
Blue  Hills,  and  Stony  Brook  or  Muddy  Pond  Reservations. 
Before  tlie  end  of  the  year  1893,  the  Commission  had  actually 
taken  the  Beaver  Brook  Reservation  and  nearly  1000  acres 
in  the  Blue  Hills. 

It  had  not  been  possible,  however,  for  Charles  to  give  all 
his  time  during  the  autumn  to  the  Metropolitan  work.  Two 
other  park  commissions  within  the  district  sought  the  advice 
of  the  firm  ;  and  for  both  of  these  Charles  made  the  neces- 
sary studies  and  wrote  the  reports.  The  parks  of  Cambridge 
wei'e  the  first  of  these  two  subjects  which  engaged  his  atten- 
tion during  this  busy  autumn,  and  the  parks  of  Winthrop 
were  the  second.  Both  investigations  interested  him  very 
much,  and  gave  him  occasion  to  expound  some  of  the  princi- 
ples of  true  economy  in  the  selection  of  open  spaces  for  pub- 
lic enjoyment.  The  two  reports  for  Cambridge  and  Winthrop, 
the  report  Charles  made  to  the  Park  Commission  of  the  city 
of  Quincy,  January  2,  1893,  and  the  first  detailed  letters  of 
advice  on  the  Metropolitan  Reservations  all  illustrate  the  gen- 
eral principles  of  park  selection  and  demarcation.  They  are 
therefore  grouped  together  in  this  chapter,  some  of  them 
being  given  in  full,  but  others  being  represented  by  only  a 
single  sentence  or  by  a  few  paragraphs.  It  should  be  borne 
in  mind  that  insuperable  obstacles  may  prevent  a  commission 
from  carrying  out  immediately  the  accepted  plans  of  their 
landscape  architects.  The  titles  of  properties  involved  may 
be  in  bad  condition,  or  owners,  with  whom  the  Commission 
may  prefer  to  avoid  a  contest,  may  ask  unreasonable  prices 
for  their  lands,  or  serious  engineering  difficulties  may  present 
themselves,  or  grave  questions  of  law  concerning  existing 
rights.  The  settlement  with  owners  and  the  amendment  of 
boundaries  went  on  for  years,  but  the  character  and  in  the 


422  FRESH   POND  AS   PARK  [1893 

main  the  outlines  of  the  reservations  spoken  of  above  were 
determined  by  the  reports  which  follow.  All  the  recom- 
mended areas  are  now  (1902)  in  public  use  except  the  beau- 
tiful estate  called  "  Shady  Hill,"  which  the  Cambridge  Park 
Commission  thought  expensive  and  not  indispensable,  and 
the  stretch  of  Quincy  shore  from  Black's  Creek  to  Great 
HilL 

A   LARGE   POND    AS   PARK. 

To  THE  President  of  the  Cambridge  Park  Commis- 
sion, —  In  the  course  of  our  recent  study  of  the  problem  of 
selecting  sites  for  public  grounds  in  Cambridge,  you  drew  our 
attention  to  the  large  existing  reservation  which  surrounds 
Fresh  Pond.  The  total  area  of  this  reservation  is  337  acres, 
of  which  about  155  acres  are  water.  Because  of  the  closel}'-- 
built  character  of  the  city  and  the  narrowness  of  the  munici- 
pal limits,  this  is  the  largest  open  space  Cambridge  can  ever 
hope  to  possess.  Its  primary  purpose  is  the  safe  storage  of 
water,  but  the  reservation  has  already  been  in  a  measure  dedi- 
cated to  the  additional  purpose  of  public  recreation  and  called 
a  "  park." 

As  we  viewed  the  place  the  other  day,  and  perceived  the 
beauty  of  the  natural  setting  of  the  pond  among  the  hills, 
and  the  incongruously  stiff  lines  of  the  engineer's  work  about 
the  shores,  it  struck  us  that  it  was  time  the  people  of  Cam- 
bridge determined  in  what  way  their  one  large  reservation 
might  best  be  made  to  contribute  to  their  recreation  and  re- 
freshment. Does  a  large  public  reservation  yield  to  dwellers 
in  cities  the  greatest  possible  return  when  it  is  planned  on 
lines  as  formal  as  those  of  city  streets  ?  Does  it  not  rather 
return  its  greatest  dividend  of  benefit  only  when  it  is  made 
as  different  as  possible  from  a  town,  and  presents  the  aspect 
of  natural  scenery  ?  It  is  true  that  the  curvilinear  shore  line 
and  the  hills  above  the  pond  cannot  be  wholly  destroyed,  but 
they  can  be  made  stiff,  hard,  and  unnatural,  to  the  great  loss 
of  Cambridge,  as  we  believe.  It  is  true  that  roads  and  paths 
are  needed  even  in  the  most  natural  parks,  but  that  is  no  rea- 
son for  their  being  obtruded,  as  if  they  were  the  essence  of  a 
park,  and  not  the  mere  instruments  by  which  s-enery  is  made 
accessible.    A  large  public  reservation  may  include  v/ithin  its 


.ET.  33]  NATURE'S  PARKS   FOR  CAMBRIDGE  423 

limits  roads  and  paths,  playgrounds,  picnic  grounds,  and  even 
gardens  and  buildings  ;  but  if  these  mar  or  destroy  its  land- 
scape, the  highest  possible  value  of  the  reservation,  and  the 
only  advantage  of  a  large  reservation  over  a  small  one,  is 
absolutely  lost. 

It  is  because  the  Fresh  Pond  reservation  presents  the  out- 
line of  a  singularly  unified  and  therefore  a  singularly  pleasing 
landscape,  that  we  have  ventured  to  address  you  on  behalf  of 
the  preservation,  restoration,  and  development  thereof. 
16  October,  1S93. 

Preliminary  Report  on  the  Location  of  Parks  for 
Cambridge.  —  The  municipality  of  Cambridge  is  four  and  a 
half  miles  long,  and  from  one  to  two  miles  wide.  In  certain 
important  respects  the  city  is  very  favorably  placed.  An 
uncommonly  large,  pennanent  air-space  is  found  at  each  end 
of  the  city.  On  the  east  is  a  broad  basin  of  the  salt  Charles 
River,  having  an  area,  between  Craigie  and  Brookline  bridges 
and  inside  the  Hai'bor  Commissioners'  lines,  of  five  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  acres.  On  the  west  is  Fresh  Pond,  with  an 
area  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres.  Along  the  whole 
length  of  the  southern  boundary  of  the  city  stretches  another 
permanent  open  space,  the  channel  of  Charles  Rivei',  with  an 
average  width,  between  the  Harbor  Commissioners'  lines,  of 
three  hundred  feet,  and  an  area  between  Brookline  bridge  and 
Cambridge  Cemetery  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen  acres. 

Here  is  a  total  of  eight  hundred  acres  of  permanently  open 
space  provided  by  nature  without  cost  to  Cambridge.  All  of 
this  area  was,  until  lately,  unavailable  for  purposes  of  public 
recreation,  except  by  boats,  and  most  of  it  remains  so.  In 
late  years  the  lands  about  Fresh  Pond  have  been  purchased 
by  the  city  for  the  protection  of  the  water  supply ;  and  the 
Cambridge  Embankment  Company  has  pledged  itself  to  pro- 
vide the  city  with  a  stretch  of  public  frontage  upon  the  basin 
of  Charles  River.  Elsewhere  these  priceless  spaces  still  lie 
unused,  like  money  hoarded  in  a  stocking,  yielding  no  return 
to  their  owners.  If  Cambridge  is  to  invest  money  in  public 
recreation  grounds,  a  just  economy  demands  that  such  money 
shall  first  be  placed  where  it  will  bring  into  use  for  public 


424  THE   RIVER  SPACES -THE   FRONT  [1893 

enjoyment  these  now  unused  and  Inaccessible  spaces  with 
their  ample  air,  light,  and  outlook.  All  Cambridge  lies  within 
one  mile  of  the  Harbor  Commissioners'  lines,  excepting  only 
that  part  which  is  north  of  Porter's  Station  and  Fresh  Pond. 
In  view  of  this  fact,  to  let  the  river  spaces  go  unused  would 
be  wilful  extravagance,  while  to  make  their  borders  accessible 
will  be  to  ensure  to  the  city  a  return  in  public  health,  pleasure, 
and  refreshment  such  as  can  be  derived  from  no  ordinary, 
contracted,  inland  open  space.  This  being  the  state  of  the 
case,  it  is  our  duty  to  recommend  the  purchase  by  the  city 
of  every  purchasable  portion  of  the  river  front,  from  Craigie 
bridge  to  Cambridge  Cemetery.  When  this  has  been  de- 
termined on,  it  will  be  time  to  consider  what  other  well- 
distributed  spaces  may,  with  economy,  be  secured. 

Having  thus  outlined  what  has  seemed  to  us  to  be  the  logic 
of  the  situation,  we  submit  the  accompanying  block  plan  as 
the  sum  and  substance  of  our  report.  Upon  this  plan  are 
shown  only  the  boundaries  of  the  city,  the  existing  public 
open  spaces,  and  the  spaces  we  would  propose  to  acquire 
and  reserve.  The  drawing  [not  reproduced  here]  is  only  a 
diagram,  and  we  have  made  it  a  diagram  in  order  to  show 
with  the  utmost  possible  clearness  the  relative  areas,  and  the 
symmetry  and  fairness  of  their  distribution. 

We  have  only  to  add  a  few  words  concerning  each  of  the 
proposed  reservations,  designating  them  by  the  tentative 
names  which,  for  the  sake  of  convenience,  we  have  put  upon 
the  plan. 

(1)  "  The  Fronty  —  Between  the  two  canals  which  pene- 
trate the  manufacturing  district  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  city, 
it  is  still  possible  to  acquire  a  long  river  frontage,  and  because 
this  place  will  be  available  for  the  recreation  of  the  crowded 
U^)opulation  of  East  Cambridge,  we  would  have  this  reserva- 
tion possess  a  considerable  breadth,  in  order  to  make  room 
for  children's  games  and  other  uses  quite  distinct  from  the 
main  purposes  of  the  purchase,  which  are  the  preservation  of 
the  view  of  the  river  basin  and  provisions  for  boating  on  its 
waters.  A  street  should  be  carried  southward  from  the  junc- 
tion of  Bridge  and  Prison  streets,  and  across  the  canal.  From 
the  canal  Commercial  Avenue  is  planned  to  run  parallel  with 


VET.  34]        THE   ESPLANADE  — CAPTAIN'S  ISLAND  425 

the  Harbor  Commissioners'  line,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  distant  tlaerefrom.  The  Charlesbank  Reservation  on  the 
Boston  side  of  the  river  is  only  two  hundred  feet  wide.  Our 
diagram  suggests  a  reservation  of  the  full  width  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet.  Beginning  at  Binney  Street,  where  the 
improved  frontage  ends,  the  length  of  the  reservation  may 
be  whatever  the  city  can  afford  to  buy.  Vie  have  shown  it 
extended  eastwai'd  to  the  canal,  or  nearly  fifteen  hundred 
feet.  By  building  sea-walls  in  the  form  of  bastions  at  the 
ends,  and  making  the  intervening  stretch  a  beach,  this  reser- 
vation can  eventually  be  made  attractive  and  serviceable,  at 
a  reasonable  expense. 

(2)  "  The  Esjilanade.''''  —  Along  part  of  the  next  section 
of  the  Commissioners'  line,  that  between  West  Boston  and 
Brookline  bridges,  the  Embankment  Company  is  already 
making  a  i)ublic  esplanade  two  hundred  feet  in  width,  which 
only  needs  to  be  connected  with  the  two  bridges  just  named 
to  form  one  of  the  finest  nrban  river  fronts  in  the  world. 
Here  there  will  presumably  be  a  continuous  sea-wall,  with  a 
broad  promenade  and  a  broad  planting  space,  with  a  roadway 
which  will  serve  as  a  pleasure  drive  and  also  as  an  approach 
to  the  buildings  on  the  abutting  estates. 

(3)  "  Captain  fi  Island.''  —  Just  above  Brookline  bridge 
an  opportunity  is  offei-ed.  by  Captain's  Island  and  the  marshes 
about  it  to  make  a  level  field,  available  for  the  sports  of  boys, 
for  which  a  provision  in  this  neighborhood  is  highly  desirable. 

If  the  driveway  of  the  Esplanade  is  curved  as  it  approaches 
Brookline  Street  in  such  a  way  that  it  will  enter  upon  the 
location  of  Leverett  Street,  and  then  if  Leverett  Street  is 
followed  across  Magazine  Street,  an  area  of  some  twenty-five 
acres  will  be  obtained  between  the  drive  and  the  Harbor 
Commissioners'  line.  Even  if  the  river  shore  of  this  tract  is 
beached  instead  of  being  walled,  there  will  still  remain  a  play- 
ing-grotnid  for  general  use  of  twice  the  area  of  the  well-known 
.Tarvis  Field  of  Harvard  College.  The  River  road  will  bound 
this  pla3'ground  on  the  north,  and  upon  the  road  will  front 
buildings,  the  rear  yards  of  which  will  be  reached  from  the 
Old  Marsh  lane. 

(4)  "  77ie   JRiver    Hoad."  —  From   Captain's   Island   to 


426  THE   RIVER  ROAD  — ELMWOOD   WAY  [1893 

Cambridge  Hospital,  along  the  Commissioners'  line,  a  reser- 
vation of  whatever  varying  widths  may  be  found  most  eco- 
nomical should  be  secured.  The  least  width  which  should  be 
considered  at  all  is  such  as  will  provide  a  promenade  upon 
the  river  wall  twenty  feet  wide,  and  in  addition  at  least 
another  ten  feet  in  which  to  plant  trees  and  shrubs  to  hide 
adjacent  fences  and  buildings.  Entrances  to  such  a  prome- 
nade would  be  had  at  every  bridge,  and  at  the  end  of  every 
street  which  may  extend  to  the  river.  While  to  buy  a  narrow 
strip  of  flats  and  marsh  and  wharf  for  the  purpose  just 
described  might  seem  to  be  the  cheapest  thing  which  could  be 
done  at  the  present  time,  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  this 
would  prove  to  be  the  most  economical  course  of  action  in  the 
end.  To  make  a  promenade  upon  so  narrow  a  strip,  a  river 
wall  would  be  absolutely  necessary.  Out^of  a  total  length  of 
eleven  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty  feet  of  Commission- 
ers' line,  only  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  or 
less  than  one  fifth,  is  walled  at  the  present  time,  and  much  of 
the  existing  wall  is  cheaply  and  badly  built.  A  good  wall  is 
costly,  and  after  your  Commission  shall  have  made  a  study 
of  land  values,  it  will  very  probably  appear  that  it  would  be 
more  economical  to  buy  a  strip  one  hundred  feet  wide  in 
which  to  make  a  gravel  beach  than  to  undertake  the  building 
of  a  river-side  wall.  Furthermore,  it  may  well  be  questioned 
whether,  if  the  city  is  to  invest  any  money  upon  the  river 
front,  it  ought  not  to  invest  enough  to  ensure  a  proper  finan- 
cial return  from  the  investment.  A  promenade  alone,  whether 
it  were  made  upon  a  river  wall  or  at  the  top  of  a  beach,  would 
not  appreciably  enhance  the  attractiveness  or  value  of  the 
adjacent  real  estate.  On  the  other  hand,  a  roadway  with  a 
sidewalk  providing  convenient  and  handsome  access  to  abut- 
ting estates  would  enhance  values  considerably,  and  so  would 
ensure  the  eventual  reimbursement  of  the  city  treasury. 

(5)  "  Elmwood  Way.'"  —  When  the  banks  of  the  Charles 
shall  have  been  reserved  by  Boston  as  well  as  by  Cambridge, 
for  the  development  of  the  scheme  of  improvement  just  de- 
scribed, there  will  arise  a  demand  for  a  broad  connection 
between  the  Charles  River  reservations  and  the  large  reserva- 
tion about  Fresh  Pond.     A  bridge  will  be  required  in  the 


^T.34]  FROM   BOSTON  TO   FRESH   POND  427 

bend  of  the  river  at  Gerry's  landing.  From  the  site  of  this 
bridge,  by  way  of  Mount  Auburn  Street  and  Fresh  Pond  Lane, 
the  distance  to  Fresh  Pond  is  less  than  a  mile,  and  there  are 
so  few  buildings  on  this  line  that  a  reservation  for  a  broad 
parkway  of  varying  width  should  not,  at  the  pi'esent  time, 
be  expensive.  For  Boston  and  the  metropolitan  district,  the 
Charles  River  drive,  with  this  proposed  parkway,  would  fur- 
nish the  pleasantest  possible  route  to  a  series  of  places  of 
interest  and  resort  —  among  theni  the  Soldier's  Field  and  the 
Longfellow  marshes  where  the  athletic  grounds  of  Harvard 
University  are  soon  to  be  established.  Harvard  College  itself, 
the  Longfellow  house  and  the  Memorial  garden,  the  Lowell 
house  at  Elmwood,  Mount  Auburn,  and  Fresh  Pond  —  the  last 
a  broader  sheet  of  water  than  either  Chestnut  Hill  Reservoir 
at  the  terminus  of  Beacon  boulevard,  or  Jamaica  Pond  at  the 
end  of  the  Muddy  River  parkway.  We  believe  the  present 
to  be  the  time  to  secure  an  adequate  breadth  of  way  for  the 
future  making  of  this  desirable  connection,  and  we  presume 
that  the  land-owners  along  the  route  will  be  quick  to  see  the 
advantage  which  will  accrue  to  them  fi'om  an  early  establish- 
ment of  its  lines. 

For  Cambridge  the  widening  of  Mount  Auburn  Street  from 
the  angle  at  the  Casino  to  a  connection  with  the  proposed 
parkway  at  Elmwood  Avenue  would  complete  a  southern 
chain  of  reservations  extending  from  the  river  basin  at  the 
eastern  end  of  the  city  to  the  pond  at  the  west  end.  Mount 
Auburn  Street  is  to  become  the  route  of  the  Watertown  elec- 
tric car  line,  and  needs  to  be  widened  on  that  account  alone. 
We  do  not  suggest  that  the  river  wall  required  to  accomplish 
this  widening  should  be  built  at  this  time,  but  only  that  the 
necessar}'^  additional  twenty-five  to  forty  feet  of  width  from 
Bath  Street  to  Elmwood  Avenue  should  be  secured  before  it 
is  occupied  by  buildings. 

Acting  upon  these  considerations,  we  have  represented  on 
the  diagram  a  strip  along  the  river  of  a  width  and  area  such 
as  would  be  required  to  provide,  first,  a  sidewalk  adjacent  to 
the  private  property  line ;  secondly,  a  driveway ;  and,  thirdly, 
a  promenade,  with  a  river  wall  where  one  already  exists  or 
seems  to  be  required  by  reason  of  the  expensiveness  of  adja- 


428  CAMBRIDGE   PLAYGROUNDS  [1893 

cent  land,  and  a  beach  along  all  the  remaining  length  of  the 
reservation.  We  have  assumed  that  the  immediate  purpose 
of  your  Commission  is  simply  the  acquisition  of  such  lands 
along  the  river  as  will  make  it  possible  to  develop  eventually 
a  serviceable  and  handsome  river  front.  The  diagram  repre- 
sents our  view  of  what  is  requisite  for  this  purpose.  No  seri- 
ous obstacles  to  the  easy  acquisition  of  these  lands  present 
themselves  except  between  River  Street  and  Western  Avenue. 
Even  here,  only  one  expensive  building  projects  into  the 
strip  seventy-five  feet  wide,  which  we  deem  the  least  that 
should  be  acquired  along  the  river  wall.  As  respects  the 
delivery  of  coal  at  the  establishments  between  these  bridges, 
and  at  the  wharves  of  Messrs.  Rugg,  and  Richardson  & 
Bacon,  yve  do  not  think  that  this  should  for  a  moment  stand 
in  the  way  of  the  accomplishment  of  the  Commission's  pur- 
pose. For  passing  coal  from  vessels  to  permanent  establish- 
ments which  use  or  sell  it  in  quantities,  either  light  iron 
trestles  or  undei'ground  runways  can  be  devised. 

(6)  "  Mindge  Field:'  (7)  "  Shadij  Hilir  (8)  '^  Binney 
Fieldr 

Omitting  mention  of  Fresh  Pond,  because  the  energy  of 
the  Water  Board  has  already  secured  an  ample  reservation 
all  about  it,  we  have  next  to  turn  to  the  northern  border  of 
the  city,  where,  because  of  the  considerable  distance  to  the 
river  front,  a  few  public  spaces  should  be  reserved.  If  the 
total  distance  from  the  centre  of  Fresh  Pond  to  the  centre  of 
the  Charles  River  basin  opposite  "  The  Front "  be  divided 
into  fourths,  .the  Rindge  Field,  Shady  Hill,  and  the  Binney 
Fi^ld  will  be  found  to  lie  almost  directly  abreast  of  the  first, 
second,  and  third  marks.  The  two  spaces  called  fields  are 
both  well  adapted  to  serve  as  playgrounds,  while  Shady  Hill 
is  a  small  oasis  of  idyllic  rural  scenery  preserved  in  the  midst 
of  city  conditions  by  the  conservative  artistic  spirit  of  its 
owners  in  two  generations.  We  believe  that  both  the  open 
fields  for  play  and  the  secluded  wood  for  rest  will  be  worth 
to  Cambridge  vastly  more  than  they  can  cost  at  the  present 
time.  .  .  . 


JET.  34]  RESERVATIONS   FOR  WINTHROP  429 

RESERVATIONS    IN    A    SEASHORE   TO^YN. 

Dec.  22, 1893. 

To  THE  Chairman  of  the  Winthrop  Park  Commission. 
—  In  a  letter  recently  addressed  by  us  to  the  Meti'opolitan 
Park  Commission,  we  pointed  out  the  advantages  which  would 
accrue  to  tlie  town  if  the  shores  and  beaches  of  the  township 
could  be  made  public  reservations.  The  town's  money  in- 
vested in  reservations  on  the  shores  will  yield  greater  returns 
in  health,  pleasure,  and  cash  to  be  derived  from  increased 
valuations  than  it  could  yield  if  sunk  in  the  purchase  of 
any  inland  districts  of  the  township.  The  broad  outlooks 
which  the  shores  command  over  harbor,  bay,  and  ocean  are 
the  primary  source  of  the  attractiveness  of  the  township. 
In  our  opinion,  Winthrop  will  fail  to  avail  herself  of  the  one 
advantage  she  possesses  over  other  suburbs,  if  she  fails  to 
reserve  her  shores. 

Doubtless  your  Commission  can  acquire  by  gift  the  unusa- 
ble ocean  foreshore  along  Crest  Avenue.  From  Thornton 
Station  around  to  Pleasant  Street  at  the  mouth  of  Ingalls 
Brook,  we  believe  you  should  secure  the  foreshore,  together 
with  a  strip  of  dry  land  above  high-water  mark.  As  the 
water  along  most  of  this  shore  is  shallow,  it  will  be  possible 
to  eventually  construct  a  drive  and  promenade  on  flats  now 
flooded  by  the  tide ;  nevertheless,  we  would  have  you  secure 
all  the  upland  you  can  buy  with  a  due  regard  for  economy, 
confining  your  reservation  to  the  flats  only  where  you  are 
compelled  to  do  so  by  the  high  cost  of  existing  lands  or  build- 
ings. The  inland  boundary  of  any  such  reservation  as  we 
are  proposing  should  be  a  continuous  or  flowing  curve,  be- 
cause it  will  eventually  become  the  line  of  a  sidewalk  serving 
the  adjacent  private  estates. 

Ingalls  Brook  drains  a  fresh-water  swamp,  which  you  in- 
formed us  might  be  obtained  if  it  was  desirable.  The  central 
schoolhouse  of  the  town  stands  close  at  hand,  and  the  valley 
will  make  a  desirable  plaN^ground  for  the  pupils.  The  reser- 
vation should  be  bounded  by  Lincoln  Street  on  the  north,  the 
railroad  on  the  east,  and  Pauline  Street  on  the  south,  and  by 
two  new  streets  which  should  be  laid  out  to  give  abutters  a 


430  TO   PREVENT   BUILDING   ON  MARSHES  [1893 

frontage  on  the  reservation,  one  on  each  side  of  the  brook  as 
it  flows  westward  to  Pleasant  Street. 

If  the  Town  desires  at  the  present  time  to  procure  lands 
for  other  playgrounds,  they  can  be  obtained  most  cheaply  on 
one  or  the  other  of  the  salt  marshes  which  are  found  within 
the  township.  The  marsh  of  Belle  Isle  Inlet  and  the  marsh 
of  Fishing  River  are  still  unoccupied  by  buildings.  We 
would  suggest  that  common  prudence  should  lead  the  Town 
to  establish  (by  special  legislative  authority,  if  that  be  neces- 
sary) a  minimum  grade  for  cellars  and  for  streets,  in  order 
to  prevent  building  upon  the  marshes  until  they  have  been 
filled  to  a  safely  habitable  elevation.  This  safeguarding 
regulation,  which  has  been  enacted  by  several  towns  near 
Boston,  will  effectually  forestall  the  baleful  occupation  of  the 
marshes  which  you  have  feared  was  about  to  take  place. 
Where  this  regulation  is  in  force,  the  marshes  are  left  in  their 
natural  condition  until  there  is  profit  in  filling  them,  when 
they  command  such  prices  as  ensure  their  occupation  by  rea- 
sonably good  buildings. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Town  would  care  to  buy 
and  hold  forever  all  the  marshes  within  its  limits,  yet  that 
is  the  only  other  way  to  prevent  an  unsanitary  occupation 
of  them.  Winthrop  has  no  present  or  prospective  use  for  a 
hundred  or  more  acres  of  interior  open  space.  The  open 
spaces  of  the  salt  waters  encomjjass  the  township  and  supply 
unlimited  quantities  of  unpolluted  air.  The  reservation  of 
the  marshes  by  the  Town  would  involve  not  only  a  large  first 
cost,  with  its  burden  of  interest,  but  also  the  sacrifice  of  the 
return  fairly  to  be  expected  from  the  considerable  taxable 
value  which  the  marsh  lands  will  possess  after  the  increase  of 
population  shall  have  made  it  profitable  to  fill  them  to  the 
standard  elevation.  In  towns  where  open  spaces  are  lacking, 
the  considerations  just  advanced  should  not  stand  in  the  way 
of  the  acquirement  of  marshes ;  but  in  a  town  like  Winthrop, 
surrounded  by  open  spaces,  such  considerations  may  certainly 
be  urged  with  reason.  .  .  . 

Reservations  for  a  Bay-shore  City.  —  In  accordance 
with  your  request,  I  have  personally  inspected  the  shores  of 


£T.  34]  RESERVATIONS   FOR   QUINCY  431 

Quincy  Bay  from  Moon  Island  around  to  Nut  Island,  and  I 
now  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  report  upon  the  nature 
of  this  coast,  together  with  certain  recommendations  as  to  the 
future  development  thereof. 

The  city  of  Quincy  is  most  favorably  placed.  Behind  her 
rise  the  rocky  ridges  of  the  Blue  Hills,  beside  her  on  either 
hand  flow  the  Neponset  and  Weymouth  rivers,  and  at  her 
feet  is  spread  the  Bay.  [See  the  map  in  the  pocket  of  the 
right-hand  cover.]  The  peninsula  of  Squantum,  beside  the 
mouth  of  the  Neponset,  is  matched  by  that  of  Hough's  Neck, 
beside  the  mouth  of  Weymouth  River.  Hangman's  Island 
lies  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  space  embraced  by  the  two 
peninsulas  ;  and  Black's  Creek,  the  only  considerable  break 
in  the  shore  line  of  the  Bay,  again  lies  near  the  middle  both 
of  the  Bay's  curve  and  of  the  city.  Just  here,  too,  there  ap- 
pears another  fortunate  feature  in  the  geography  of  Quincy, 
namely,  the  deep  valley  of  Furnace  Brook,  a  stream  which 
seems  to  have  been  made  to  flow  where  it  is  on  purpose  to 
provide  the  inhabitants  of  the  interior  region  of  AVest  Quincy 
and  East  INIilton  with  an  easy  and  beautiful  route  to  the  cen- 
tral portion  of  the  Bay  shore.  The  existing  Adams  Street 
follows  first  one  side  and  then  the  other  side  of  this  valley, 
by  a  route  which  involves  many  ascents  and  descents ;  but 
when  the  city  shall  have  taken  possession  of  the  bottom  of 
the  valley,  as  it  should  for  sanitary  reasons  (if  for  no  other), 
it  will  then  be  possible  to  lay  out  a  road  which,  by  following 
the  stream,  will  avoid  all  ups  and  downs,  and  by  which  Black's 
Creek  and  the  Bay  will  be  reached  very  pleasantly  and  easily. 
Streams  like  Furnace  Brook  are  awkward  things  in  cities. 
They  cannot  be  done  away  with,  because  their  channels  are 
the  only  ways  by  which  storm-waters  can  escape.  They  can- 
not safely  be  allowed  to  be  walled  up  and  arched  over  by 
private  abutters  ;  as  was  proved  a  few  years  since  when  Stony 
Brook  in  Boston  burst  its  bonds,  and  flooded  a  densely  popu- 
lated district,  causing  a  large  loss  of  property,  and  putting 
Boston  to  the  expense  of  enlarging  and  rebuilding  the  whole 
length  of  the  channel.  They  can  be  made  and  kept  surely 
safe  and  clean  only  where  they  are  owned  by  the  public  ;  and, 
where  they  are  so  owned,  a  drive  along  one  or  both  sides  of 


432  FUKNACE   BROOK  —  BLACK'S   CREEK  [1893 

the  stream  naturally  comes  in  time.  Private  enterprise,  de- 
sirous of  reaping  high  prices  for  building  land  situated  on 
the  slopes  of  brook  valleys,  has  adopted  this  sensible  treat- 
ment in  several  instances,  and  the  city  of  Newton  is  just 
now  carrying  out  a  work  of  this  kind  along  her  Cheese-Cake 
Brook.  It  seems  to  me  very  evident  that  Quincy  should  at 
least  possess  herself  of  this  valley  before  it  becomes  more 
thickly  inhabited. 

Descending  now  this  valley  of  approach,  the  tide  is  met 
at  the  old  dam  of  Black's  Creek,  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
open  Bay.  Here  there  is  a  charming  view  down  the  Creek, 
comprising  a  distant  glimpse  of  the  Bay,  with  perhaps  a  sail 
or  two,  the  winding  Creek  itself  and  its  accompanying  salt 
meadows,  two  or  three  boats  moored  in  the  Creek,  and  for 
a  frame  a  varied  bank  of  Oaks,  Pines,  and  Cedars  on  either 
hand.  There  is  no  better  composed  landscape  in  all  the 
neighborhood  of  Boston ;  and  certainly  there  is  none  prettier. 

Should  not  the  city  of  Quincy  own  and  control  this  bit  of 
scenery,  lying  as  it  does  on  the  way  to  the  Bay  ?  The  north- 
ern and  western  bank  of  the  Creek  for  half  the  distance  from 
Hancock  Street  to  the  Bay  is,  indeed,  already  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  city,  being  a  part  of  Merryraount  Park ;  but  the 
two  knolls  or  islands  of  Oak  woods  which  lie  seaward  from 
the  park  and  make  part  of  its  scenery  are  still  in  private 
hands,  as  is  all  the  southern  and  eastern  shore  of  the  Creek. 
To  defend  the  outlook  from  the  existing  Park,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  preserve  the  beautiful  picture  of  Black's  Creek, 
it  will  be  advisable  for  the  city  to  acquire  by  gift  or  purchase 
the  land  between  the  stream  and  the  entrance  to  the  Mt. 
Wollaston  estate,  and  from  this  point  seaward  a  strip  along 
the  wooded  bluff  averaging  three  hundred  feet  in  width. 
Butler  road  continued  to  the  Mt.  Wollaston  entrance  would 
thus  become  the  boundary  of  the  Park,  and  a  similar  road 
might  ultimately  become  the  boundary  along  the  Mt.  Wollas- 
ton bluffs.  Houses  fronting  on  the  reservation  would  natu- 
rally follow  the  opening  of  such  bounding  roads,  and  in  this 
way  a  consummation  most  advantageous  to  all  concerned 
would  be  reached.  Black's  Creek  would  be  preserved  to 
delight  the  people  of  the  future,  the  outlook  from  the  knolls 


^T.  34]       THE   OAK  KNOLLS   OF  BLACK'S   CREEK  433 

of  Merryuiount  would  be  saved  from  threatened  disfigure- 
ment, and  real  estate  along  the  new  park  border  would  be 
greatly  increased  in  value  and  attractiveness. 

On  the  opposite  or  northern  side  of  Merrymount  Park 
the  situation  is  much  the  same.  Here  the  northern  arm  of 
Black's  Creek,  witli  its  accompanying  salt  marsh,  penetrates 
the  mainland  almost  up  to  Fenno  Street.  If  the  city  does 
not  acquire  this  marsli  and  a  strip  of  the  upland  beyond  it, 
the  view  from  the  northern  slopes  of  Merrymount  Park  will 
become  in  time  greatly  disfigured  by  the  backs  and  back 
yards  of  buildings  on  the  upland,  if  not  by  even  more  objec- 
tionable structures  or  industries  established  upon  the  marsh 
itself.  Conversely,  if  the  marsh  and  its  border  is  thrown 
into  the  reservation,  disfigurement  will  be  prevented,  and  the 
abutting  real  estate  will  be  given  such  a  value  as  will  ensure 
its  respectable  occupation.  Nothing  need  here  be  added  as 
to  the  Oak  knolls  which  lie  towards  the  mouth  of  the  Creek. 
They  appear  prominently  in  every  view  from  either  bank  of 
the  stream,  and  their  permanent  conservation  is  obviously 
essential  to  the  completion  of  the  Park.  The  marsh  behind 
the  knolls  would  also  be  just  as  essential  as  the  other  marshes 
already  mentioned,  did  it  not  belong  to  a  permanent  institu- 
tion, the  National  Sailors'  Home,  whose  managers  are  not 
likely  to  devote  it  to  any  but  agreeable  purposes.  The  bury- 
ing ground  of  the  pensioners  lies  on  a  knoll  at  the  edge  of 
the  marsh,  and  it  does  not  seem  necessary  that  public  owner- 
ship should  be  carried  further  inland  at  this  point. 

Coming  now  to  the  flaring  mouth  of  Black's  Creek  and  the 
shore  of  the  open  bay,  the  little  bluff  of  Rufe's  Hummock  on 
the  one  side  and  the  greater  Gunning-Stand  bluff  on  the 
other  command  the  situation,  and  offer  fine  views  across  the 
water  to  the  rounded  hills  of  the  distant  islands  of  Boston 
Bay,  with  glimpses  of  the  open  sea  between  the  islands.  To 
right  and  left  are  seen  the  extended  arms  of  Hough's  Neck 
and  of  Squantum,  embracing  between  them  Quincy's  own  bay 
of  open  water,  two  and  a  half  miles  wide  from  cape  to  cape, 
and  two  miles  deep.  The  shore  in  both  directions  is  seen  to 
be  composed  of  dwarf  bluffs  of  gravel  alternating  with  low 
sea-wall  beaches,  behind  which  lie   salt   marshes  sometimes 


434  PUBLIC  OWNERSHIP  OF  QUINCY  SHORE         [1893 

threaded  by  little  creeks.  This  is  not  "  a  stern  and  rock- 
bound  coast,"  neither  is  it  in  any  way  impressive  or  grand, 
and  yet  every  careful  student  of  the  circumstances  is  quickly 
brought  to  the  conclusion  that  for  the  growing  city  of  Quincy 
not  to  possess  and  control  this  shore  would  be  foolishness  of 
the  most  flagrant  sort.  The  members  of  the  Commission  I 
am  addressing  are  fully  alive  to  the  facts  of  the  situation,  and 
they  can  undoubtedly  soon  bring  the  main  body  of  the  popula- 
tion to  perceive,  and  to  act  for,  its  self-interest  in  this  matter. 
This  is  one  of  those  cases  in  which  our  American  communities 
are  free  to  work  their  own  goodwill.  ''  Enlightened  self- 
interest  "  should  very  soon  work  here  a  beneficent  result. 

As  for  the  owners  of  the  shore  front,  they  will  undoubtedly 
be  quick  to  see  what  is  for  their  interest  in  the  matter.  Pri- 
vate ownership  of  the  shore  in  small  lots  means  that  only  the 
front  lots  will  command  special  prices.  Public  ownership 
means  that  every  house-lot  for  a  mile  back  will  possess  an 
enhanced  value.  Public  ownership  will  also  tend  to  ensure 
the  water  front  from  encroachment  by  the  sea,  and  from 
occupation  by  value-depressing  trades. 

Now  when  public  ownership  of  the  shore  is  decreed,  what 
considerations  should  govern  the  placing  of  the  line  which 
shall  thenceforth  divide  private  from  public  property  ?  My 
answer  to  this  question  is  recorded  upon  the  accompanying 
map  [not  reproduced  here.  Compare  the  map  in  the  pocket 
of  the  right-hand  cover],  but  it  had  better  perhaps  be  out- 
lined in  words  here.  Although  the  work  will  not  need  to  be 
undertaken  for  many  years,  it  will  doubtless  be  ultimately 
desirable  that  the  public  should  possess  a  driveway  along  the 
shore.  It  follows  that  the  boundary  of  the  public  domain 
should  be  so  placed  as  to  allow  of  the  easy  construction  of 
such  a  driveway,  and  its  easy  connection  with  the  streets  of 
the  city.  The  map  is  the  result  of  my  traversing  of  the  shore 
with  this  idea  in  mind.  Beginning  at  Black's  Creek  and 
going  north  towards  Squantum,  I  believe  that  the  Park  Com- 
missioners should  acquire  possession  of  all  that  lies  seaward 
from  the  brink  of  the  several  little  bluffs  of  the  shore.  This 
means  that  the  Board  would  generally  control  the  slopes  of 
the  bluffs,  as  well  as  the  beaches  and  the  flats,  and  that  the 


^T.  34]  A  DRIVEWAY  ALONG  THE  SHORE  435 

sliore  drive  would  ultimately  find  its  place  along  the  bases  of 
the  bluffs  at  the  water's  edge.  I  do  not  advise  continuing 
the  public  reservation  beyond  Moswetusset  on  Sachem's  Hum- 
mock, because  the  existing  road  from  there  to  Moon  Island 
affords  a  pleasant  drive,  and  because  there  is  good  hope  that 
this  portion  of  the  circuit  of  Quincy  Bay  may  be  obtained  for 
the  public  by  the  proposed  Metropolitan  Park  Commission, 
which  will  be  interested  in  opening  this  route  to  Moon  Island 
for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  Dorchester,  Milton,  and  Hyde 
Park. 

Beginning  again  at  Black's  Creek,  and  going  towards  the 
Great  Hill,  the  bluffs  are  for  some  distance  so  continuous  and 
so  even  that  enough  space  for  the  future  shore  drive  should 
here  be  acquired  on  their  summits,  where  the  reservation, 
and  the  houses  which  will  some  day  front  upon  it,  will  com- 
mand fine  views  of  the  bay,  the  islands,  and  the  Broad  Sound 
towards  Nahant.  Passing  the  Shell  Place,  Post  Island,  and 
Whale  Landing,  the  existing  Manet  Avenue,  widened  some- 
what on  its  inward  side,  should  be  taken  into  the  reservation 
up  to  the  point  where  it  turns  inland,  and  from  this  point  to 
the  cove  at  the  foot  of  the  Great  Hill,  I  propose  that  only 
the  slopes  of  the  bank  should  be  acquired,  and  that  the  future 
drive  should  follow  the  base  of  the  bluffs.  A  circuit  of  the 
Great  Hill  itself,  including  the  lowest  of  the  Land  Company's 
plotted  roads,  with  possibly  Nut  Island,  would  then  complete 
Quincy's  shore  reservation  in  a  manner  which  would  leave 
little  to  be  desired. 

Jan.  2,  1893. 

TO   THE  METROPOLITAN   PARK   COJIMISSION.^ 

15  December,  1893. 
A   Sea-heach  as  Reservation.  —  The  undersigned  beg  to 
report  as  follows  on  the  subject  of  the  boundaries  of  the  pro- 
posed Revere  Beach  Reservation  :  — 

The  statutory  limit  of  ownership  on  the  foreshore  will  be- 

1  The  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  has  greatly  facilitated  the  pre- 
paration of  this  book  by  furnishing  copies  of  letters  and  reports  from  its 
files,  and  permitting  the  reproduction  of  maps  and  photographs  originally 
made  for  its  annual  reports. 


436  A  SEA-BEACH  AS  RESERVATION  [1893 

come  the  boundary  on  the  ocean  side.  The  boundary  on  the 
land  side  will  be  fixed  so  as  to  include  whatever  width  of 
reservation  above  high-water  mark  may  be  deemed  necessary 
to  properly  accommodate  the  public.  If  a  public  footway 
or  promenade  upon  which  hotels  and  houses  may  fi'ont  be 
deemed  a  sufficient  reservation  for  public  use,  a  line  drawn 
twenty-five  feet  from  extreme  high-water  mark  will  become 
the  boundary  of  the  land  to  be  taken.  Streets  would  cross 
the  promenade  at  intervals,  permitting  carriages  to  reach  the 
beach.  Buildings  fronting  on  the  promenade  would  be  reached 
by  carriages  from  the  rear.  The  probable  electric  car  line 
and  the  steam  railroad  would  both  be  found  in  the  rear. 
Both  would  have  to  be  moved  to  accomplish  even  this  most 
economical  of  all  possible  schemes  of  improvement. 

If  the  railroad  must  be  moved  in  any  event,  it  may  be 
questioned  whether  it  would  not  be  advisable  to  obtain  a 
driveway  as  well  as  a  promenade  between  the  building  land 
and  high-water  mark.  A  driveway  here  should  not  be  less 
than  forty  feet  wide.  A  driveway  involves  a  sidewalk  along 
the  private  land.  A  sidewalk  should  be  twelve  feet  wide, 
and,  if  possible,  a  strip  of  eight  feet  in  addition  should  be 
secured  in  which  to  plant  one  row  of  trees.  Thus  we  obtain 
a  total  of  eighty  feet  measured  inland  from  the  curve  of 
extreme  high  water.  If  a  double  track  electric  car  line  should 
be  placed  between  the  driveway  and  the  promenade,  an  addi- 
tional width  of  twenty  feet  would  be  required,  and  the  result- 
ing line,  one  hundred  feet  from  the  curve  of  high  water,  is 
the  line  we  have  drawn  upon  the  accompanying  plan. 

It  will  be  noted  that  this  line  coincides  with  the  front  line 
of  private  lands  abutting  upon  the  railroad  location  in  the 
settlement  called  Crescent  Beach ;  also,  that  beyond  Eevere 
Street,  Ocean  Avenue  is  in  places  within  and  in  places  with- 
out the  reservation. 

'i'o  accomplish  a  handsome  result,  it  appears  to  be  neces- 
sary to  entirely  remove  the  beach  railroad  and  to  relocate 
Ocean  Avenue.  We  have  marked  upon  the  plan  the  sec- 
tion in  which  it  appears  that  a  first  taking  may  be  made 
most  easily. 


^T.S4]         BOUNDARIES  OF  MIDDLESEX  FELLS  437 

14  Decsember,  1803. 

A  Forest  and  Pond  lieservatlon.  —  The  undersigned  beg 
to  report  as  follows  upon  the  boundaries  of  the  Fells  Reser- 
vation :  — 

Spot  Pond,  Wright's  Pond,  and  Winchester  Reservoirs  and 
the  banks  thereof  are  already  held  for  the  public  by  various 
AVater  Boards.  The  proposed  reservation  is  designed  to  in- 
clude all  these,  and  to  be  bounded  outwardly  by  a  road  which 
will  generally  skirt  the  foot  of  the  high  land. 

Beginning  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Spot  Pond  water 
reserve  (at  the  corner  of  Elm  and  Forest  streets  in  Med- 
ford),  the  boundary  of  the  lands  proposed  to  be  taken  first 
follows  Forest  Street  southward  to  a  point  just  south  of  the 
crossing  of  the  brook  which  comes  from  west  of  Pine  Hill. 
Here  a  boundary  road  may  leave  Forest  Street  at  right  angles, 
and  lead  westward  on  a  line  which  will  include  the  ice-pond 
at  the  foot  of  Pine  Hill,  without  including  the  first  houso 
south  thereof.  The  (Elizur)  Wright  house  at  the  eastern 
foot  of  Pine  Hill  will  be  included,  unless  it  is  excluded  by 
having  an  arbitrary  line  run  behind  it  from  Forest  Street  to 
Forest  Street  again.  Passing  south  of  the  ice-pond,  a  fine 
view  is  had  of  Pine  Hill  over  the  pond,  and  a  good  frontage  isj 
obtained  for  houses.  Crossing  the  flat  of  the  rifle  range,  the 
boundary  road  must  next  ascend  one  short  but  steep  hill  in 
order  to  reach  and  cross  Brook's  Lane  at  the  north  end  of  the 
northernmost  of  the  Medford  pastures  —  in  other  words,  at 
the  edge  of  the  wild  lands. 

(^Aji  Alternative  Line  from  Forest  Street  to  the  hill  just 
mentioned  would  leave  the  street  at  the  foot  of  the  knoll  of 
the  Wright  house  and  pass  around  the  very  foot  of  the  slope 
of  Pine  Hill  and  so  across  the  flat  of  the  rifle  range.  This 
would  leave  out  the  little  pond  and  the  brook,  and  make  a 
bad  frontage  for  the  private  lands.) 

From  Brook's  Lane  westward,  the  road  boundary  will  de- 
scend a  gentle  valley,  affording  good  private  frontages,  to  the 
]\Ieeting  House  Brook,  where  connection  may  be  made  with 
the  brookside  parkway  which  should  eventually  come  up  from 
Medford  along  the  stream.  Crossing  the  stream  after  ascend- 
ing it  a  short  distance,  the  boundary  ought  doubtless  to  swing 


438  THE  LEGISLATURE'S  LINE  IN  MEDFORD        [1893 

westward  and  then  northward,  so  as  to  include  all  the  upper 
part  of  the  wooded  hill  which  lies  south  of  Winchester  South 
Eeservoir.  This  hill  is  a  part  of  the  frame  of  the  reservoir, 
and  must  be  included  if  the  wilderness  aspect  of  the  interior 
of  the  reservation  is  to  be  permanently  preserved.  For  rea- 
sons known  to  the  Commission,  we  have  not,  however,  run  a 
line  around  it.  The  line  we  have  run  and  put  upon  the  map 
ascends  Meeting  House  Brook,  including  the  stream,  until 
the  jDipe  line  of  the  Winchester  Water  Works  is  reached,  and 
then  it  follows  this  line  through  a  deep  cut  in  the  hill  just 
mentioned,  and  onward  along  the  pipe  line  to  the  first  cul- 
tivated lands,  along  the  edge  of  which  it  goes  northward  to  a 
Pine  grove,  on  the  lane  or  path  which  is  the  extension  of 
Chestnut  Street,  Winchester.  The  route  from  Meeting 
House  Brook  to  this  point  is  somewhat  circuitous,  but  it  has 
good  grades  and  includes  no  cultivated  lands. 

(^An  Alternative  Line  through  Medford  more  closely  con- 
formed to  the  line  described  in  the  Act  of  the  legislature  is 
difficult  to  find.  The  legislative  line  is  arbitrary  and  un- 
suitable for  a  road  boundary.  It  makes  bad  frontages.  In 
the  rear  of  it  we  find  no  route  which  can  be  called  an  improve- 
ment on  the  legislative  line  itself.  Consequently  we  are 
constrained  to  recommend  the  Commission  to  take  up  to  the 
legislative  line  in  the  hope  that  lands  in  front  thereof  may 
hereafter  be  purchasable.) 

From  the  Pine  grove  which  is  the  end  of  the  legislative  line 
through  Medford,  as  well  as  the  point  at  which  our  descrip- 
tion of  the  proposed  boundary  was  left,  a  gentle  valley  which 
first  ascends  and  then  descends  leads  the  boundary  road  to 
an  easy  connection  with  the  extension  of  Mt.  Vernon  Street, 
Winchester.  Thence  to  Hillcrest  Avenue,  the  boundary  be- 
comes a  mere  line  running  between  a  series  of  houses  and  the 
foot  of  the  hills.  There  is  no  room  here  for  a  road.  Cross- 
ing a  short  flat  and  turning  around  the  west  slope  of  Reser- 
voir Hill,  the  boundary,  which  is  now  a  road  again,  will  reach 
the  Water  Board's  Reservation  at  the  North  Dam.  Taking 
in  the  hill  north  of  the  dam,  turning  eastward,  and  leaving 
out  a  large  celery  farm,  the  Spot  Pond  Water  Reserve  is 
reached  at  the  north  end  of  Bear  Hill.     The  road  will  pass 


JET.M-]  A  FOREST  RESERVATION  439 

through  a  short  section  of  this  reserve,  and  emerge  upon  Main 
Street,  Stonehaiu,  opposite  the  end  of  South  Street.  Main 
Street,  Stoneham,  is  the  continuation  of  Forest  Street,  Med- 
ford,  so  that  we  have  here  completed  the  western  section  of 
the  Fells.  Except  at  the  hill  south  of  the  Winchester  South 
Dam,  the  boundary  described  lies  at  the  outer  bases  of  the 
hills  which  surround  the  Winchester  Reservoirs.  It  is  a 
boundary  which  will  effectually  preserve  the  wilderness  aspect 
of  the  interior  valleys,  except  at  the  one  point  just  named. 
.  .  .  [There  follows  a  similar  description  of  the  proposed 
boundary  of  the  eastern  section  of  the  Fells  ;  but  this  descrip- 
tion enunciates  no  new  principle.] 

We  send  herewith  plans  showing  the  boundaries  described 
above. 

15  December,  1893. 

A  Forest  Reservation.  —  We  beg  to  report  as  follows 
upon  the  boundaries  of  the  Blue  Hills  Reservation.  [Only 
one  half  of  the  detailed  description  is  here  given.] 

In  general,  our  endeavor  has  been  to  include  only  wild  and 
steep  lands,  to  exclude  improved  or  farmed  lands,  and  to  draw 
the  boundary  upon  lines  and  grades  which  may  eventually  be 
found  practicable  for  a  boundary  road. 

Beginning  at  the  western  base  of  Great  Blue  Hill,  we 
follow  Washington  Street  southward  to  Blue  Hill  Street,  and 
then  Blue  Hill  Street  and  Hillside  Street  to  the  bound  stone 
which  makes  a  corner  of  Quincy,  where  we  leave  the  road, 
and  carry  a  new  boundary  road  southward  and  then  eastward 
along  the  western  and  southern  slopes  of  Bugbee  and  Bare 
Hills,  first  in  Milton  and  then  in  Quincy,  to  the  gorge  of 
Blue  Hill  Stream  near  Randolph  Avenue.  This  route  in- 
cludes the  hills,  and  excludes  Houghton's  Pond,  the  farm  lands 
about  it  and  northeast  of  it,  and  the  swamps  along  Blue  Hill 
Stream.  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  swamps  will  eventually 
be  taken  by  the  Quincy  Water  Board.  In  the  gorge  just  men- 
tioned is  an  admirable  site  for  a  dam.  The  southern  side  of 
the  gorge  lies  in  Randolph,  a  town  not  included  in  the  metro- 
politan district,  so  that  we  cannot  include  the  whole  gorge  in 
the  reservation,  as  we  might  like  to  do.  As  it  is,  the  boundary 
road  might  find  its  way  to  Randolph  Avenue  through  the 


440  BOUNDARIES   OF  THE  BLUE   HILLS  [1893 

reservation,  the  gorge  being  too  nai-row  for  it,  while  the 
boundary  o£  the  reservation  must  follow  the  stream  to  the 
avenue. 

(^An  Alternative  Line  which  would  include  Houghton's 
Pond  —  a  charming  sheet  of  water  —  can  be  had  by  leaving 
Hillside  Street  by  the  west  boundary  of  the  H.  L.  Pierce 
estate,  and  then  going  eastward  by  a  line  across  a  flat  to  a 
junction  with  the  line  at  the  foot  of  Bugbee  Hill,  already 
described.  This  would  be  a  road  boundary.  If  no  regard 
need  be  had  to  the  plans  of  the  Quincy  Water  Board,  the 
boundary  might  follow  the  Pierce  line  from  Hillside  Street  to 
Blue  Hill  Stream  and  then  along  the  stream  to  Randolph 
Avenue.) 

Eastward  from  Randolph  Avenue  it  is  possible  to  make  a 
road  boundary  along  the  southern  line  of  Glover's  Hill,  and 
between  it  and  the  flat  lands  and  swamps  which  the  Water 
Board  of  Quincy  may  eventually  control.  Glover's  Hill 
extends  eastward  in  a  long  point,  which  closely  approaches 
West  Street  in  Braintree,  near  the  north  end  of  Great  Pond. 
An  old  road  leads  across  the  swamp  from  the  point  of  Glover's 
Hill  to  West  Street,  and  we  recommend  that  a  strip,  one 
hundred  feet  on  each  side  of  the  old  road,  should  be  secured, 
in  order  to  make  an  ample  entrance  to  the  reservation  from 
the  direction  of  Braintree.  .  .  . 

For  a  short  distance  Purgatory  Road  in  Quincy  follows  the 
base  of  the  high  hills,  and  becomes  the  reservation  boundary. 
Where  a  run  comes  down  just  west  of  the  Pierce  house,  the 
boundary  may  leave  the  road,  and,  after  ascending  a  little  and 
passing  a  small  swamp,  a  road  boundary  with  good  grades 
may  be  followed  along  the  east  slope  of  Rattlesnake  Hill  to 
the  neigl)borhood  of  Babel  Rock,  where  a  connection  can  be 
made  with  the  existing  road,  which  leads  from  the  east  base 
of  Babel  Rock  to  Willard  Street,  Quincy.  This  line  from 
Purgatory  Road  to  Willard  Street  includes  all  the  high  land 
of  Rattlesnake  Hill,  and  excludes  two  houses  and  many  acres 
of  hollow  and  broken  land.  .  .  . 

Babel  Rock  Entrance,  giving  access  from  Quincy,  is  the 
extreme  eastern  end  of  the  proposed  reservation.  Passing 
westward  now,  a  road  boundary  may  be  found  in  the  valley 


.ET.  34]  THE  DISCIPLE  FOR  THE  MASTER  441 

of  Furnace  Brook,  generally  including  the  brook,  passing  the 
north  slope  of  Rattlesnake  Hill,  and  crossing  a  region  of 
broken  topography  near  the  Quincy-Milton  line.  North  of 
this  valley  is  a  range  of  heights,  upon  the  further  or  northern 
side  of  which  are  many  quarries.  As  yet  the  southern  slope 
is  uninjured,  and  for  the  protection  of  the  scenery  of  Furnace 
Brook  valley  it  seems  advisable  to  include  this  slope  in  the 
reservation  by  drawing  an  angular  line  from  summit  to 
summit  along  the  range. 

West  of  a  certain  narrow  notch  which  is  traversable  by  a 
road,  it  will  be  best  to  include  the  whole  of  the  round  hill 
which  terminates  the  range,  and  from  this  point  carry  the 
boundary  down  Pine  Tree  Brook  valley,  in  order  to  make  a 
handsome  approach  to  the  reservation  from  Milton  and  Dor- 
chester. 

From  the  valley  of  Pine  Tree  Brook,  the  road  boundary 
must  ascend  to  traverse  the  broad  swelling  uplands  of  the 
north  slope  of  Chickatawbut  Hill,  where  views  of  the  sea 
are  had.  The  line  excludes  farm  lands,  and  includes  the  one 
remaining  Cedar  grove  of  the  hillside.  .  .  . 

We  send  herewith  plans,  in  four  sheets,  showing  the  bound- 
aries described. 

The  following  article  on  the  general  subject  of  this  chapter 
was  published  in  the  "  Engineering  Magazine "  for  May, 
1895,  and  was  there  attributed  very  properly  to  Frederick 
Law  Olmsted  ;  for  it  was  only  a  concise  restatement  —  with 
some  new  illustrations  —  of  doctrines  which  Mr.  Olmsted  had 
been  teaching  all  his  life.  It  was  really  prepared,  however, 
by  Charles,  his  disciple  and  partner,  a  little  more  than  a  year 
after  the  letters  of  this  chapter  were  written,  Mr.  Olmsted 
being  unable  at  the  time  to  write  it  himself. 

PARKS,    PARKWAYS,    AND    PLEASURE    GROUNDS. 

The  aggregation  of  men  in  great  cities  practically  necessi- 
tates the  common  or  jmblic  ownership,  or  control,  of  streets, 
sewers,  water-pipes,  and  pleasure  grounds.  Municipal  plea- 
sure grounds  comprise  all  such  public  open  spaces  as  are 
acquired  and  arranged  for  the  purpose  of  providing  favora- 
ble o})portunities  for  healthful  recreation  in  the  open  air.    As 


442  MANY   SORTS   OF  PUBLIC   GROUNDS  [1894 

there  are  many  modes  and  means  of  open-air  recreation,  so 
there  are  many  kinds  of  public  pleasure  grounds.  The  for- 
mal promenade  or  plaza  is  perhaps  the  simplest  type.  Broad 
gravel-ways  well  shaded  by  trees  afford  pleasant  out-of-door 
halls  where  crowds  may  mingle  in  an  easy  social  life,  the 
value  of  which  is  better  understood  in  Southern  Europe  and 
in  Spanish  America  than  in  the  United  States.  Agreeable 
and  numerous  open-air  nurseries  and  playgrounds  for  small 
children  present  a  more  complex,  but  perhaps  more  necessary, 
type  of  public  ground.  Very  few  public  open  spaces  suitably 
arranged  for  this  special  purpose  are  to  be  found  in  American 
cities,  and  yet  it  goes  without  saying  that  every  crowded 
neighborhood  ought  to  be  provided  with  a  place  removed 
from  the  paved  streets,  in  which  mothers,  babies,  and  small 
children  may  find  opportunity  to  rest,  and  sleep,  and  play  in 
the  open  air.  Playgrounds  for  youths  are  needed,  but  these 
may  be  further  removed  from  the  crowded  parts  of  towns. 
Public  open-air  gymnasia  have  proved  valuable  in  Europe 
and  in  Boston.  Public  flower  gardens  are  sometimes  pro- 
vided ;  but  these  are  luxuries,  and  ought  to  be  opened  at  the 
public  expense  only  after  the  more  essential  kinds  of  public 
grounds  have  been  secured.  Promenades,  gardens,  concert 
grounds,  outdoor  halls,  nurseries,  playgrounds,  gymnasia, 
and  gardens  may,  of  course,  be  combined  one  with  another, 
as  opportunity  offers.  To  properly  fulfil  their  several  func- 
tions, none  of  them  need  take  out  more  than  a  small  space 
from  the  income-producing  area  of  a  town. 

There  remains  another  less  obvious,  but  very  valuable, 
source  of  refreshment  for  townspeople,  which  only  considera- 
ble areas  of  open  space  can  supply.  The  well-to-do  people  of 
all  large  towns  seek  in  travel  the  recreation  which  comes 
from  change  of  scene  and  contemplation  of  scenery.  For 
those  who  cannot  travel,  free  admission  to  the  best  scenery  of 
their  neighborhood  is  desirable.  It  is,  indeed,  necessary,  if 
life  is  to  be  more  than  meat.  Cities  are  now  grown  so  great 
that  hours  are  consumed  in  gaining  the  "  country,"  and,  when 
the  fields  are  reached,  entrance  is  forbidden.  Accordingly  it 
becomes  necessary  to  acquire,  for  the  free  use  and  enjoyment 
of  all,  such  neighboring  fields,  woods,  pond-sides,  river-banks, 


^T.  35]  THE  DIRECTION  OF  PARK  WORKS  443 

valleys,  or  hills  as  may  present,  or  may  be  made  to  present, 
fine  scenery  of  one  type  or  another.  This  providing  of  scenery 
calls  for  the  separation  of  large  bodies  of  land  from  the  finan- 
cially productive  area  of  a  town,  county,  or  district ;  and  con- 
versely, such  setting  apart  of  large  areas  is  justifiable  only 
when  "  scenery  "  is  secured,  or  made  obtainable  thereby. 

Having  thus  made  note  of  the  main  puri)oses  of  public 
jDleasure  grounds,  we  pass  now  to  consider  (1)  Government ; 
(2)  Sites  and  Boundaries ;  (3)  General  Plans  or  Designs  ; 
and  (4)  Construction. 

Park  Government. 

The  providing  and  managing  of  reservations  of  scenery  is 
the  highest  function  and  most  difficult  task  of  the  commis- 
sioners or  directors  of  park  works.  Public  squares,  gardens, 
playgrounds,  and  promenades  may  be  well  or  badly  con- 
structed, but  no  questions  are  likely  to  ai-ise  in  connection 
therewith  which  are  beyond  the  comprehension  of  the  ordi- 
nary man  of  affairs.  If  scenic  parks,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
to  be  well  placed,  well  bounded,  well  arranged,  and,  above 
all,  well  preserved,  the  directors  of  the  work  need  to  be  more 
than  ordinary  men.  Real-estate  dealers  must  necessarily  be 
excluded  from  the  management.  Politicians,  also,  if  the 
work  is  to  run  smoothly.  The  work  is  not  purely  executive, 
like  the  work  of  directing  sewer-construction  or  street  clean- 
ing, which  may  best  be  done  by  single  responsible  chiefs. 
The  direction  of  park  works  may  probably  best  rest  with  a 
small  body  of  cultivated  men,  public-spirited  enough  to  serve 
without  pay,  who  should  regard  themselves,  and  be  regarded, 
as  a  board  of  trustees,  and  who,  as  such,  should  make  it  their 
first  duty  to  hand  down  unharmed  from  one  generation  to 
the  next  the  treasure  of  scenery  which  the  city  has  placed  in 
their  care.  Public  libraries  and  public  art  museums  are 
created  and  managed  by  boards  of  trustees.  For  similar 
reasons  public  parks  should  be  similarly  governed. 

A  landscape  park  requires,  more  than  most  works  of  men, 
continuity  of  management.  Its  perfecting  is  a  slow  process. 
Its  directors  must  thoroughly  apprehend  the  fact  that  the 
beauty  of  its  landscape  is  all  that  justifies  the  existence  of  a 


444  TAKINGS  BEST  MADE   SIMULTANEOUSLY        [1894 

large  public  open  space  in  the  midst,  or  even  on  the  immedi- 
ate borders,  of  a  town  ;  and  they  must  see  to  it  that  each 
newly  appointed  member  of  the  governing  body  shall  be 
grounded  in  this  truth.  Holding  to  the  supreme  value  of 
fine  scenery,  they  will  take  pains  to  subordinate  every  neces- 
sary construction,  and  to  perfect  the  essence  of  the  park, 
which  is  its  landscape,  before  elaborating  details  or  acces- 
sories, such  as  sculptured  gates  or  gilded  fountains,  however 
appropriately  or  beautifully  they  may  be  designed.  As  trus^ 
tees  of  park  scenery,  they  will  be  especially  watchful  to 
prevent  injury  thereto  from  the  intrusion  of  incongruous 
or  obtrusive  structures,  statues,  gardens  (whether  floral, 
botanic,  or  zoologic),  speedways,  or  any  other  instruments  of 
special  modes  of  recreation,  however  desirable  such  may  be 
in  their  proper  place.  If  men  can  be  found  to  thus  serve 
cities  as  trustees  of  scenic  or  rural  parks,  they  will  assuredly 
be  entirely  competent  to  serve  at  the  same  time  as  providers 
and  guardians  of  those  smaller  and  more  numerous  urban 
spaces  in  which  every  means  of  recreation,  excepting  scenery, 
may  best  be  provided. 

Park  Sites  and  Boundaries. 
It  is  much  to  be  desired  that  newly  created  park  commis- 
sions should  be  provided  at  the  beginning,  by  loan  or  other- 
wise, with  a  supply  of  money  sufficient  to  meet  the  cost  of  all 
probably  desirable  lands.  Purchases  or  seizures  of  land 
should  be  made  as  nearly  contemporaneously  as  possible. 
Befoi'e  making  any  purchases,  ample  time  should,  however, 
be  taken  for  investigation,  which  should  be  directed  both  to 
the  study  of  the  scenery  of  the  district  in  question  and  to  a 
comparison  of  land  values.  The  first  problem  usually  is  to 
choose  from  the  lands  sufficiently  vacant  or  cheap  to  be  con- 
sidered (1)  those  reasonably  accessible  and  moderately  large 
tracts  which  are  capable  of  presenting  agreeable  secluded 
scenery,  and  (2)  those  easily  accessible  or  intervening  small 
tracts  which  may  most  cheaply  be  adapted  to  serve  as  local 
playgrounds  or  the  like.  A  visit  and  report  from  a  profps- 
sional  park-designer  will  prove  valuable,  even  at  this  earliest 
stage  of  oj)erations.     Grounds  of  the  local  playground  class 


MT.  35]      PARKED  WATERCOURSES  AND  PARKWAYS      445 

may  safely  be  selected  in  accordance  with  considerations  of 
cheapness  and  a  reasonably  equitable  distribution ;  but  the 
wise  selection  of  even  small  landscape  parks  requires  much 
careful  study.  It  is  desirable  that  a  city's  parks  of  this  class 
should  present  scenery  of  differing  types.  It  is  desirable 
that  the  boundaries  of  each  should  be  so  placed  as  to  include 
all  essential  elements  of  the  local  scenery,  and  to  produce  the 
utmost  possible  seclusion  and  sense  of  indefinite  extent,  as 
well  as  to  make  it  possible  to  build  boundary  roads  or  streets 
upon  good  lines  and  fair  grades.  Public  grounds  of  every 
class  are  best  bounded  by  streets  ;  otherwise,  there  is  no 
means  of  ensuring  the  desirable  fronting  of  buildings  towards 
the  public  domain.  In  spite  of  a  common  popular  prejudice 
to  the  contrary,  it  will  generally  be  found  that  concave, 
rather  than  convex,  portions  of  the  earth's  surface  are  to  be 
preferred  for  park  sites.  If  the  courses  of  brooks,  streams,  or 
rivers  can  be  included  in  parks,  or  in  strips  of  public  land 
connecting  park  with  park,  or  park  with  town,  several  advan- 
tages will  be  secured  at  one  stroke.  The  natural  surface- 
drainage  channels  will  be  retained  iiiider  public  control  where 
they  belong ;  they  will  be  surely  defended  from  pollution  ; 
their  banks  will  offer  agreeable  public  promenades  ;  while 
the  adjacent  boundary  roads,  one  on  either  hand,  will  furnish 
the  contiguous  building  land  with  an  attractive  frontage. 
Where  such  stream-including  strips  are  broad  enough  to  per- 
mit the  opening  of  a  distinctively  pleasure  drive  entii'ely 
separate  from  the  boundary  roads,  the  ground  should  be 
classed  as  a  park.  Where  the  boundary  roads  are  the  only 
roads,  the  whole  strip  is  properly  called  a  parkway ;  and  this 
name  is  retained  even  when  the  space  between  the  boundary 
roads  is  reduced  to  lowest  terms  and  becomes  nothing  more 
than  a  shaded  green  ribbon,  devoted  perhaps  to  the  separate 
use  of  the  otherwise  dangerous  electric  cars.  In  other  words, 
parkways,  like  parks,  may  be  absolutely  formal  or  strikingly 
picturesque,  according  to  circumstances.  Both  will  generally 
be  formal  when  they  occupy  confined  urban  spaces  bounded 
by  dominating  buildings.  Both  will  generally  become  pic- 
turesque as  soon  as,  or  wherever,  oppoi'tunity  offers. 

After   adequate   squares   and    playgrounds,  two  or  three 


446  SCENIC   PARKS  [1894 

local  landscape  parks,  and  the  most  necessary  connecting 
parkways  shall  have  been  provided,  it  may  next  be  advisable 
to  secure  one  or  more  large  parks,  or  even  one  or  more  reser- 
vations of  remoter  and  wilder  lands.  In  a  city  of  five  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants,  a  park  of  five  hundred  acres  is  soon  so 
much  frequented  as  necessarily  to  lose  much  of  its  rurality ; 
in  other  words,  much  of  its  special  power  to  refi'esh  and 
charm.  The  necessarily  broad  roads,  the  numerous  footways, 
the  swarms  of  carriages  and  people,  all  call  to  mind  the  town, 
and  in  a  measure  offset  the  good  effect  of  the  park  scenery. 
It  is  then  that  it  becomes  advisable  to  go  still  further  afield, 
in  order  to  acquire  and  hold  in  reserve  additional  domains  of 
scenery,  such  as  Boston  has  lately  acquired  in  the  Blue  Hills 
and  the  Middlesex  Fells.  In  selecting  such  domains,  how- 
ever, no  new  principles  come  into  play.  As  in  selecting  sites 
for  parks,  so  here  it  is  always  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  pro- 
vision and  preservation  of  scenery  is  the  purpose  held  in  view, 
and  that  the  demarcation  of  the  acquired  lands  is  to  be  deter- 
mined accordingly. 

Park  Plans  or  Designs. 

To  "  plan  "  something  means  to  devise  ways  of  effecting 
some  particular  purpose.  It  has  not  always  been  thought 
necessary  to  "  plan  "  the  various  kinds  of  pleasure  grounds. 
With  no  consistent  end  or  purpose  in  mind,  the  members  of 
some  park  commissions  attempt  to  direct  from  day  to  day 
and  from  year  to  year  such  "  improvements  "  as  they  may 
from  time  to  time  decide  upon.  That  the  results  of  this 
method  of  procedure  are  confused,  inadequate,  and  unim- 
pressive is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 

In  order  to  be  able  to  devise  a  consistent  plan,  such  as 
may  be  followed  during  a  long  period  of  years  with  surety 
that  the  result  will  be  both  useful  and  beautiful,  it  is  neces- 
sary, in  the  first  place,  to  define  as  accurately  as  possible  the 
ends  or  purposes  to  be  achieved.  As  already  remarked,  these 
ends  or  purposes  are  as  numerous  as  are  the  various  modes  of 
recreation  in  the  open  air.  Thus  a  small  tract  of  harbor-side 
land  at  the  North  End  of  Boston  has  been  acquired  by  the 
park  commission,  in  order  to  supply  the  inhabitants  of  a  poor 


^T.  35]  THE  VARIETY  OF  PARK  DESIGNS  447 

and  crowded  quarter  with  a  pleasant  resting-place,  overlook- 
ing the  water,  and  with  opportunities  for  boating  and  bathing. 
Accordingly,  the  plan  provides  a  formal  elevated  stone  ter- 
race, connected  by  a  bridge  spanning  an  intervening  traffic- 
street  with  a  double-decked  pleasure  pier,  which  in  turn  forms 
a  breakwater  enclosing  a  little  jiort,  the  shore  of  wliich  will  be 
a  bathing-beach.  In  the  adjacent  city  of  Cambridge  a  rectan- 
gular, level,  and  street-bounded  open  space  has  been  ordei'ed  to 
be  arranged  to  serve  as  a  general  meeting-place  or  promenade, 
a  concert  ground,  a  boys'  playground,  and  an  outdoor  nursery. 
Accordingly,  the  adopted  plan  suggests  a  centrally  placed 
building  which  will  serve  as  a  shelter  from  showers,  and  as  a 
house  of  public  convenience,  in  which  the  boys  will  find  lock- 
ers and  the  babies  a  room  of  their  own,  from  which  also  the 
head-keeper  of  the  ground  shall  be  able  to  command  the  whole 
scene.  South  of  the  house  a  broad,  but  shaded,  gravel  space 
will  provide  room  for  such  crowds  as  may  gather  when  the 
band  plays  on  a  platform  attached  to  the  veranda  of  the 
building.  Beyond  this  concert  ground  is  placed  the  ball-field, 
which,  because  of  the  impossibility  of  maintaining  good  turf, 
will  be  of  fine  gravel  firmly  compacted.  Surrounding  the 
ball-ground  and  the  whole  public  domain  is  a  broad,  formal, 
and  shaded  mall.  At  one  end  of  the  central  building  is 
found  room  for  a  shrub-surrounded  playground  and  sand- 
court  for  babies  and  small  children.  At  the  other  end  of  the 
house  is  a  similarly  secluded  outdoor  gymnasium  for  girls. 
Lastly,  between  the  administration  house  and  the  northern 
mall  and  street,  there  will  be  found  an  open  lawn,  shut  off 
from  the  malls  by  banks  of  shrubbery  and  surrounded  by  a 
path  with  seats,  where  mothers,  nurses,  antl  the  public  gen- 
erally may  find  a  pleasant  resting-place. 

Plans  for  those  larger  public  domains  in  which  scenery  is 
the  main  object  of  pursuit  need  to  be  devised  with  similarly 
strict  attention  to  the  loftier  purpose  in  view.  The  type  of 
scenery  to  be  preserved  or  created  ought  to  be  that  which  is 
developed  naturally  from  the  local  circumstances  of  each 
case.  Rocky  or  steep  slopes  suggest  tangled  thickets  or 
forests.  Smooth  hollows  of  good  soil  hint  at  open  or  "park- 
like "  scenery.     Swamps  and  an  abundant  water-supply  sug- 


448  A  LANDSCAPE   PARK  [1894 

gest  ponds,  pools,  or  lagoons.  If  distant  views  of  regions 
outside  the  park  are  likely  to  be  permanently  attractive,  the 
beauty  thereof  may  be  enhanced  by  supplying  stronger  fore- 
grounds ;  and,  conversely,  all  ugly  or  town-like  surroundings 
ought,  if  possible,  to  be  "  planted  out."  The  paths  and  roads 
of  landscape  parks  are  to  be  regarded  simply  as  instruments 
by  which  the  scenery  is  made  accessible  and  enjoyable.  They 
may  not  be  needed  at  first,  but,  when  the  people  visiting  a 
park  become  so  numerous  that  the  trampling  of  their  feet  de- 
stroys the  beauty  of  the  ground  cover,  it  becomes  necessary 
to  confine  them  to  the  use  of  chosen  lines  and  spots.  These 
lines  ought  obviously  to  be  determined  with  careful  reference 
to  the  most  advantageous  exhibition  of  the  available  scenery. 
The  scenery  also  should  be  developed  with  reference  to  the 
views  thereof  to  be  obtained  from  these  lines.  This  point 
may  be  illustrated  by  assuming  the  simplest  possible  case,  — 
namely,  that  of  a  landscape  park  to  be  created  upon  a  paral- 
lelogram of  level  prairie.  To  conceal  the  formality  of  the 
boundaries,  as  well  as  to  shut  out  the  view  of  surrounding 
buildings,  an  informal  "  border  plantation  "  will  be  required. 
Within  this  irregular  frame  or  screen,  the  broader  the  un- 
broken meadow  or  field  may  be,  the  more  restful  and  impres- 
sive will  be  the  landscape.  To  obtain  the  broadest  and  finest 
views  of  this  central  meadow,  as  well  as  to  avoid  shattering 
its  unity,  roads  and  paths  should  obviously  be  placed  near 
the  edges  of  the  framing  woods.  In  the  typical  case  a  "cir- 
cuit road  "  I'esults.  It  is  wholly  impossible  to  frame  rules  for 
the  planning  of  rural  parks ;  local  circumstances  ought  to 
guide  and  govern  the  designer  in  every  case  ;  but  it  may  be 
remarked  that  there  are  few  situations  in  which  the  principle 
of  unity  will  not  call  for  something,  at  least,  of  the  "  border 
plantation  "  and  something  of  the  "  circuit  road." 

Within  large  rural  parks  economy  sometimes  demands  that 
provision  should  be  made  for  some  of  those  modes  of  recrea- 
tion which  small  spaces  are  capable  of  supplying.  Special 
playgrounds  for  children,  ball  or  tennis  grounds,  even  formal 
arrangements  such  as  are  most  suitable  for  concert  grounds 
and  decorative  gardens,  may  each  and  all  find  place  within 
the  rural  park,  provided  they  are  so  devised  as  not  to  conflict 


^.T.  35]  PARK  CONSTRUCTION  449 

witli  or  detract  from  the  breadth  and  quietness  of  the  general 
landscape.  If  boating  can  be  provided,  a  suitable  boating- 
house  will  be  desirable  ;  the  same  house  will  serve  for  the 
use  of  skaters  in  winter.  In  small  parks,  economy  of  adminis- 
tration demands  that  one  building  should  serve  all  purposes, 
and  supply  accommodations  for  boating  parties,  skaters,  ten- 
nis-j)layers,  ball-players,  and  all  other  visitors,  as  well  as 
administrative  offices.  In  large  parks,  separate  buildings 
serving  as  restaurants,  boat-houses,  bathing-houses,  and  the 
like  may  be  allowable.  It  is  most  important,  however,  to  re- 
member that  these  buildings,  like  the  roads  and  paths,  are 
only  subsidiary,  though  necessary,  adjuncts  to  the  park  scen- 
ery, and,  consequently,  that  they  should  not  be  placed  or 
designed  so  as  to  be  obtrusive  or  conspicuous.  Large  public 
buildings,  such  as  museums,  concert-halls,  schools,  and  the 
like,  may  best  find  place  in  town  streets  or  squares.  They 
may  wisely  perhaps  be  placed  near,  or  facing  ui^on,  the  park, 
but  to  place  them  within  it  is  simply  to  defeat  the  highest 
service  which  the  park  can  render  the  community.  Large 
and  conspicuous  buildings,  as  well  as  statues  and  other  monu- 
ments, are  completely  subversive  of  that  rural  quality  of  land- 
scape the  presentation  and  preservation  of  which  is  the  one 
justifying  purpose  of  the  undertaking  by  a  town  of  a  large 
public  park. 

Park  Construction. 

That  the  man  who  thinks  out  the  general  plan  of  a  park 
ought  to  have  daily,  supervision  of  the  working-out  of  that 
plan  is  undoubtedly  theoretically  true.  It  is  impossible  to 
represent  in  drawings  all  the  nice  details  of  good  work  in 
grading  and  planting ;  and  yet  no  work  is  more  dependent 
for  its  effect  upon  finishing  touches. 

On  the  other  hand,  however  desirable  the  constant  over- 
sight of  the  landscape  architect  may  be,  it  is  impracticable 
under  modern  conditions.  The  education  of  a  designer  of 
parks  consumes  so  much  time,  strength,  and  money  that  no 
existing  American  park  commission,  unless  it  be  that  of  New 
York,  can  as  yet  afford  to  engage  the  whole  time  of  a  com- 
petent man.     Consequently,  it  is  the  usual  practice  for  the 


450  THE   IDEAL   PARK  SUPERINTENDENT  [1894 

landscape  architect  to  present  his  design  in  the  form  of  a 
drawing  or  drawings,  and  to  supplement  the  drawings  by 
occasional  visits  for  conference  with  those  in  immediate 
charge,  by  descriptive  reports,  and  by  correspondence. 

The  prime  requisite  in  the  resident  superintendent  of  park 
work  is  efficiency.  Naturally  enough,  most  of  the  superin- 
tendents of  parks  in  the  United  States  have  been  trained 
either  as  horticulturists  or  as  engineers,  but  it  is  not  neces- 
sary or  even  desirable  that  such  should  be  the  case.  Proba- 
bly the  best  results  will  be  achieved  by  men  who,  possessing 
the  organizing  faculty  and  a  realizing  sense  of  the  importance 
of  their  work,  shall,  with  the  assistance  of  an  engineer  and  a 
plantsman,  labor  to  execute  faithfully  designs  which  they 
thoroughly  understand  and  approve. 

Most  men  of  specialized  training,  such  as  architects,  engi- 
neers, and  all  grades  of  horticulturists,  stand  in  need  of  an 
awakening  before  they  are  really  competent  to  have  to  do 
with  park  work.  Each  has  to  learn  that  his  building,  his 
bridge  or  road,  his  tree  or  flower,  which  he  has  been  accus- 
tomed to  think  of  as  an  end  in  itself,  is,  in  the  park,  onl}'^  a 
means  auxiliary  and  contributive  to  a  larger  end,  —  namely, 
the  general  landscape.  It  is  hard  for  most  gardeners  to 
forego  the  use  of  plants  which,  however  lovely  or  marvellous 
they  may  be  as  individuals,  are  only  blots  on  the  landscape. 
It  is  hard  for  most  engineers  to  conform  their  ideas  of 
straightforward  construction  to  a  due  regard  for  appearance 
and  the  preservation  of  the  charm  of  scenery.  Neatness  of 
finish  in  slopes  adjacent  to  roads  is  not  sufficient ;  such  slopes 
must  be  contrived  so  as  to  avoid  formality  and  all  likeness  to 
railroad  cuts  or  fills.  Road  lines  and  grades  which  may  be 
practicable  in  the  ordinary  world  are  to  be  avoided  in  the 
park,  because  the  pleasure  of  the  visitor  is  the  one  object  held 
in  view.  Roads,  walls,  bridges,  water-supply,  drainage,  and 
grading,  —  such  of  these  works  as  may  be  necessary  are  to  be 
executed  with  all  technical  skill,  as  in  the  outer  world  ;  but 
the  engineer  in  charge  should  be  a  man  who  will  see  to  it  that 
the  work  is  done  with  constant  regard  to  the  object  of  a  park 
as  distinguished  from  the  object  of  a  city  street  or  square,  or 
of  a  railroad. 


^T.  35] 


THE   PARK  PLANTER 


451 


Slinilarly,  the  park  planter  should  be  a  man  capable  of 
holding  fast  to  the  idea  that  the  value  of  a  rural  park  con- 
sists in  landscape,  and  not  in  gardening  or  in  the  exhibition 
of  specimen  plants.  Guided  by  this  idea,  he  will  avoid  such 
absurd  traces  of  formality  as  the  too  common  practice  of 
planting  trees  in  rows  beside  curving  driveways.  In  devising 
necessary  plantations  he  will  give  preference  to  native  plants, 
without  avoiding  exotics  of  kinds  which  blend  easily.  Thus, 
where  a  Banana  would  be  out  of  place,  the  equally  foreign 
Barberry,  Privet,  or  Buckthorn  may  be  admissible  and  useful. 
Influenced  by  the  same  principle,  he  will  confine  flower  gar- 
dening to  the  secluded  garden,  for  which  space  may  perhaps 
be  found  in  some  corner  of  the  park. 

If  men  can  be  found  who  will  thus  cooperate  with  park 
commissioners  to  the  end  that  the  lands  and  landscapes  which 
the  latter  hold  in  trust  shall  be  cared  for  and  made  available 
in  strict  accordance  with  that  trust,  excellent  results  can  be 
hoped  for  in  American  parks.  As  before  remarked,  men 
who  are  capable  of  such  work  may  certainly  be  trusted  to 
construct  and  manage  town  spaces  —  squares,  playgrounds, 
and  the  like  —  with  due  regard  to  their  special  purposes  and 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

LETTERS  OF  1894  ON  METROPOLITAN  PARK  WORK 

The  problem  of  a  park  ...  is  mainly  the  reconciliation  of  adequate 
beauty  of  nature  in  scenery  with  adequate  means  in  artificial  construc- 
tions of  protecting  the  conditions  of  such  beauty,  and  holding  it  avail- 
able to  the  use,  in  a  convenient  and  orderly  way,  of  those  needing  it. 

F.    L.    Ox^MSTED. 

At  the  close  of  each  year  between  1893  and  1896  inclusive, 
Charles  wrote  a  report  to  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission 
summarizing  the  work  done  for  the  Commission  by  the  land- 
scape architects  ;  but  in  each  one  of  these  years  he  wrote  also 
a  series  of  letters  to  the  Commission  giving  current  advice, 
or  answering  questions  raised  in  meetings  of  the  Board.  The 
annual  reports  generally  relate  to  things  accomplished,  the 
letters  to  things  under  consideration  or  needing  to  be  done. 
The  letters  selected  for  this  chapter  were  addressed  to  the 
chairman  of  the  Commission  with  the  exception  of  the  last 
two,  and  these  were  on  Metropolitan  business.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  they  deal  with  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  some 
of  them  apparently  not  strictly  within  the  province  of  land- 
scape advisers ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  Charles  was, 
at  this  stage  of  the  undertaking,  the  one  person  who  was 
familiar  with  all  the  new  reservations,  and  at  the  same  time 
knew  well  whatever  foreign  experience  had  to  teach  about 
the  management  of  public  domains.  He  also  wrote  in  the 
name  of  the  most  experienced  firm  of  landscape  architects  in 
the  country.^ 

The  first  letter  relates  to  subjects  of  prime  importance,  the 
second  of  which  was  difficult  from  the  beginning,  and  has 
not  yet  (1901)  been  satisfactorily  disposed  of.  In  this  early 
letter  Charles  evidently  wishes  all  work  on  paths  in  the  reser- 
vations to  be  of  the  simplest  sort,  as  befits  temporary  pro- 
visions. 

^  It  will  be  obvious  to  the  reader  that  the  letter-books  of  the  firm  have 
been  freely  used,  by  permission,  in  the  preparation  of  this  volume.  The 
letters  selected  were  all  written  or  dictated  by  Charles  himself. 


iET.  34]      PRECAUTIONS  AGAINST  FOREST  FIRES  453 

Jan.  5,  1894. 

We  beg  leave  to  report  as  follows  upon  the  subject  of  work 
which  it  seems  to  us  might  with  advantage  be  done  at  once 
upon  the  reservations  taken,  or  about  to  be  taken,  by  your 
Board. 

The  woodlands  of  all  the  reservations  in  your  charge  have 
in  the  past  suffered  much  damage  by  fire.  Upon  very  large 
areas  there  stands  to-day  nothing  but  fire-killed  forest.  Other 
large  areas,  which  have  lately  been  chopped  over,  are  strewn 
with  dry  and  inflannnable  brush.  This  condition  of  the  woods 
invites  fire;  and  another  fire,  with  these  vast  quantities  of 
lifeless  material  to  feed  upon,  might  easily  get  beyond  con- 
trol, and  so  finish  the  destruction  of  the  woods  and  even  of 
the  soil  of  the  hills. 

Nature's  method  of  getting  rid  of  the  dangerous  lifeless 
material  just  mentioned  consists  in  reducing  it  to  ashes  through 
the  slow  processes  of  decay.  We  respectfully  advise  the 
Commission  to  rid  the  reservations  of  dead  wood  at  once  by 
felling  it,  and  by  burning  in  heaps  all  that  is  not  profitably 
salable  as  posts  or  cordwood.  This  work  might  employ  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  men  in  each  of  the  three  woodland  reser- 
vations during,  perhaps,  fifty  working  days.  The  work  should 
cease  after  ^larch  31st.  It  should  be  superintended  by  careful 
men,  who  will  see  to  it  that  only  dead  trees  and  bushes  are  cut 
down,  that  living  undergrowth  and  especially  young  trees  are 
not  injured,  and  that  fires  are  built  and  lighted  only  where 
and  when  they  can  do  no  harm.  If  this  work  cannot  be  done, 
we  must  advise  the  Commission  to  employ  a  large  force  of 
fire  wards  (a  man  for  every  hundi'ed  acres  would  be  none  too 
many),  for  the  protection  of  the  woodlands  during  the  dan- 
gerous spring  months.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  dead  wood 
can  be  cleared  away  before  April,  one  man  for  every  five 
hundred  or  one  thousand  acres  would  form  a  sufficient  guard, 
particularly  if  friendly  relations  and  connection  by  telephone 
could  be  established  with  the  nearest  public  fire  departments, 
or  with  such  citizens  as  might  be  willing  to  hold  themselves 
ready  to  respond  to  a  call  for  aid.  We  presume  that  the 
public  telephone  service  could  be  extended  to  several  points 
of  vantage  in  the  reservations  at  no  very  great  expense. 


454  PROVISIONAL   PATHS   IN   THE   FORESTS  [1894 

A  second  work  which  needs  to  be  done  at  once  within  the 
reservations  is  the  clearing  of  the  principal  existing  paths  so 
that  they  may  be  easily  found  and  used  by  the  public.  A 
well-trodden  path  will  stop  an  ordinary  ground  fire ;  while  a 
crown  fire  can  best  be  fought  by  making  back  fires  along 
paths  or  roads  ;  so  that  there  is  double  reason  for  this  work. 
Here  and  there  a  new  path  may  be  needed,  or  an  old  path 
may  be  required  to  be  drained  or  carried  over  a  stream.  We 
ask  that  whatever  work  of  this  sort  is  done  shall  be  done 
boldly  and  naturally  ;  particularly  that  no  "  pretty "  stone- 
work or  wood-work  shall  be  attempted.  If  a  ditch  is  needed, 
let  it  look  like  a  ditch,  and  if  a  foot-bridge  is  needed,  let  it 
be  as  simple  as  possible. 

It  seems  advisable  that  guide-maps  of  the  reservations 
should  be  issued  for  the  use  of  the  public,  and  we  hold  our- 
selves in  readiness  to  proceed  to  the  making  of  the  same 
should  the  Commission  so  direct. 

A  third  work  which  will  need  to  be  done  soon  is  the  mark- 
ing of  the  boundaries  of  the  reservations  by  stone  monuments, 
and  the  building  of  fences  where  private  estates  abut  upon 
the  boundary  line. 

The  next  letter  is  an  example  of  the  continuous  study 
which  had  to  be  given  to  the  boundaries  of  some  of  the  reser- 
vations, and  of  the  new  designs  which  resulted  from  these 
studies  as  new  conditions  arose.  The  first  three  paragraphs 
of  this  letter  resulted  in  an  important  saving  of  money  to  the 
district ;  the  next  three  contain  the  first  description  of  a 
beautiful  design  since  carried  out  by  the  cooperation  of  the 
Metropolitan  Commission  and  the  Boston  Commission  ;  the 
last  paragraph  relates  to  a  difficult  problem  not  yet  solved. 

Feb.  23,  1894. 

In  order  to  make  the  record  of  our  connection  with  your 
labors  continuous,  we  submit  the  following  memorandum  of 
our  doings  with  respect  to  the  proposed  Stony  Brook  Eeser- 
vation. 

On  December  15,  1893,  in  accordance  with  previous  com- 
mands of  the  Commission,  we  submitted  a  plan  showing  a 
boundary  line  which  would  enclose  some  nine  hundred  acres 
at  the  source  of  Stony  Brook.     We  took  pains  to  state  at  the 


^T.  34]      HALVING   STONY  BROOK  RESERVATION  455 

time  that  this  boundary  included  much  more  than  the  central 
or  essential  scenery  of  the  Muddy  Pond  valley.  During 
January  the  Committee  on  the  Stony  Brook  lieservation  in- 
spected the  line,  as  did  the  Hyde  Park  Commissioners,  and 
several  new  lines  were  placed  upon  the  map  as  the  result  of 
various  conferences.  About  the  end  of  January,  we  under- 
stood that  Surveyor  Richardson  received  orders  from  Secre- 
tary Carruth  to  proceed  to  the  making  of  definitive  taking- 
plans. 

On  February  9,  1894,  Mr.  R  L.  Olmsted  and  Mr.  Eliot 
took  occasion  to  state  in  a  full  meeting  of  the  Board  their 
conviction  that  so  large  a  reservation  at  the  source  of  Stony 
Brook  is  hardly  warrantable  or  advisable,  and  their  opinion 
that  if  any  land  is  to  be  taken  in  this  section  it  should  in- 
clude the  rugged  glen  which  has  Bellevue  Hill  at  its  head 
and  Muddy  Pond  in  its  bottom,  rather  than  the  now  better 
forested  valley  in  which  lies  West  Street, 

On  February  IG,  1894,  the  Mayor  of  Boston  being  in  con- 
ference with  the  Commission,  in  accordance  with  a  suggestion 
from  Commissioner  W.  L.  Chase,  we  submitted  sketch  plans 
showing  a  reservation  of  four  hundred  and  seventy-eight  acres 
at  Muddy  Pond  south  of  Washington  Street,  and  parkways 
connecting  with  the  Arnold  Arboretum  on  the  one  hand  and 
the  Blue  Hills  Reservation  on  the  other. 

To-day  we  submit  for  the  consideration  of  the  Commission 
the  detailed  plan  of  the  first  mentioned  parkway  prepared  by 
us  for  the  use  of  the  Boston  Park  Commission.  We  propose, 
however,  that  this  parkway  should  include  the  summit  of 
Mount  Bellevue,  and  the  city  surveyor  is  now  preparing  a 
map  of  the  hill  so  that  this  connection  may  be  studied.  As 
far  as  the  base  of  the  hill,  the  parkway  traverses  unoccupied 
and  beautiful  land  except  near  the  crossing  of  the  Dedham 
Railroad,  where  a  few  cheap  houses  stand  in  the  way.  The 
plan  provides  two  side-roads  from  200  to  650  feet  apart, 
affording  frontage  for  the  adjacent  excellent  building  land, 
and  a  pleasure  drive  in  the  middle,  which  latter  will  accom- 
pany a  charming  brook  for  about  a  mile. 

On  Washington  Street,  at  the  base  of  Bellevue,  the  plea- 
sure drive  would  divide,  a  branch  ascending  Bellevue  by  a 


456  THE   FIRST   PARKWAY   LEGISLATION  [1894 

spiral  curve,  while  the  main  road  would  at  once  descend  into 
the  Muddy  Pond  Glen.  If  the  scenery  of  the  glen  is  to  be 
effectually  preserved,  the  side  boundary  roads  should  probably 
be  some  3000  feet  apart  abreast  of  the  pond,  nearing  each 
other  as  the  lower  ground  near  Hyde  Park  is  reached,  and 
coming  to  Mother  Brook  through  Happy  Valley  with  a  re- 
servation 400  feet  broad.  The  length  of  the  reservation 
between  Washington  Street  and  Mother  Brook  is  two  miles. 

Beyond  Mother  Brook,  there  is  no  better  way  of  reaching 
the  banks  of  the  Neponset  River  than  by  opening  a  straight 
way  from  the  south  side  of  Damon  School  to  the  south  side 
of  the  Hyde  Park  Water  Company's  pumping-house  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  river.  A  trestle  or  viaduct  will  carry  the 
parkway  over  the  two  railroads  and  the  river  as  directly  as  is 
possible.  The  Nej)onset  would  then  be  included  in  the  re- 
servation as  far  as  Paul's  Bridge,  from  which  point  Brush 
Hill  Road  ascends  to  the  western  entrance  to  the  Blue  Hills 
Reservation. 

The  next  four  letters  relate  to  a  new  function  which  in  the 
spring  of  1894  was  imposed  on  the  Metropolitan  Park  Com- 
mission by  the  legislature,  in  spite  of  the  unconcealed  reluc- 
tance of  the  Commission  to  accept  it.  The  winter  of  1893-94 
was  a  season  of  great  industrial  depression  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  an  unusual  number  of  men  were  out  of  work.  The 
legislature  had  this  state  of  things  in  mind  when  it  placed 
$500,000  at  the  disposal  of  the  Commission  wherewith  to  buy 
land  for,  and  to  construct,  parkways  which  would  make  the 
new  reservations  more  accessible  to  the  public.  Doubtless 
the  legislature  thought  that  the  Commission  could  make  the 
necessary  plans  in  a  few  weeks,  and  set  some  thousands  of 
the  unemployed  at  work.  The  Act  was  approved  April  21st, 
and  on  May  1st  Charles  began  the  study  of  a  first  parkway, 
namely,  one  to  connect  the  Fells  with  the  centre  of  the  dis- 
trict. In  a  little  over  three  weeks  he  prepared  the  design 
described  in  the  first  of  the  following  letters,  a  design  which 
in  all  its  essential  features  has  since  been  executed.  It  soon 
became  evident,  however,  that  with  all  the  delays  necessitated 
by  the  indispensable  surveys,  taking-j^lans,  and  negotiations 
with  owners,  it  would  be  quite  impossible  to  begin  actual 
construction  that  summer ;  and  that  the  Commission  needed 
time  to  consider  the  fair  way  of  expending,  in  the  interest  of 
the  whole  district,  the  moderate  appropriation  placed  at  their 


^T.  34]  APPROACHES   TO  MIDDLESEX  FELLS  457 

disposal.  It  was  the  30th  of  August  before  Charles  was  pre- 
pared to  suggest  a  preliminary  plan  for  the  Blue  Hills  Park- 
way. This  will  be  found  in  the  second  letter  of  this  group. 
Like  the  design  for  tlie  Fells  Parkway,  it  proposed  a  central 
railway  reservation  with  a  roadway,  a  planting-strip,  and  a 
sidewalk  on  each  side  of  it.  From  the  beginning,  Charles 
planned  for  electric  cars  on  these  parkways,  that  by  them  the 
populace  might  reach  the  forest  reservations  cheaply  but  in  a 
pleasurable  manner.  The  third  letter  of  this  series  gives  his 
reasons  for  recommending  the  immediate  acquisition  of  the 
land  for  these  two  parkways,  and  the  construction  of  as  much 
as  possible  of  the  Fells  Parkway.  It  is  plain  in  these  three 
letters  that  Charles  was  seeking  the  greatest  good  of  the 
greatest  number  in  expending  the  $500,000  for  parkways. 
The  fourth  and  last  of  these  parkway  letters  was  a  personal 
letter  to  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  the  chairman  of  the 
Commission,  who  had  great  difficulty  in  accepting  parkways 
at  all  as  work  to  be  done  under  the  direction  of  the  Park 
Commission.  Charles  had  at  first  sympathized  very  much 
with  Mr.  Adams ;  but  on  further  study  and  reflection,  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  laying  out  of  parkways  to 
enable  the  people  to  reach  agreeably  their  larger  reservations 
was  appropriate  work  for  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission. 

May  24,  1894. 

We  have  the  honor  to  report  as  follows  on  the  problem  of 
a  direct  and  easy  approach  to  Middlesex  Fells  Reservation 
from  the  central  and  densely  inhabited  part  of  the  metropoli- 
tan district. 

The  southernmost  points  of  the  Fells  Reservation,  as  it  is 
at  present  outlined,  are  the  two  bold  hills  known  as  Pine 
Hill,  Medford,  and  Bear's  Den  Hill,  Maiden.  Between  these 
two  points  the  boundary  of  the  reservation  retreats  about  half 
a  mile  to  the  northward.  Both  hills  are  about  five  and  one 
half  miles  from  the  State  House. 

What  with  Charles  River,  the  railroads,  the  new  railroad 
yards  in  the  old  Asylum  Grounds,  the  great  packing-houses 
and  the  proposed  railroad  shops  by  Mystic  River,  it  seems 
impracticable  at  the  present  time  to  open  through  the  crowded 
territory  south  of  Mystic  River  any  one  broad  and  continuous 
line  of  communication  leading  towards  the  Fells. 

The  principal  existing  streets  leading  in  the  desired  direc- 


458  FROM   THE   MYSTIC   TO   THE   FELLS  [1894 

tion  from  the  business  centre  of  Boston  are  Main  Street  and 
Rutherford  Avenue,  Charlestown,  and  the  continuation  of  the 
same  in  Mystic  and  Middlesex  Avenues,  Somerville.  Lead- 
ing from  the  Back  Bay  District,  there  is  Harvard  Bridge, 
Poi'tland  Street,  Cambridge,  and  Cross  Street,  Somerville. 
These  two  main  lines  of  existing,  but  inadequate,  streets  con- 
verge upon  Middlesex  Avenue  Bridge  over  Mystic  River, 
the  only  bridge  which  lies  in  the  straight  line  between  the 
State  House  and  the  heart  of  the  Fells. 

Leaving  these  approaches  to  the  bridge  and  the  bridge 
itself  to  be  improved  in  the  future,  it  is  practicable  at  the 
present  time  to  begin  the  construction  of  a  special  and  ade- 
quate approach  to  the  Fells  at  the  northern  end  of  this  bridge. 
A  suitable  approach-road  should  certainly  be  broad  enough 
to  include  a  grassed  and  shaded  reservation  for  electric  cars, 
as  well  as  sufficient  driveways  and  sidewalks.  A  good  arrange- 
ment would  be  the  following :  For  the  electric  railway  thirty- 
five  feet,  and  on  each  side  thereof  a  roadway  thirty  feet,  a 
planting-strip  of  seven  feet,  and  a  sidewalk  eight  feet  in 
width.  This  gives  the  proposed  way  or  boulevard  a  total 
width  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet.  Assuming  that 
this  shall  be  the  width,  the  question  is  how  best  to  lead  a 
boulevard  of  these  dimensions  from  Middlesex  Avenue  Bridge 
to  the  Fells. 

Obviously,  the  most  direct  line  to  Bear's  Den  Hill  and  the 
eastern  section  of  the  Fells  is  the  existing  Highland  Avenue, 
but  to  widen  this  street  to  the  extent  desired  seems  impracti- 
cable because  of  the  numerous  existing  buildings  and  the  shal- 
lowness of  many  of  the  adjacent  lots. 

Obviously,  also,  a  direct  line  to  Pine  Hill  is  equally  imprac- 
ticable because  of  the  closely  built  streets  of  eastern  Medford. 

Fortunately  there  still  remains  halfway  between  Maiden 
and  Medford  a  stretch  of  open  land,  througk  the  midst  of 
which  a  boulevard  may  be  built  with  little  damage  to  existing 
buildings  and  with  great  benefit  to  adjacent  lands.  By  way 
of  this  open  land  it  is  one  and  one  half  level  miles  from 
Middlesex  Avenue  Bridge  to  the  foot  of  the  rock-hills  at  the 
corner  of  Pleasant  and  Valley  streets.  At  this  foot  of  the 
hills  we  would  have  the  road  divide,  one  branch  leading  to 


^T.  34]  THE  BLUE   HILLS   PARKWAY  459 

Valley  Street,  and  near  Love  Lane,  so  called,  to  Pine  HiU 
and  the  western  section  of  the  Reservation,  and  the  other 
branch  leading  by  Fellsmere,  across  Highland  Avenue,  to 
Bear's  Den  Hill  and  the  eastern  section.  Then  from  Pine 
Hill  to  Bear's  Den  Hill  the  proposed  road  on  the  boundary 
of  the  reservation  might  be  arranged  so  as  to  complete  the 
circuit  and  conduct  the  electric  cars,  not  only  to  the  two 
commanding  hills  and  both  sections  of  the  Fells,  but  also 
completely  around  the  especially  charming,  but  now  inaccessi- 
ble, tract  of  building  land  which  lies  between  the  higher  hills. 
The  owners  of  this  hilly  tract,  as  well  as  the  owners  of  the 
flat,  open  land  before  mentioned,  will  doubtless  be  glad  to 
give  land  for  the  sake  of  securing  the  construction  of  the 
boulevard  upon  a  route  so  advantageous  to  their  interests. 

If  this  general  scheme  of  a  Fells  Boulevard  should  approve 
itself  to  the  Commission,  and  if  it  should  be  thought  advisable 
to  proceed  to  construction  as  soon  as  possible,  we  would  re- 
commend the  employment  of  three  parties  of  surveyors,  one 
to  map  the  property  lines  and  grades  of  the  flat  section,  and 
two  to  map  the  more  complicated  topography  of  the  hill  sec- 
tions. Presumably  it  would  not  take  long  to  determine  the 
most  advantageous  course  for  the  boulevard  across  the  flat 
land.  Much  work  upon  this  section  could  doubtless  be  accom- 
plished this  summer.  INIeanwhile,  plans  for  the  work  in  the 
hill  sections  would  be  preparing,  and  much  of  the  necessary 
blasting  and  coarser  grading  might  be  accomplished  during 
next  winter. 

Aug.  30,  1894. 

On  May  24th  last,  we  reported  upon  a  preliminary  plan 
for  the  middle  or  level  section  of  the  proposed  Fells  Parkway. 
To-day  we  present  a  similar  preliminary  plan  of  the  level 
section  of  the  proposed  Blue  Hills  Parkway.  This  section 
begins  at  the  termination  of  Blue  Hill  Avenue  at  the  Nepon- 
set  River  on  the  boundary  of  Boston  and  Milton,  and  extends 
to  Canton  Avenue  in  Milton,  following  as  closely  as  possible 
the  line  of  the  existing  Mattapan  Street.  The  suggestions 
presented  in  the  plan  may  be  briefly  described  as  follows :  — 

[Mattapan  Street  straightened,  8100  feet  long,  120  feet 
wide,  with  sidewalk  and  planting-strip  on  each  side,  two  road- 
ways, and  a  central  railroad  reservation.] 


460    FROM  BOSTON  COMMON  TO   THE   BLUE  HILLS  [1894 

.  .  .  Between  Brook  Eoad,  Brush  Hill  Road,  and  Nepon- 
set  River  there  are  many  Sj^ruce-trees  which  we  deem  of  no 
account,  and  several  large  Elms  which  the  plans  as  drawn 
will  preserve.  ...  At  Neponset  River,  the  completion  of  the 
plan  would  ultimately  call  for  a  new  bridge  in  addition  to 
the  present  bridge,  and  the  pushing  eastward  of  the  Matta- 
pan  Railroad  Station  of  the  Old  Colony  division.  This  latter 
work  being  in  Boston  would  naturally  become  a  part  of  the 
promised  widening  of  the  existing  Blue  Hill  Avenue. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  for  that  section  of  the  Blue  Hills 
Parkway  which  lies  south  of  Canton  Avenue,  outline  plans 
have  already  been  submitted  by  us  in  the  form  of  a  proposed 
addition  to  Blue  Hills  Reservation.  Thus  our  scheme  for 
this  parkway,  as  for  the  Fells  Parkway,  is  now  complete. 

Aug.  30,  1894. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  we  have  now  completed  preliminary 
plans  of  both  of  the  parkways  recommended  by  us  to  the 
favorable  consideration  of  the  Commission,  w^e  ask  that  the 
following  brief  statement  of  the  reasoning  which  has  influ- 
enced us  may  be  placed  on  your  file. 

The  Commission  was  empowered  by  the  legislature  of 
1894  to  expend  five  hundi-ed  thousand  dollars  in  buying  land 
for  parkways  and  in  constructing  the  same.  The  Commis- 
sion having  previously  acquired  large  public  reservations  in 
the  Fells  and  the  Blue  Hills,  we  were  naturally  not  surprised 
when  the  problem  set  before  us  was  defined  to  be  the  devising 
of  parkways  which  should  conveniently  connect  these  reserva- 
tions with  the  densely  inhabited  centre  of  the  metropolitan 
district.  Upon  taking  up  this  problem  in  its  relations  with 
the  Blue  Hills,  it  was  found  that  the  City  of  Boston  was 
already  engaged  in  widening  Blue  Hill  Avenue  through  Dor- 
chester to  a  width  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  and  that 
from  the  terminus  of  this  broad  way  at  Mattapan,  the  route 
to  the  Reservation  which  is  at  once  the  shortest  and  the  least 
hilly  is  by  way  of  Mattapan  Street,  Harland  Street,  and  the 
valley  which  may  be  called  Crossman's  Valley  after  the  soli- 
tary settler  who  lives  there.  By  this  route,  the  distance  from 
Mattapan  Bridge  to  Crossman's  Pines  at  the  northern  corner 


.ET.  34]      FROM  BOSTON  COMMON   TO   THE  FELLS  461 

of  Blue  Hills  Reservation  is  about  three  miles.  The  parkway 
for  the  first  half  of  this  distance  would  consist  of  a  straight 
and  formal  avenue,  but  beyond  Canton  Avenue  it  seems  possi- 
ble and  very  desirable  to  include  in  the  parkway  both  sides 
of  the  narrow  and  charming  gorge  of  Pine  Tree  Brook.  No 
other  possible  route  of  approach  to  the  Hills  from  the  heart 
of  the  city  appears  to  us  to  be  so  worthy  of  adoption  as  this. 

In  its  relation  with  the  Fells,  the  problem  set  before  us 
proved  by  no  means  easy  of  solution.  Unlike  the  Blue  Hills, 
the  Fells  are  surrounded  by  city-like  towns  whose  inhabitants 
are  obliged  to  seek  Boston  almost  daily,  and  yet  there  exists 
for  these  communities  no  such  direct  avenue  of  approach  to 
the  heart  of  the  great  city  as  Blue  Hill  Avenue  affords  Mil- 
ton and  the  other  comparative  rural  towns  to  the  southward. 

Accordingly,  though  only  after  much  serious  study  of  the 
circumstances,  w^e  were  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  most 
valuable  thing  which  the  Commission  could  do  in  this  northern 
section  of  the  district  at  the  present  time  would  be  the  open- 
ing of  a  broad  and  handsome  way,  beginning  at  each  of  the 
two  southernmost  corners  of  the  Fells  Reservation,  and  ex- 
tending thence  toward  the  centre  of  Boston  to  some  point  on 
the  edge  of  the  densely  inhabited  area  at  which  the  best  possi- 
ble present  connection  may  be  made  with  continuous  streets 
penetrating  the  crowded  parts  of  the  town,  and  to  which  it 
may  be  hoped  that  a  broad  avenue  may  be  opened  through 
the  crowded  area  in  years  to  come.  In  searching  for  this 
cityward  terminus  of  the  work  to  be  done  under  the  present 
available  appropriation,  Broadway  Park,  Somerville,  was 
chosen  because  it  is  readily  accessible  from  Charlestown,  and 
because  it  is  reached  by  Cross  Street,  which  has  easy  grades 
by  reason  of  passing  east  of  Prospect  Hill,  as  well  as  by  Wal- 
nut Street,  which  climbs  over  the  hill.  It  may  be  noted  in- 
cidentally that  this  advantageous  point  of  beginning  the  Fells 
Parkway  is  no  farther  from  the  State  House  (two  and  one- 
half  miles)  than  Cottage  Farm  bridge,  Roxbury  Crossing,  or 
the  beginning  of  Blue  Hill  Avenue  at  Dudley  Street ;  and 
while  the  Blue  Hills  Reservation  is  distant  from  this  last 
named  corner  seven  miles,  the  Fells  Reservation  is  distant 
from  Broadway  Park  only  three  miles  and  a  small  fraction. 


462  THE  PARKWAY  LAW  EXPEDIENT  [1894 

If  the  Commission  desires  to  hear  our  opinion  not  only  as 
to  the  lines  upon  which  the  present  appropriation  may  best 
be  expended,  but  also  as  to  how  it  should  be  expended,  we 
may  frankly  say  that  we  recommend  the  immediate  acquisi- 
tion of  the  lands  required  for  both  these  parkways,  the  con- 
struction of  as  much  as  possible  of  the  Fells  Parkway,  and  in 
the  Blue  Hills  Parkway  the  construction  of  the  connecting 
link  of  road  which  is  needed  to  permit  Grossman's  Pines  to 
be  reached  from  Harland  Street.  The  Fells  Parkway  seems 
to  us  to  be  sorely  needed  by  the  population  which  dwells 
around  the  Fells,  as  well  as  by  the  throngs  who  would  be 
glad  to  visit  the  reservation.  The  construction  of  the  Blue 
Hills  Parkway  can  well  be  delayed  in  view  of  the  two  facts 
that  there  is  no  large  body  of  population  in  its  neighborhood 
and  that  visitors  to  the  reservation  will  be  well  served  by 
existing  streets  and  the  one  link  which  we  have  just  projjosed 
should  be  built. 

Sept.  14,  1894. 

My  dear  Mr.  Adams,  —  Let  me  try  to  set  down  a  few 
facts  for  your  consideration.  To  Mr.  Richardson  one  day  at 
Beaver  Brook,  to  Mr.  Philip  A.  Chase  at  various  times,  and 
to  Mr.  Carruth  in  his  office,  I  expressed  my  rej^ugnance  for 
the  "  boulevard  "  legislation,  before  the  enactment  of  the  mea- 
sure, as  well  as  afterwards.  The  grounds  of  my  feeling  were 
precisely  those  which  you  expressed  the  other  day  at  lunch. 

To  the  astonishment  of  most  of  us,  a  "  boulevard  "  act  was 
passed  granting  1500,000,  one  half  to  come  direct  from  the 
State  treasuiT.  I  have  supposed  that  this  result  was  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  IMalden  and  Medford  men  were  leaders 
in  the  "  Committee  on  the  Unemployed  ;  "  and  that  these 
men  assumed  that  the  boulevard  to  be  constructed  would 
benefit  their  communities. 

However  this  may  have  been,  the  Commission  after  some 
discussion  asked  our  firm  to  submit  schemes  for  "  boulevards  " 
which  should  connect  the  forest  reserves  with  the  heart  of  the 
city.  These  schemes  are  now  before  the  Board,  the  Fells 
scheme,  by  vote  of  the  Board,  having  already  passed  from  us 
to  an  engineer  who  has  staked  it  out,  and  prepared  estimates 
of  the  cost  of  construction. 


iET.  34]   PARKWAYS   MUST  BE  METROPOLITAN  WORK  463 

In  the  course  of  my  study  of  the  projects  submitted,  I 
reached  certain  conchisions,  among  them  being :  — 

1st.  These  ways  of  sufficient  breadth  to  accommodate  safe, 
that  is,  separate,  electric  car  lines,  as  well  as  roadways,  are 
really  needed.  The  separate  car  lines,  affording  rapid  and 
pleasant  transit  to  the  reservations  for  "  the  masses,"  seem  to 
me  fully  as  important  as  the  pleasure  driveways. 

2d.  There  exists  no  public  authority  other  than  the  Metro- 
politan Park  Commission  capable  of  either  acquiring  the  land 
or  constructing  these  ways  in  the  positions  deemed  most 
advantageous.  IMalden  and  Medford  are  incapable  of  the 
proposed  Fells  Parkway ;  Milton  is  even  more  incapable  of 
the  Mattapan  and  Ilarland  Streets  development.  On  the 
other  hand,  these  places,  together  with  the  whole  metropolitan 
district,  would  in  my  opinion  greatly  profit  by  the  construc- 
tion of  both. 

3d.  The  legislature  having  put  this  burden  on  the  Metro- 
politan Pai'k  Commission,  the  proposed  "  boulevards  "  being 
real  metropolitan  improvements,  and  no  other  authority  capa- 
ble of  making  them  existing,  for  myself,  I  see  no  way  of 
avoiding  advancing  on  the  lines  laid  down  —  after  making 
sure  that  the  routes  selected  are  the  most  advantageous  that 
can  be  found. 

4th.  As  the  work  of  opening  "  boulevards  "  is  absolutely 
distinct  from  the  original  work  of  the  Metropolitan  Commis- 
sion, as  the  money  for  the  work  is  derived  from  different 
sources,  and  as  it  is  important  that  the  public  should  under- 
stand that  the  "  boulevard  "  work  is  a  separate  and  special 
job  put  upon  a  commission  created  for  other  and  distinct  pur- 
poses, it  would  be  well  if  the  report  on  the  "boulevard  "  work 
with  its  financial  statement  should  be  made  to  the  legislature 
in  a  separate  document,  which  would  be  separately  printed 
and  distributed.  If  this  were  done,  there  would  be  little 
danger  that  the  ends  originally  had  in  view  by  the  Commis- 
sion would  be  lost  sight  of,  altered,  or  injured  by  the  boule- 
vard work,  or  by  anything  which  might  happen  to  that  work. 
If  this  were  done,  the  Commission  would  at  any  time  be  ready 
to  transfer  the  boulevard  work  to  some  other  Commission  or 
to  the  Greater  Boston  organization,  should  such  a  thing  come 
into  existence. 


464  IMPROVING   RESERVATION   BOUNDARIES        [1894 

I£  I  can  be  of  any  assistance  at  all  next  week,  I  hope  you 
may  be  able  to  name  a  time  when  we  meet  on  Monday  after- 
noon, as  I  am  already  engaged  for  the  afternoon  of  every  day 
except  Friday  and  Saturday,  and  those  days  are  likely  to  be 
taken  at  any  minute.  I  am  writing  this  line  in  haste,  after  a 
long  day  and  evening  of  work,  on  which  account  I  trust  you 
will  excuse  the  scrawling  thereof. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Charles  Eliot. 

The  next  letter  is  a  type  of  not  infrequent  letters  which 
repeat,  or  urge,  recommendations  already  made.  Charles  saw 
very  clearly  the  improvements  in  detail  which  it  was  desirable 
to  make  in  the  boundaries  of  the  reservations  already  ac- 
quired, and  he  was  eager  to  have  the  improvements  secured 
before  land  values  rose  much.  There  were  also  some  very 
valuable  additional  reservations,  or  additions  to  acquired 
reservations,  which  the  Commission  hesitated  to  grasp,  but 
which  to  Charles's  mind  were  intensely  desirable,  either  be- 
cause they  had  great  landscape  charm,  or  because  they  would 
contribute  to  make  equitable  the  distribution  of  the  reserva- 
tions throughout  the  district.  The  latter  point  was  always 
much  on  his  mind.  The  Commission,  pressed  with  many 
questions  of  purchase,  construction,  and  maintenance,  would 
sometimes  lose  sight  of  measures  which  seemed  to  Charles 
important.  In  this  case  he  was  justified  in  feeling  some 
anxiety  ;  for  the  Hemlock  Gorge  —  one  of  the  ''  takings  " 
urged  in  this  letter  —  was  not  acquired  by  the  Commission 
until  September,  1895,  although  it  is  unquestionably  the  most 
beautiful  small  piece  of  scenery  in  the  entire  district. 

26  September,  1894. 
Permit  us  to  call  the    attention  of  the    Board  to  several 
recommendations  made  by  us  some  time  ago. 

(a)  Proposed  additions  to  the  Blue  Hills  Reservations  : 
1st  and  2d.  [Small  parcels  of  land  to  improve  entrances.] 
3d.  A  body  of  land  lying  in  Pine  Tree  Brook  valley, 
Milton,  between  the  present  boundary  of  the  reservation  and 
Randolph  Avenue,  desirable  to  be  obtained  in  order  to  afford 
a  natural  entrance  to  the  eastern  sections  of  the  reservation 
from  the  direction  of  Dorchester  and  Milton  Hill,  while  at 
the  same  time  preserving  some  of  the  scenery  of  the  course  of 
the  brook. 


^T.  34]  THE   HEMLOCK  GORGE   AGAIN  465 

4tli  and  5th.  [Very  small  parcels  of  land  to  make  en- 
trances.] 

Gth.  A  narrow  strip  across  the  estate  of  Mr.  Floyd  to  the 
north  side  of  the  Western  Section  of  the  reservation,  desir- 
able to  be  procured  in  order  that  the  boundary  road  may 
eventually  be  built  without  destroying  a  fine  row  of  Chestnut- 
trees. 

Taking-plans  for  none  of  these  additions  have  yet  been 
ordered. 

(6)    Proposed  additions  to  Stony  Brook  Reservation  :  — 

1st.  The  long  strip  of  land  intended  to  prolong  the  public 
reservation  to  a  connection  with  the  West  Roxbury  Parkway 
of  the  Boston  Park  Commission  in  the  neighborhood  of  Weld 
Street,  West  Roxbury.  It  is  understood  that  the  taking- 
plans  for  this  strip  are  in  course  of  preparation  by  the  engi- 
neers. 

2d.  A  long  strip  to  serve  as  a  parkway  connecting  Stony 
Brook  Reservation  with  Blue  Hills  Reservation  by  way  of 
Neponset  River  and  Paul's  Bridge.  Surveyor  Richardson 
of  Hyde  Park,  has,  by  order  of  the  Board,  prepared  a  map  of 
the  territory  concerned.  May  we  ask  whether  the  Board 
desires  us  to  submit  sketches  for  a  parkway  to  the  Blue  Hills 
by  this  route  ?  .  .  . 

(c)  The  proposed  reservation  at  the  Hemlock  Gorge  on 
Charles  River :  — 

By  order  of  the  Board  a  map  of  this  locality  has  been  pre- 
pared, and  we  some  time  since  suggested  upon  the  basis  of 
this  map  a  boundary  line  for  the  proposed  i-eserv^ition.  We 
understand  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  is  making  himself 
acquainted  with  the  assessed  valuations  of  the  lands  included 
within  the  proposed  boundaries.  This  is  the  most  strikingly 
picturesque  spot  within  the  metropolitan  district :  the  Hem- 
locks are  annually  ravaged  for  Christmas  green,  and  we  must 
hope  that  the  Board  may  find  some  way  to  take  jjrompt 
action. 

(fZ)  Proposed  additions  to  the  Middlesex  Fells  Reserva- 
tion :  — 

1st.  A  narrow  strip  of  vai-ying  width  outside  the  present 
boundary  of  the  reservation  between  Bear's  Den  Entrance 


466  IMPROVING  RESERVATION  BOUNDARIES        [1894 

and  Highland  Avenue,  desirable  to  be  procured  in  order  that 
the  boundary  road  may  be  given  sufficient  width  without  de- 
stroying certain  fine  trees  and  rocky  slopes.  The  taking-plan 
of  this  strip  has  already  been  completed  by  Engineer  Pierce 
and  awaits  the  action  of  the  Board. 

2d.  A  block  of  land  of  irregular  shape  lying  on  both  sides 
of  Fulton  Street  between  Highland  Avenue  and  Elm  Street, 
Medford,  desirable  to  be  obtained  in  order  that  the  reserva- 
tion may  include  the  whole  course  of  the  Hemlock  Pond 
Brook,  and  in  order  that  the  boundary  road  may  find  place 
upon  the  south  side  of  said  brook.  The  course  of  the  bound- 
ary road  near  the  brook  has  been  studied  and  mapped  by 
us,  but  the  Board  has  not  yet  directed  the  making  of  a  tak- 
ing-plan for  this  addition. 

3d.  A  strip  of  varying  width,  more  than  a  mile  in  length, 
south  of  and  adjacent  to  that  boundary  of  the  reservation  in 
Medford  which  was  defined  by  the  Act  of  the  legislature, 
desirable  to  be  obtained  in  order  that  the  boundary  road  may 
be  built  upon  practicable  grades,  and  in  order  that  the  reser- 
vation may  include  the  several  high  ledges  which  are  bisected 
by  the  uncompromising  legislative  lines.  A  desii-able  bound- 
ary line  in  this  region  of  the  Fells  has  been  sketched  by  us 
on  a  map  furnished  by  Messrs.  Hodges  &  Harrington,  but 
before  a  taking-plan  is  ordered  by  the  Board  we  would  recom- 
mend that  Engineer  Pierce  should  make  a  topographical  sur- 
vey upon  which  we  may  define  with  accuracy  the  desirable 
boundary  lines,  and  the  course  and  grades  of  the  boundary 
road. 

Permit  us  also  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Board  to  the 
state  of  the  work  ordered  by  the  Board  under  the  so-called 
Boulevard  Act. 

For  the  Fells  Parkway  recommended  by  us,  taking-plans 
have  been  prepared  by  order  of  the  Board  covering  the 
course  of  the  Parkway  from  Broadway  Park,  Somerville,  to 
Forest  Street,  Medford,  and  the  taking-plan  of  the  eastern 
branch  of  the  Parkway  only  awaits  the  decision  of  the  Board 
with  respect  to  the  route  to  be  followed  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Highland  Rock,  Maiden. 

With  respect  to  the  Blue  Hills  Parkway,  we  have  to  report 


2ET.  34]  THE   MYSTIC   VALLEY   PARKWAY  467 

that  our  project  for  the  route  thereof  from  Mattapan  to  Can- 
ton Avenue,  Milton,  has  been  before  the  Board  for  several 
weeks,  but  that  taking-plans  have  not  as  yet  been  ordered.  .  .  . 
We  are  able  to  report  excellent  progress  in  the  preparation 
of  the  new  general  map  of  the  metropolitan  district  ordered 
of  us  by  the  Board.  AVe  propose  to  show  upon  this  map  the 
shore  lines,  ponds,  and  streams  of  the  district ;  the  railroads, 
highways,  street  railroads,  and  common  roads ;  the  hills, 
woods,  salt  marshes,  and  swamps  ;  the  cemeteries  and  other 
similar  open  spaces ;  the  princijjal  or  largest  country-seats  ; 
the  existing  public  grounds  controlled  by  local  authorities  ; 
and  the  reservations  secured  or  proposed  by  the  Metropolitan 
Park  Commission. 

While  the  parkway  from  Somerville  to  Middlesex  Fells 
and  the  parkway  to  the  Blue  Hills  from  Mattapan  were  under 
consideration  by  the  Commission  in  the  fall  of  1894,  attractive 
offers  were  received  of  land  for  a  parkway  on  the  east  shore 
of  the  two  Mystic  ponds,  to  be  constructed  under  the  so-called 
Boulevard  Act  passed  in  the  spring  of  that  year.  A  reser- 
vation including  both  shores  of  the  Mystic  ponds  had  been 
recommended  by  Charles  in  his  report  to  the  preliminary 
Metropolitan  Park  Commission  ;  but  when  it  was  proposed  to 
secure  only  one  shore,  —  the  eastern,  —  Charles  felt  obliged 
to  ])oint  out  that  the  new  way  had  no  logical  beginning  or 
end,  and  that  it  would  not  render  the  Fells  more  accessible 
from  the  densely  populated  portions  of  the  district.  Beside 
stating  these  objections  to  the  proposed  parkway  he  urged, 
November  1,  1894,  that  the  scheme  as  outlined  was  only  an 
incomplete  sanitary  measure,  and  "  that  the  project  is  equally 
incomplete  in  respect  to  the  preservation  of  landscape,  in 
that  it  contemplates  preserving  the  wild  beauty  of  only  one 
bank  of  the  two  Mystic  ponds."  A  j'^ear  later,  when  the  con- 
struction of  this  parkway  was  determined  on,  he  wrote,  on  the 
13th  of  November,  1895  :  "  If  these  western  shores  are  built 
upon  in  the  usual  manner,  the  reservation  on  the  eastern 
bank  will  obviously  be  greatly  injured." 

The  danger  of  injurious  occupation  of  the  western  bank 
has  since  been  much  increased  by  the  construction  of  an  elec- 
tric road  in  the  highway  which  serves  the  western  shore  of 
the  ponds.  Nevertheless,  the  Mystic  Valley  Parkway,  re- 
garded as  a  separate  reservation,  is,  at  present,  beautiful  in 
itself,  and  very  useful  to  Winchester,  Medford,  Arlington, 


468      CONTINUOUS  BORDER  ROADS  — HIGH  EDGES     [1894 

Somerville,  and  Cambridge.  It  will  be  more  generall}^  useful 
still,  when  its  southern  end  shall  be  connected  with  Fresh 
Pond,  and  with  the  Metropolitan  reservations  on  the  south 
side  of  Charles  River.  The  construction  of  this  parkway 
delayed  the  completion  of  the  parkway  to  Middlesex  Fells, 
and  postj^oned  for  years  the  construction  of  the  parkway  to 
the  Blue  Hills.  Chai-les  always  remained  of  the  opinion  that 
the  expenditure  of  almost  the  entire  appropriation  under  the 
Boulevard  Act  north  of  the  Mystic  River  was  something  less 
than  equitable.  Nevertheless,  as  he  remarked  in  the  report 
of  the  landscape  architects  for  1895,  "  within  the  limits  laid 
down,  we  have  done  what  we  could  to  secure  rational  bound- 
aries." 

It  was  the  practice  of  the  Commission  to  refer  questions 
about  proposed  acquisitions,  or  abandonments,  of  land  to  the 
landscape  architects  for  their  advice.  The  following  letter  is 
a  good  example  of  the  answers  given  ;  for  two  general  princi- 
ples are  illustrated,  —  the  continuity  of  boundary  roads,  and 
the  exclusion  of  buildings  from  the  high  edges  of  large  reser- 
vations. The  second  paragraph  mentions  an  addition  to  the 
Middlesex  Fells  which  Charles  thought  very  desirable.  It 
has  not  yet  (1902)  been  "resumed"  by  the  public. 

Nov.  9,  1894. 

We  beg  leave  to  report  as  follows  on  several  questions 
referred  to  us  concerning  Middlesex  Fells  Reservation  :  — 

1st.  The  acquisition  of  the  two  ledges  which  flank  the 
present  entrance  to  the  reservation  from  Summer  Street  is 
desirable,  even  if  the  land  is  somewhat  costly. 

2d.  The  acquisition  of  land  in  Medford  south  of  the  legis- 
lative line  (as  sketched  on  the  accompanying  map)  is  very 
much  to  be  desired.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Meeting-House 
Brook  may  eventually  become  the  central  feature  of  a  park- 
way which  will  lead  to  the  reservation  from  Mystic  River. 
The  alternative  lines  shown  on  the  accompanying  map  will  be 
found  to  be  marked  upon  the  ground  by  stakes. 

3d.  The  proposed  abandonment  of  lands  taken  from  the 
Gieeley  estate  in  Winchester  seems  undesirable  because  the 
continuity  of  the  boundary  road  will  be  broken  thereby.  If 
a  boundary  south  of  the  legislative  line  can  be  secured,  the 
boundary  road  of  the  reservation  will  then  become  a  very 
pleasant  and  convenient  way  leading  from  Mt.  Vernon  Street, 


^T.  35]  ABANDONMENTS  OF  LAND  469 

Winchester,  to  Medford  and  Maiden,  and  to  Boston  if  the 
Fells  Parkway  is  opened.  The  way  through  the  Gi'eeley 
valley  near  Mt.  Vernon  Street  is  an  essential  part  of  this 
proposed  through  route. 

4th.  The  proposed  release  of  the  house  sites  which  Messrs. 

and say  they  have  planned  to  build  upon  can  be 

justified  only  by  absolute  necessity  of  economy ;  because  both 
of  these  sites  are  upon  the  edge  of  the  table-land,  which  abrupt 
edge  every  one  who  has  studied  the  Fells  knows  to  be  one  of 
the  most  interesting  features  of  the  scenery  of  the  district. 

5th.  The  abandonment  of  the  land  already  released  to  Mr. 

we  objected  to  for  the  reason  just  given,  and  also  because 

houses  built  on  the  abandoned  land  will  be  unpleasantly  con- 
spicuous from  the  water-tower  hill,  and  even  from  distant 
parts  of  the  interior  of  the  reservation.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  Commission  will  not  too  hastily  determine  upon  any 
further  abandonments. 

6th.  The  proposed  abandonment  of  lands  near  the  Stone- 
liam  and  Melrose  to^vnship  line,  we  are  entirely  prepared  to 
approve,  supposing  that  the  line  to  be  adopted  is  that  which 
we  originally  recommended  to  the  Commission  as  the  most 
natural  boundary  of  the  reservation  in  that  section. 

7th.  The  i^roposed  road  or  right  of  way  over  Mr. 's 

lane  in  Stoneham  would  make  a  desirable  entrance  to  the  re- 
servation ;  but  we  see  no  good  reason  why  the  Commission 
should  assume  the  fee  thereof  with  the  accompanying  obliga- 
tion to  construct,  maintain,  and  police  a  road  through  private 
lands. 

Charles  sometimes  tried  to  hasten  the  formal  adoption  of 
measures  on  which  the  Commission  had  really  determined  by 
sending  to  the  chairman  in  advance  of  a  meeting  votes,  or 
orders,  already  drawn  up  in  proper  form.  Thus  on  Decem- 
ber 7,  1894,  he  proposed  two  orders  relating  to  the  demarca- 
tion of  the  boundaries  of  the  acquired  reservations,  first  on 
the  Engineer's  maps  and  then  by  stone  monuments  on  the 
ground  :  two  more  concerning  building  cheap  l)oundary  roads 
"  under  the  general  supervision  of  the  landscape  architects  " 
in  certain  parts  of  the  large  reservations ;  one  which  directed 
that  weekly  detailed  reports  of  work  done  be  sent  to  the  Sec- 
retary by  the  Engineer  and  Superintendent,  and  that  copies 


470  PARKWAY  STUDIES  [1894 

of  these  reports  be  sent  to  each  member  of  the  Commission 
and  to  the  landscape  architects ;  and  the  two  following  which 
related  to  his  own  work  :  — 

"  Ordered,  that  the  Landscape  Architects  prepare  maps  in- 
dicating the  main  fire-guard  lines  from  which  dead  wood  is 
first  to  be  removed,  and  report  to  this  Board." 

"  Ordered,  that  the  Landscape  Architects  furnish  the  Super- 
intendent with  maps  indicating  in  a  general  way  the  roads  and 
bridle-paths  to  be  first  made  usable  and  opened  to  the  public, 
and  that  the  Superintendent,  under  the  general  supervision 
of  the  Landscape  Architects,  open  and  build  said  roads  and 
paths  as  soon  as  may  be."  .  .  . 

It  is  obvious  that  one  purpose  of  these  proposed  orders 
about  roads,  fire-guards,  and  weekly  reports  was  to  give  the 
landscape  architects  better  control  of  the  work  going  on  in 
the  reservations. 

The  year  1894  was  the  year  for  parkway  studies,  on  account 
of  the  Boulevard  Act  passed  in  the  spring.  Beside  the  Fells, 
Blue  Hills,  and  Mystic  Valley  Parkways,  Charles  prescribed 
the  general  lines  of  five  others  which  had  been  suggested  to 
the  legislatui-e  or  to  the  Commission.  These  were  all  sur- 
veyed by  engineers  ;  but  the  entire  appropriation  was  applied 
elsewhere,  so  that  none  of  these  designs  were  utilized.  At 
the  time  the  studies  merely  helped  the  Commission  to  reach 
and  defend  negative  conclusions.  The  next  letter  tells  what 
the  points  were  which  these  five  parkways  were  designed  to 
connect. 

Dec.  19, 1894. 

We  send  herewith  mounted  sun-prints  of  the  sui'veys 
ordered  by  the  Board  some  time  since  :  — 

Namely,  a  survey  of  a  route  for  a  parkway  between  the 
Fells  Reservation  and  Lynn  by  w^ay  of  Lynn  Woods  ;  a  sur- 
vey of  a  route  for  a  parkway  between  Everett  Railroad  Sta- 
tion and  Revere  Beach ;  a  survey  of  a  route  for  a  parkway 
between  the  southern  end  of  Revere  Beach  and  Winthrop 
Great  Head ;  a  survey  of  a  route  for  a  parkway  between  the 
northern  end  of  Revere  Beach  and  Market  Street,  Lynn,  and 
a  survey  of  a  route  for  a  parkway  between  Stony  Brook  Re- 
servation and  the  Blue  Hills  Reservation  by  way  of  Paul's 
Bridge.  These  surveys  have  been  made  along  the  line  of 
routes  designated  by  us,  but  devised  to  connect  points  desig- 
nated by  the  Commission.     These  surveys,  we  believe,  estab- 


iET.  34]      PUBLIC   OWNERSHIP  OF   WATERCOURSES         471 

lish  the  feasibility  of  the  several  routes,  and  by  laying  these 
maps  before  the  Commission,  we  understand  that  we  have 
completed  our  duties  in  these  matters  so  far  as  we  hav^  been 
instructed  by  the  Board  up  to  this  time. 

The  answer  which  Charles  gave  to  an  inquiry  from  the 
Commission  concerning  a  suggestion  made  by  Mr.  Edward 
Atkinson  of  Brookline  states  in  the  broadest  manner  his 
opinion  about  the  public  ownership  of  watercourses  within 
populous  towns  or  cities.     The  letter  is  as  follows  :  — 

June  1,  1S04. 
Concerning  a  suggestion  from  Mr,  Edward  Atkinson  re- 
ferred to  us  by  a  vote  of  the  Commission,  we  beg  leave  to 
report  that  the  high  level  swamps  of  upper  Brookline,  and 
the  courses  of  the  brooks  which  flow  from  them,  ought  to  be 
owned  by  the  public,  in  common  with  all  the  principal  water- 
courses of  every  district  destined  to  be  densely  inhabited. 
At  the  present  time  these  valleys  are  almost  uninhabited ; 
so  that  control  of  the  watercourses  could  be  obtained  very 
cheaply.  On  the  other  hand,  it  appears  to  us  that  the  ]Metro- 
politan  Park  Commission  should  give  its  first  attention  to  the 
acquisition  of  the  banks  of  the  larger  streams  of  the  district, 
leaving  the  smaller  brooks  to  be  taken  care  of  by  the  local 
authorities.  Mr.  Atkinson's  project  is  both  feasible  and  de- 
sirable ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Town  of  Brookline 
may  see  its  way  to  carry  it  out. 

It  was  Charles's  desire  that  the  Metropolitan  Park  Com- 
mission should  collect  and  place  on  file  the  fullest  possible 
information  about  the  history  of  the  lands  selected  for  metro- 
politan reservations,  and  about  their  condition  at  the  time  of 
their  selection.  He  wanted  to  secure  for  the  ai-chives  of  the 
Commission  complete  contour  maps  of  the  reservations,  and 
full  information  about  the  fauna  and  flora  of  the  forests ;  and 
he  hoped  also  to  get  some  information  about  the  ownership 
and  private  uses  in  former  generations  of  the  lands  now  de- 
voted to  public  uses.  The  two  letters  which  follow  illustrate 
his  general  object,  and  his  way  of  pursuing  it.  Messrs.  Balch 
&  Kackemann  did  much  work  for  the  Commission  in  the 
examination  of  titles. 


472  HISTORY   OF  THE  LANDS   "RESUMED"  [1894 

Au^st  22, 1894. 
Messrs.  Balch  &  Rackemann. 

Decw  /Sirs,  —  In  presenting  a  first  annual  report  to  the 
Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  it  is  our  intention  and  hope 
to  summarize  for  each  of  the  acquired  reservations  the  most 
important  of  those  facts  of  geology,^  topography ,2  forestry ,i 
and  history  which  have  had  influence  in  creating  the  present 
scenery  of  the  lands  in  question.  We  have  already  arranged 
for  reports  from  our  assistants  in  the  natural  history  of  the 
reservation.  We  should  be  pleased  if  you  could  suggest  to 
us  the  name  of  one  of  your  assistants  or  acquaintances  who 
might  be  willing  (perhaps  for  a  small  consideration)  to  re- 
port briefly  upon  the  history  of  the  land-ownership  of  the 
reservations,  particularly  upon  the  bearing  thereof  upon  the 
scenery. 

One  of  our  men  (Mr.  Gordon  H.  Taylor)  has  made  some 
progress  in  this  direction,  but  if  a  man  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  the  titles  should  by  chance  once  get  interested  in 
searching  out  the  connection  between  that  history  and  the 
present  scenery,  the  results  would  be  still  more  interesting 
and  instructive. 

We  may  illustrate  our  meaning  by  citing  Beaver  Brook 
Reservation.  The  mill  privileges  with  the  dams  make  the 
falls.  How  far  back  do  they  date?  How  came  the  great 
Oaks  to  have  survived  ?  Is  long-continued  complication  of 
ownership  to  be  thanked,  or  what?  and  so  on. 

Hoping  that  you  may  be  acquainted  with  some  one  who 
might  be  led  to  write  out  for  us  some  of  this  lore,  we  are  .  .  . 

An^-ust  22,  1894. 
Mr.  W.  0.  Crosby,  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Would  it  be  possible  for  you  to  address  to  us 
on  or  before  November  1st  next  brief  sketch  reports  on  the 
geology  and  topography  of  the  Blue  Hills,  Fells,  Stony  Brook, 
and  Beaver  Brook  reservations  ?     By  October  1st  or  earlier 

1  Published  in  the  Appendix  to  the  second  annual  report  of  the  Metro- 
politan Park  Commission,  January,  1895. 

2  Contour  maps  of  the  reservations,  100  feet  to  the  inch,  were  com- 
pleted early  in  1896. 


^T.34]  GEOLOGY  OF  THE  RESERVATIONS  473 

you  could  have  from  us  Mr.  Taylor's  maps  of  all  these  lands, 
and  we  should  be  particularly  pleased  if  you  could  map  the 
more  important  geology  upon  these  sheets  in  time  for  publi- 
cation in  the  January  report. 

Mr.  Taylor  has  perhaps  told  you  of  our  beginning  a  map 
of  the  metropolitan  district  on  the  scale  of  o  oi^¥-  Perhaps 
you  would  consider  that  the  supplying  without  cost  to  you  of 
such  a  sheet,  together  with  the  costless  stereotyping  of  your 
geology  of  the  reservations,  would  recompense  you  for  the 
special  trouble  you  would  be  put  to.  We  have  at  our  com- 
mand no  appropriation  for  geological  research  as  we  have  for 
guide  maps,  for  the  district  map,  and  for  research  in  forestry, 
so  that  we  cannot  offer  you  compensation  in  money.  It  would 
doubtless  be  arranged  so  that  your  reports  and  maps  could 
be  hereafter  printed  separately  for  your  use  from  the  State's 
plates.  It  would  on  all  accounts  be  best  if  the  reports  were 
to  be  written  in  a  manner  to  interest  the  general  public  as 
far  as  possible. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

LETTERS   OF  1894  CONCERNING  PARKS   NOT  METRO- 
POLITAN 

It  is  astonishing  that  the  art  of  adorning  the  country  round  our 
habitations  should  not  have  been  discovered,  the  art  of  unfolding,  pre- 
serving, or  imitating  beautiful  nature.  It  may  become  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  the  arts  ;  it  is  to  poetry  and  painting  what  reality 
is  to  a  description,  what  the  original  is  to  the  copy.  —  Girakdin. 
1777. 

The  selections  which  make  up  this  chaptei*  deal  with  com- 
mon park  problems  in  such  a  way  that,  though  the  cases  are 
particular,  the  principles  laid  down  are  of  general  applica- 
tion. 

The  first  selection  is  a  passage  relating  to  the  treatment 
of  old  commons,  taken  from  a  letter  to  the  City  Engineer  of 
Lowell  on  the  parks  of  that  city. 

March  29,  1894. 
With  respect  to  the  old  commons,  we  have  to  say  that 
such  grounds  present  perhaps  the  most  difficult  problem  with 
which  we  have  professionally  to  deal.  The  question  is,  What 
can  be  done  to  make  it  possible  for  great  numbers  of  people 
to  make  use  of  such  recreation  grounds  without  destroying 
all  beauty  of  appearance  or  effect  ?  We  are  sorry  to  be 
obliged  to  answer,  that  until  it  is  possible  to  spend  money 
very  liberally,  but  little  can  be  done.  It  is  evidently  desir- 
able that  the  surrounding  streets  should  be  curbed  ;  also  that 
malls  parallel  with  the  streets  should  be  opened  and  graded 
and  provided  with  seats.  If  the  commons  could  be  fenced, 
thus  confining  the  public  to  a  few  entrances,  the  grounds 
would  be  saved  from  much  trampling,  and  the  policeman  in 
charge  would  have  better  control  of  his  domain.  If  the  play- 
grounds could  be  spread  with  a  good  gravel,  and  all  other 
grounds  and  slopes  kept  in  grass,  it  would  be  well.  Low, 
temporary  fences  may  be  used  with  advantage  to  keep  the 


^T.  34]        THE  TREATMENT  OF  ABUSED   COMMONS        475 

public  off  of  grass  which  is  in  process  of  recovery  from  abuse. 
Litter  of  all  kinds  ought,  of  course,  to  be  promptly  cleared 
away. 

If  it  were  possible  to  spend  $50,000  on  each  common  in 
providing  suitable  small  buildings  for  the  shelter  and  accom- 
modation of  the  public  (to  be  placed  in  charge  of  salaried 
care-takers),  and  in  carrying  out  a  complete  new  design  cal- 
culated to  meet  the  demands  of  beauty  and  convenience  alike, 
excellent  results  could  doubtless  be  obtained,  —  results  such 
as  have  been  reached  'successfully  at  such  grounds  as  the 
Charlesbank  in  Boston,  Union  Square  in  New  York,  Wash- 
ington Park  in  Brooklyn,  and  other  places  we  might  name. 

In  default  of  a  large  appropriation,  it  seems  to  us  desirable 
that  no  works  of  construction  should  be  attempted  or  allowed 
in  the  commons  except  such  work  as  is  distinctly  and  evi- 
dently of  a  temporary  and  makeshift  character.  Only  in 
this  way  can  these  grounds  be  preserved  in  a  condition  to 
make  fine  results  possible  in  the  future. 

A  somewhat  similar  difficulty  is  dealt  with  in  the  following 
reply  to  a  citizen  of  Cambridge  who  wished  to  have  the  Beaver 
Brook  Reservation  left  precisely  as  it  was  before  the  public 
began  to  resort  to  it :  — 

28  April,  1894. 

Your  request  that  the  wall  across  the  meadow  at  Beaver 
Brook  be  preserved  as  it  is  has  been  gladly  received,  and  will 
receive  careful  consideration. 

With  respect  to  the  general  tone  of  your  letter,  we  must 
ask  you  to  note  that  experience  has  shown  the  impracticability 
of  leaving  such  public  reservations  as  that  at  AVaverley  in  their 
original  condition,  after  the  public  begins  to  resort  to  them 
in  any  considerable  numbers.  There  is  no  surer  way  of  effect- 
ing the  destruction  of  the  ground  cover,  and  so  of  the  charm 
of  the  scenery  of  such  places.  The  j^ublic  soon  acquires  bad 
habits.  Experience  has  shown  that  to  preserve  the  essential 
attractiveness  of  much  frequented  places,  some  of  the  lesser 
elements  of  attractiveness  must  be  sacrificed.  The  problem 
is  the  same  in  all  such  places,  —  What  must  be  done  to  per- 
mit large  numbers  of  persons  to  view  the  beauty  of  a  given 


476        TO   PARK  THE   BORDERS   OF  FRESH  POND       [1894 

place  without  tending  to  destroy  that  very  beauty  which  they 
seek? 

In  his  native  city  of  Cambridge,  Charles  was  employed 
both  by  the  Park  Commission  and  the  Water  Board,  —  that 
is,  his  firm  was  employed,  and  Charles  was  designated  to  at- 
tend to  Cambridge  work.  The  situation  was  peculiar,  because 
the  only  large  area  which  Cambridge  could  possibly  convert 
into  a  park  was  Fresh  Pond  and  its  shores,  and  this  area  was 
in  charge  not  of  the  Park  Commission,  but  of  the  AYater 
Board.  The  following  letter  asks  the  Cambridge  Water 
Board  to  determine  certain  questions  concerning  a  design  for 
Fresh  Pond  Park,  before  the  firm  enters  on  the  preparation 
of  a  general  plan  of  the  park.  The  difficulties  raised  in  this 
letter  are  liable  to  occur  wherever  the  attempt  is  made  to  con- 
vert into  a  park  the  shores  of  a  pond  which  has  been  previ- 
ously treated  as  only  a  reservoir. 

3  April,  1894. 

We  have  received  your  letter  of  the  31st  March,  requesting 
us  to  call  upon  the  City  Engineer  for  such  maps  and  other 
data  as  may  be  required,  and  also  requesting  us  to  hasten  our 
plan  in  order  that  the  one  hundred  men  that  you  are  employ- 
ing may  be  kept  at  work.  .  .  . 

We  shall  have  to  ask  your  Board  to  agree  to  our  advice  in 
certain  particulars  before  we  definitely  accept  the  commission 
to  make  a  design  for  the  park. 

1st.  The  principal  object  of  the  future  improvements  to  be 
made  about  Fresh  Pond  we  understand  to  be  that  of  creating 
an  agreeable  landscape,  of  which  the  pond  shall  form  the  chief 
feature,  and  the  water  shall  be  considered  as  the  framing  or 
general  background,  with  various  subordinate  features  appro- 
priate to  the  circumstances  and  adapted  to  increasing  the 
pleasure  of  visitors.  Certain  other  means  of  recreation,  such 
as  playgrounds,  picnic  groves,  and  the  like,  may  be  added 
without  material  injury  to  the  main  purpose.  Of  course, 
roads  and  walks  will  have  to  be  constructed  for  the  conven- 
ience of  visitors. 

2d.  It  appears  that  with  this  general  object  in  view  It  will 
be  almost  essential  to  acquire  additional  land  in  one  or  two 
places.  -  .  . 

3d.   The  shore  of  the  pond  south  of  Fresh  Pond  Lane  .is 


^T.  34]  TO  MAKE  AGREEABLE  SHORE  LINES  477 

so  close  to  the  railroad  that  there  is  not  adequate  room  for  a 
proper  width  of  drive  and  walk.  It  appears  to  be  necessary, 
therefore,  to  fill  out  the  pond  somewhat  at  this  point.  .  .  . 

4th.  The  width  of  the  space  between  the  railroad  and  the 
point  north  of  the  pumping  station  is  also,  in  our  opinion, 
inadequate,  and  we  should  wish  to  have  the  consent  of  the 
Board  to  fill  along  the  shore  at  this  point.  .  .  . 

5th.  The  two  headlands,  one  on  the  south  shore  of  the  pond 
near  Woodlawn  Avenue  and  the  other  at  the  west  end  of  the 
promontory  formerly  occupied  by  the  Catholic  Seminary,  are 
excessively  stiff  and  unnatux'al,  and  the  space  allowed  for 
driveway  and  walk  at  the  base  of  these  bluffs  is,  in  our  oj^in- 
ion,  entirely  inadequate.  We  should,  therefoi-e,  wish,  before 
proceeding  with  our  plan,  to  have  the  consent  of  the  Board 
to  either  diverting  the  driveway  from  the  shore  at  these  two 
points,  or  filling  further  into  the  pond,  as  may  be  thought, 
upon  further  consideration,  to  be  most  expedient. 

6th.  We  desire  the  consent  of  the  Board  to  reconstructing 
the  shore  wherever  it  is  now  built  on  straight  lines.  .  .  . 

7th.  ...  It  will  be  necessary  to  do  a  certain  amount  of 
regrading  of  land  which  has  already  been  graded  and  covered 
with  top-soil.  .  .  . 

8th.  We  consider  that  it  will  be  absolutely  necessary,  in 
order  to  produce  an  agreeable  landscape,  to  in  some  way  break 
up  and  disguise  the  monotony  of  the  shore  line.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  difficult  questions  with  which  we  shall  have  to 
deal,  and  we  are  not  prepared  to  say  just  what  it  will  be 
necessary  to  do  to  accomplish  this  purpose.  It  seems  to  us 
that  it  will  probably  be  feasible  to  plant  in  some  places  trees 
which  will  overhang  the  water  and  throw  the  present  rip- 
rapped  shore  into  obscurity  ;  in  other  places  to  plant  bushes 
between  the  walk  and  the  shore ;  and  in  other  places  to  sub- 
stitute sandy  or  gravelly  beaches  of  such  slope  that  they  would 
withstand  the  action  of  the  waves,  and  of  such  construction 
and  material  as  to  prevent  any  bad  effect  upon  the  quality  of 
the  water. 

As  we  have  already  suggested  to  you,  it  is  possible  that 
some  of  the  old  ponds  and  swamps,  which  it  has  hitherto  been 
your  intention  to  fill  up,  may  well  be  preserved  as  agreeable 
landscape  features.  .  .  . 


478         THE  FIELD   HOUSE   ON  CAMBRIDGE  FIELD      [1894 

In  regard  to  designating  work  whicli  can  be  done  to  ad- 
vantage by  your  present  force,  in  advance  of  preparation  of 
a  preliminary  study  of  the  general  plan,  we  are  much  puzzled. 
Our  first  impression  is  that  it  would  be  wise  to  stop  work 
entirely ;  and  we  certainly  think  that  if  any  work  goes  on 
within  the  limits  of  the  proposed  park,  it  will  be  at  the  risk 
of  having  to  be  done  over  again,  or  at  any  rate  of  being 
uneconomical.  Nevertheless,  as  it  may  be  expedient  to  disre- 
gard economy  to  some  extent,  we  may  say  that  a  small  force 
of  men  might  be  employed  in  stripping  off  the  top-soil  from 
[certain  portions,  removing  fruit  trees,  and  filling  up  old  cel- 
lars]. .  .  . 

It  would  be  wise  to  start  a  nursery  for  such  kinds  of  trees 
and  shrubs  and  vines  as  will  undoubtedly  be  necessary  in  the 
future,  and  if  the  Board  desires,  we  will  try  to  secure  a  suit- 
able foreman  to  take  charge  of  the  preparation  and  stocking 
of  the  nursery.  .  .  . 

As  we  have  said  before,  we  prefer  not  to  enter  into  an 
agreement  with  the  Board  to  prepare  a  general  plan  for  the 
improvement  of  Fresh  Pond  Park  until  the  various  questions 
above  indicated  shall  have  been  more  or  less  definitely  deter- 
mined by  your  Board  and  our  conditions  accepted. 

In  1893  Charles  made  to  the  Park  Commission  a  prelimi- 
nary report  on  Parks  for  Cambridge,  and  recommended  as 
one  reservation  a  large  level  field  near  East  Cambridge,  then 
known  as  the  Binney  Field,  which  was  afterwards  well  laid 
out  in  accordance  with  his  designs  and  called  Cambridge 
Field.  One  feature  of  his  plan  was  a  house  for  certain  public 
uses  in  the  middle  of  the  field.  This  feature  was  unusual,  and 
needed  to  be  explained  and  advocated.  The  following  extract 
from  a  letter  to  the  Superintendent  of  Cambridge  Parks  de- 
scribes the  proposed  Field  House  and  its  uses :  — 

20  August,  1894. 

In  accordance  with  your  request,  we  send  you  herewith 
prints  embodying  suggestions  for  a  Field  House  on  Binney 
Field. 

The  building  proposed  would  have  a  large  hall  for  the 
shelter  of  the  public  in  case  of  showers,  and  a  broad  and  long 
covered  piazza  which  would  serve  the  same  purpose,  and  also 


^T.  34]      WHERE   ROADS   AND    PATHS   SHOULD  GO  479 

afford  a  place  of  outlook  upon  the  playground.  Right  and 
left  of  the  hall,  in  the  ends  of  the  building,  would  be  the 
men's  and  women's  rooms.  On  the  side  of  the  building 
towards  the  playground,  commanding  a  view  of  the  same, 
would  be  the  policeman's  room  and  the  janitor's  room.  The 
janitor  of  such  a  building  would  be  able  to  check  garments, 
hand-bags,  and  the  like  for  the  public,  and  a  closet  of  lockers 
is  provided  for  this  purpose.  The  janitor  might  also  keep  on 
sale  at  his  counter  light  refreshments  or  fruits  ;  and  the  plan 
provides  a  locked  closet  for  the  storage  of  such  articles.  The 
basement  is  arranged  for  storage,  and  affords  room  for  piling 
away  plank  walks  and  the  like,  and  also  for  the  heating  appa- 
ratus. We  should  be  glad  to  give  you  any  further  explana- 
tion of  our  ideas  respecting  such  a  building,  should  you  deem 
it  desirable. 

The  next  selection  deals  with  one  of  the  most  vital  princi- 
ples of  good  park  construction,  —  the  one  most  frequently 
disregarded  by  inexperienced  commissioners  and  superintend- 
ents, —  the  principle  that  roads  and  paths  should  first  be  so 
planned  that,  when  built,  they  will  surely  be  in  the  right 
places  to  exhibit  the  scenery,  —  a  footpath  in  the  right  place 
being  far  better  than  a  Telford  road  in  the  wrong  one.  It 
was  addressed  to  a  member  of  the  Minneapolis  Park  Board. 

18  Auffiist,  1894. 
In  considering  what  is  likely  to  be  the  cost  to  your  Board 
of  works  such  as  we  might  design,  please  note  that  after  a 
good  plan  is  assured,  the  mode  of  construction  may  be  either 
cheap  or  elaborate,  the  point  we  make  being  that  however 
cheaply  roads  and  paths  may  be  built,  it  is  always  desirable 
that  they  be  placed  on  the  best  lines.  There  is  no  reason  why 
park  works  in  America  should  not  proceed  in  the  same  way 
as  have  most  other  American  public  works.  Most  railroads, 
for  instance,  have  been  cheaply  built,  and  then  improved  in 
their  construction  from  time  to  time.  In  the  same  way,  if 
park  roads  are  placed  where  they  ought  to  be,  they  may  be 
cheaply  made  at  first  and  improved  later.  Our  business  is 
the  supplying  of  designs  or  ground  j^lans ;  and  while  we  of 
course  enjoy  seeing  these  designs  carried  out  in  a  permanent 
and  highly  finished  way,  we  are  content  if  the  lines  of  our 
designs  are  adhered  to,  even  if  construction  is  cheaply  done. 


480  PRESERVING  A  FINE  MEADOW  [1894 

The  following-  letter  describes  vividly  a  tract  already  pos- 
sessing great  natural  advantages  as  a  park,  and  only  needing 
judicious  treatment  as  regards  paths  and  plantings,  and  de- 
fence against  inappropriate  uses. 

28  August,  1894. 

When  Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted  last  visited  Newport,  he  left  with 
you  a  print  of  a  preliminary  sketch  plan  for  the  paths  in 
Morton  Park.  We  write  you  at  this  time  in  order  that  you 
may  understand  some  of  the  reasons  which  led  us  to  place 
these  paths  in  the  positions  assigned  them  on  the  plan. 

About  half  of  the  park  consists  of  a  gentle  hollow  or  valley 
enclosed  upon  every  hand  by  banks  upon  which  are  growing 
a  good  variety  of  fine  trees.  The  central  meadow  of  this 
valley  is  pleasing  in  form  and  relations,  and  it  commands  a 
pleasing  glimpse  of  the  ocean.  The  other  half  of  the  park 
consists  of  a  rocky  hill  upon  which  are  growing  a  few  trees. 
Ledges  of  naked  rock  protrude  here  and  there,  and  the  ground 
is  partially  covered  by  thickets  of  low-growing  shrubbery. 
The  park  meadow  is  concealed  by  the  trees  which  fringe  the 
base  of  the  hill,  but  a  beautiful  view  of  Newport  Harbor  is 
had  from  several  of  the  commanding  ledges.  The  hill  also 
overlooks  the  adjacent  level  plain  of  the  polo  field. 

The  meadow  is  so  complete  in  itself  and  as  it  is,  that  we 
must  think  the  preservation  of  its  present  breadth  and  unity 
very  important.  Accordingly  we  have  provided  jjaths  which, 
while  they  skirt  the  meadow  on  all  sides  and  command  good 
views  of  it,  do  not  cross  it  anywhere.  A  path  leading  diag- 
onally across  the  breadth  of  the  field  would,  in  our  opinion, 
greatly  mar  its  beaut}^  If  suitable  shrubbery  is  planted  at 
the  dangerous  points,  we  believe  that  the  public  will  be  easily 
led  to  follow  the  path  we  have  designed  and  to  refrain  from 
injurious  short  cutting.  The  meadow  is  so  charming  as  a 
picture  or  landscape  that  we  believe  yovir  Commission  would 
be  fully  justified  in  preserving  it  strictly  as  such,  and  if  neces- 
sary forbidding  the  use  of  it  as  a  playground.  We  believe 
the  city  could  better  afford  to  buy  land  elsewhere  for  use  as  a 
playground  than  to  permit  playing  to  destroy  the  perfection 
of  the  turf  of  this  place. 

We  are  informed  that  the  adjacent  polo  field  will  soon  be 


^T.  34]       MORTON  PARK  AT  NEWPORT         481 

offered  for  sale,  and  it  would  seem  to  us  that  this  is  an  oppor- 
tunity of  which  the  city  ought  to  take  advantage.  The  polo 
field  does  not  present  a  unified  landscape  comparable  to  that 
of  the  meadow  in  the  park.  It  is  entirely  separated  from 
the  meadow  by  the  rocky  hill  before  mentioned.  It  can  be 
adapted  to  the  uses  of  a  playground  at  little  expense  ;  and  it 
is  large  enough  to  serve  the  purposes  of  all  the  usual  sports, 
as  the  meadow  in  the  park  is  not. 

The  paths  which  we  have  planned  for  the  hill  you  will  find 
to  be  designed  simply  to  lead  ramblers  along  the  brink  of 
the  slopes  where  it  is  interesting  to  walk.  Upon  the  ledges 
which  command  a  close  view  of  the  polo  field,  Ave  suggest 
considerable  enlargement  of  the  gravel  area,  so  that  a  crowd 
may  find  room  to  stand  or  sit  in  view  of  the  games  in  the 
field.  To  connect  the  hill  with  the  meadow  at  the  southern 
end  of  the  park  a  series  of  steps  will  be  required,  something 
as  shown  on  the  plan,  but  elsewhere  the  grades  of  all  the 
proposed  paths  will  be  such  as  are  easily  followed  by  the 
baby  carriages  which  we  suppose  will  frequent  the  park. 

You  did  not  ask  us  to  make  any  special  provision  in  our 
plan  for  the  proper  accommodation  of  crowds  attending  band 
concerts,  and  it  is  only  by  an  error  that  the  band-stand  is 
made  to  appear  upon  our  sketch.  If  band  concerts  are  to  be 
frequently  given  in  the  park,  we  would,  of  course,  prefer  to 
make  special  arrangements  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
audiences. 

The  existing  trees  and  shrubberies  on  the  park  are  inter- 
esting chiefly  because  they  are  largely  composed  of  well- 
developed  specimens  of  European  species.  Near  the  foot  of 
the  hill  stands  a  group  of  English  "Walnuts,  and  English 
Oaks,  Elms,  and  Thorns  abound.  Several  fine  specimens  of 
the  native  Liquidamber  are  found  at  the  base  of  the  rocks. 
We  would  suggest,  in  this  connection,  that  it  would  be  well  if 
the  borders  of  the  park  on  Coggeshall  Avenue  and  Brenton 
Street  should  be  planted  more  densely  with  small  trees  and 
with  shrubbery ;  and  that  the  fences  which  divide  the  park 
from  private  lauds  ought  also  to  be  more  completely  screened 
from  view.  On  the  borders  of  the  meadow,  we  should  like 
to  introduce  masses  or  scattered  specimens  of  many  native 


482  WHAT  FOUR  ACRES   CAN  FURNISH  [1894 

trees  like  the  flowering  Dogwood  and  the  Sassafras,  and  on 
the  rocky  hill  we  should  be  glad  to  re-introduce  the  native 
wild  Roses,  Bayberry,  and  similar  shrubs. 

The  sketch  and  this  letter  are  intended  simply  to  promote 
discussion  concerning  the  general  arrangement  of  Morton 
Park,  and  the  purposes  which  the  park  ought  to  be  made  to 
fulfil,  and  we  shall  hope  to  hear  from  you  before  long  such 
suggestions  as  the  study  of  our  sketch  may  bring  out. 

The  next  letter  selected  for  this  chapter  was  addressed  to 
Mr.  Sylvester  Baxter,  Charles's  valued  fellow-worker  during 
the  campaigns  for  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations,  and 
for  both  the  advisory  and  the  permanent  Metropolitan  Park 
Commission,  at  the  time  Secretary  of  the  Park  Commission 
of  Maiden.  It  describes  the  way  to  get  the  fullest  benefit 
from  a  small  reservation  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  pop- 
ulation. Chai'les  thought  that  it  was  not  sufficient  to  provide 
an  open,  empty  space,  or  even  an  area  grassed  and  planted 
with  trees  and  bushes.  He  thought  the  designer  should  pro- 
vide all  possible  aids  to  enjoyment  for  children  and  adults, 
such  as  shelters,  seats,  sand  piles,  and  room  and  apparatus 
for  sports.  In  such  grounds  he  wished  to  provide  for  old  and 
young  every  encouragement  and  facility  for  spending  hours 
in  the  open  air.  The  problem  of  Hitchings  Field  was  of  a 
kind  which  particularly  interested  him,  although  it  had  little 
to  do  with  laudscaj)e. 

12  November,  1894. 

The  undersigned  beg  leave  to  report  as  follows  on  the  pro- 
blem of  Hitchings  Field. 

This  field  of  somewhat  unsymmetrical  shape  is  bounded 
by  Ferry,  Cross,  Walnut,  and  Judson  streets,  and  contains 
nearly  four  and  one  half  acres.  The  question  is,  How  may 
this  public  space  be  made  of  the  greatest  possible  use  and 
benefit  to  the  considerable  population  which  swarms  about  it  ? 
Without  entering  into  the  details  of  our  study  of  this  pro- 
blem, we  may  answer  that  we  have  concluded  (subject  to  cor- 
rection by  the  Commission)  that  the  field  will  best  serve  the 
community  about  it  if  it  can  be  arranged  to  provide,  (1st)  an 
agreeable  public  promenade  ;  (2d)  a  well-arranged  open-air 
concert  ground ;  (3d)  a  playground  where  the  minor  games 
such  as  basket  ball  and  tag  may  be  allowed ;  and  (4th)  suit- 


^:t.  35]  HITCIIINGS  FIELD   AT  MALDEN  483 

able  turf  spaces,  sand  courts,  and  perhaps  gymnasia  for  the 
desirable  opeu-air  exercise  and  play  of  young  children.  Ac- 
cordingly the  accompanying  sketch  jjIuu  suggests  arrange- 
ments designed  to  meet  these  assumed  requirements.  A  mall 
1800  feet  long,  20  feet  wide,  and  bordered  by  rows  of  shade 
trees  set  in  planting-spaces  ten  feet  wide,  is  shown  as  encir- 
cling the  whole  field.  The  planting-spaces  may  be  filled  with 
low  shrubbery,  or  they  may  be  grassed.  Seats  may  be  placed 
beside  the  walks  here  and  there.  This  mall  will  fulfil  the 
requirements  of  an  agreeable  public  promenade  where  old 
and  young  may  walk,  saunter,  or  sit,  —  where  babies  also  may 
be  wheeled  up  and  down. 

In  the  middle  of  the  ground  which  remains  after  the  mall 
is  subtracted,  the  plan  places  an  open  music  or  band  stand 
in  the  form  of  a  half  circle  attached  to  a  house  which  ought 
to  be  built  if  the  children  are  to  be  provided  for  as  hereafter 
to  be  described.  South  of  the  music-stand  a  broad,  shaded 
gravel  space  is  provided  for  the  accommodation  of  the  audi- 
ence. Chairs  and  settees  may  be  set  out  here  when  concerts 
are  to  be  given.  If  the  crowd  is  too  large  for  this  specially 
reserved  space,  it  may  spread  itself  over  the  large  playground 
next  to  be  mentioned.  Those  who  prefer  to  stroll  while  the 
band  plays  will  make  use  of  the  malls. 

The  playground  designed  for  the  use  of  the  boys  occupies 
all  the  sj^ace  which  remains  between  the  malls  and  the  music 
court,  and  measures  about  200  by  300  feet,  or  something- 
more  than  an  acre  in  area.  Such  a  playground  cannot,  in 
our  climate,  be  kept  in  neat  order  if  it  is  grassed,  and  we, 
therefore,  design  it  to  be  gravelled.  The  trees  and  shrub- 
beries which  are  to  accompany  the  malls  will  partially  conceal 
this  broad  space  from  the  surrounding  streets  and  houses. 
By  sloping  the  playground  to  a  hollow  in  the  middle,  it 
will  prove  possible  to  flood  it  so  as  to  provide  skating  in 
winter. 

It  may  be  that  the  Commission  will  not  at  this  time  care 
to  attempt  to  make  those  special  provisions  which  are  neces- 
sary if  any  part  of  the  field  is  to  be  arranged  for  the  special 
benefit  of  infants  and  young  children  ;  and  in  this  case  only 
the  walks  of  that  part  of  the  ground  which  lies  north  of  the 


484  THE  COPPS  HILL  TERRACE  [1895 

music-stand  need  at  present  be  built.  When,  however,  a 
children's  ground  is  deemed  desirable,  a  small  building  will 
need  to  be  provided  in  which  may  be  found  a  matron's  room 
and  the  necessary  closets,  a  check-room,  perhaps  a  small 
lunch-counter,  a  policeman's  room,  and  an  ample  hall  and 
piazza  to  which  retreat  may  be  made  in  case  of  rain  or  show- 
ers. Such  a  building  is  placed  by  the  plan  in  the  middle 
of  the  field,  and  attached  to  the  music-stand.  Between  this 
building  and  Judson  Street  there  may  be  a  small  lawn,  while 
to  right  and  left  of  the  building  there  may  be  on  the  one 
hand  a  fenced  enclosure  containing  see-saws,  swings,  and  the 
like  apparatus,  and  on  the  other  hand  a  similar  enclosure 
where  the  babies  may  find  a  sand-box  and  a  bit  of  turf  to 
roll  on. 

In  conclusion  we  may  say  that  the  accompanying  plan 
promises  to  reconcile  the  requirements  of  use  and  beauty  in 
a  manner  which  cannot  always  be  so  happily  expected. 

A  design  of  similar  intent,  though  very  differently  situated, 
made  about  this  time  for  the  Boston  Park  Commission  by 
the  Olmsted  firm,  is  described  by  Charles  with  evident  satis- 
faction in  the  report  of  that  Commission  for  the  year  end- 
ing January  31,  1895.  It  is  the  design  for  the  North  End 
Beach  and  Copps  Hill  Terrace,  a  small  reservation  in  one  of 
the  most  densely  populated  quarters  of  old  Boston,  but  costly 
because  made  by  removing  buildings  and  wharves.  Its  pur- 
pose is  to  give  a  pleasant  place  for  rest  or  play  to  men, 
women,  and  children  whose  fresh-air  privileges  are  scanty. 

For  the  small  tract  recently  acquired  by  the  commission 
at  the  North  End,  a  complete  plan  has  been  prepared  which 
may  be  described  as  follows  :  — 

The  land  to  be  devoted  to  purposes  of  recreation  lies  be- 
tween the  ancient  Copps  Hill  burying-ground  and  the  sheet 
of  water  which  is  the  confluence  of  the  Charles  and  Mystic 
rivers.  It  is  separated  from  the  burying-ground  by  Charter 
Street,  and  it  is  crossed  by  the  busy  water-side  thoroughfare 
called  Commercial  Street.  Between  the  two  streets  the  nar- 
row public  domain  slopes  steeply  down  between  two  ranks  of 
tenement  houses,  thus  opening  a  prospect  from  the  already 
frequented  Copps  Hill.     Between  Commercial  Street  and  the 


^T.  35]  AND  NORTH  END  BEACH  485 

water,  the  original  shore  line  has  disappeared  under  a  tangle 
of  moi-e  or  less  ancient  sea-walls,  fillings,  and  pile  structures. 
The  plan  is  designed  to  make  this  confined  space  afford 
opportunity  for  the  greatest  possible  variety  of  modes  of  re- 
creation. Thus,  a  resting-place  commanding  a  view  of  the 
water  is  provided  upon  a  broad  terrace  on  a  level  with  the 
upper  street ;  an  ample  promenade  adjacent  to  the  water  is 
jii-ovided  upon  a  pier,  the  upper  deck  of  which  will  be  reached 
from  the  terrace  by  a  bridge  which  will  span  Commercial 
Street ;  a  good  place  for  children  to  play  is  provided  on  a 
beach  which  will  form  the  shore  of  the  small  haven  to  be 
formed  by  the  pier ;  dressing-rooms  will  be  provided  for  the 
use  of  bathers,  floats  and  other  conveniences  for  boatmen. 
The  stone  terrace  and  its  accompanying  flights  of  steps  will 
be  plainly  but  substantially  constructed,  while  the  steep  earth 
slopes  at  the  ends  and  below  the  high  wall  will  be  planted 
with  low  shrubbery.  The  foot-bridge  spanning  Commercial 
Street  will  be  a  light  steel  truss.  The  new  or  restored  beach 
will  terminate  against  sea-walled  piers  of  solid  filling,  from 
the  end  of  one  of  which  the  long  and  substantial  pleasure  pier 
will  run  out  to  and  along  the  Harbor  Commissioners'  line. 
Between  the  beach  and  Commercial  Street  there  is  room  for 
a  little  greensward  and  a  screening  background  of  shrubbery. 

Twenty  months  after  the  above  description  was  written, 
Charles  touched  the  North  End  reservation  again  in  a  note 
written  to  his  wife  from  Boston  at  5  o'clock  on  a  hot  July 
afternoon  :  — 

Just  through  with  Boston  Board  Park  Commission.  A 
long  and  complicated  meeting,  yet  hardly  up  to  the  Metropoli- 
tan article.  Our  plans  for  the  North  End  Terrace  at  Copps 
Hill  were  at  last  appi'oved.  Last  evening  after  dinner  I 
talked  with  Mr.  Gilder  of  the  "  Century  "  all  the  way  to  Bos- 
ton. ...  I  cross-examined  him  with  reference  to  his  slum 
squares  in  New  York  City,  and  the  taking  down  of  rear  tene- 
ments, and  so  on.  Two  or  three  times  in  each  year  I  am 
smitten  with  pity  for  the  slum  people,  —  pity  and  horror 
mixed.  ]\Iy  walk  from  Cambridge  Field  (in  construction) 
through  East  Cambridge  to  Charlesbank  !    Doorsteps  crowded 


TWO  EVENING  RESTING-PLACES 


[1895 


with  unclean  beings,  children  pushing  everywhere,  and  swarm- 
ing in  every  street  and  alley.  What  a  relief  when  Charles- 
bank  is  reached !  The  quiet  open  of  the  river,  the  long,  long 
row  of  twinkling  lights  on  the  river  wall,  the  rows  upon  rows 
of  seats  all  filled  with  people  resting  in  the  quiet  air,  and 
watching  the  fading  of  the  golden  light  behind  the  Cambridge 
towers.  The  new  terrace  at  the  North  End  is  to  be  another 
such  evening  resting-place.  It  is  good  to  be  able  to  do  some- 
thing, even  a  little,  for  this  battered  and  soiled  humanity.  .  .  . 

The  statement  that  the  land  lies  between  Copps  Hill  and 
the  confluence  of  the  Charles  and  the  Mystic  is  precise ;  but 
under  it  lies  one  of  Charles's  disappointments.  He  wanted 
to  have  in  this  quarter  of  Boston  a  reservation  which  looked 
down  the  harbor.  Various  considerations,  into  which  the 
prospect  from  the  reservation  did  not  enter,  determined  the 
choice  of  the  present  site. 


PLEASURE  GROUNDS 

BETWEEN 

coprs  jblxjjIa 

AND 
THE  £1  ARBOR 

S.MleofFeet 


'X,,/,., 


r"./,,./ 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

FIRST  SEVENTEEN  MONTHS  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  METRO- 
POLITAN  PARK   COMMISSION 

Shines  the  last  age,  the  next  with  hope  is  seen, 
To-day  slinks  poorly  off  unmarked  between  : 
Future  or  Past  no  richer  secret  folds, 
0  friendless  Present !  than  thy  bosom  holds. 

Ralph  Waldo  Emebsok. 

The  reports  for  1893  and  1894  which  Charles  made  in  the 
name  of  the  firm  to  the  Commission  appointed  in  1893  are 
especially  interesting,  because  they  contain  the  initial  advice 
he  gave  about  the  boundaries  of  the  acquired  reservations, 
the  principles  on  which  reservation  boundaries  sliould  be  deter- 
mined, the  preparation  of  maps  and  plans,  the  protection  of 
the  woods  from  fire,  the  restoration  of  the  vegetation  destroyed 
or  damaged  by  wood-chopping  and  fires,  the  making  of  paths 
and  temporary  roads  in  the  forests,  and  the  encouragement  of 
seedlings  and  other  new  vegetation,  and  further  his  sugges- 
tions about  the  proposed  reservations  and  parkways. 

The  legislature  of  1894  added  greatly  to  the  responsibilities 
of  the  Commission  by  appropriating  §500,000  for  parkways, 
$300,000  for  open  spaces  near  the  Charles  River,  and  $500,000 
for  Revere  Beach.  Concerning  these  new  enterprises,  the 
Commission  asked  at  once  the  advice  of  their  landscape  archi- 
tects, but  refused  to  be  hurried,  either  by  the  legislature  or 
by  popular  pressure,  into  any  ill-considered  expenditures  on 
any  one  of  these  accounts.  In  this  policy  Charles  sympa- 
thized entirely.  He  was  always  in  favor  of  thorough  planning 
before  action,  and  of  taking  time  for  construction,  while  act- 
ing promptly  on  protective  measures,  and  on  original  takings 
from  trustworthy  plans.  When  prompt  action  clearly  meant 
the  ultimate  saving  of  money  to  the  Commonwealth  or  the 
district,  he  urged  promptness  ;  but  in  every  case  he  wanted 
to  see  the  end  from  the  beginning.  These  principles  will  be 
found  to  have  guided  him  from  the  start  in  giving  advice  to 
the  Metropolitan  Commission.  His  reports  on  the  Metro- 
politan Park  work  in  1893  (August-December)  and  1894  are 


488  METROPOLITAN   PARK  WORK  [1893 

here  given  In  full.  They  were  addressed  to  the  chairman  of 
the  Commission.  These  reports  relate  to  work  accomplished, 
or  under  way ;  they  do  not  cover  many  studies  and  prelimi- 
nary investigations  made  by  Charles  at  the  request  of  the  Com- 
mission. Thus,  in  a  letter  to  the  Commission  reporting  on 
the  work  of  the  six  months  ending  June  30, 1894,  he  remarks 
for  the  firm :  "  Revere  Beach  and  Charles  River  Reserva- 
tions. —  These  proposed  reservations  have  called  for  the  at- 
tendance of  our  Mr.  Eliot  at  six  legislative  hearings."  And 
again :  — 

"  Preliminary  investigations  have  been  made  with  reference 
to  parkways  from  Stony  Brook  Reservation  to  the  Blue  Hills 
Reservation  ;  from  Mattapan  to  the  Blue  Hills  Reservation, 
and  from  Middlesex  Fells  Reservation  to  Lynn  Woods  Re- 
servation. Six  parties  of  surveyors  are  now  engaged  under 
our  direction  in  this  work. 

"  Similar  investigations  will  now,  by  order  of  the  Board,  be 
undertaken  between  Winchester  and  Medford,  between  Mys- 
tic River  and  Revere  Beach,  and  between  Revere  Beach  and 
Lynn. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  work  thus  briefly  described,  and  In 
addition  to  our  attention  to  the  work  of  the  Commission  in 
our  office,  our  Mr.  Eliot  during  the  past  six  months  has  kept 
more  than  fifty  appointments  In  the  field,  and  has  attended 
twenty-five  meetings  of  the  Commission." 

LANDSCAPE   ARCHITECTS'   REPORT    FOR   1893  TO   THE    METRO- 
POLITAN   PARK   COMMISSION. 

In  a  professional  report  addressed  In  1892  to  the  prelimi- 
nary or  advisory  Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  Mr.  Eliot 
(who  has  since  become  a  member  of  our  firm)  reviewed  the 
hills,  streams,  and  coasts  of  the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  and 
sketched  In  colors,  on  a  map,  the  areas  which  it  seemed  to 
him  should  be  reserved  for  public  use  through  metropolitan 
as  distinguished  from  municipal  action.  No  attempt  was  made 
to  define  the  exact  boundaries  of  any  of  the  reservations  pro- 
posed. At  the  time  of  writing  It  was  not  decided  that  an 
executive  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  would  ever  be  estab- 
lished. 

Your  Commission  having  been  created  and  organized,  you 
asked  us  to  give  our  attention  to  the  definite  demarcation  of 
five  of  the  reservations  proposed  in  Mr.  Eliot's  report,  namely, 


^T.  34]  REPORT  FOR   1893  489 

the  reservations  at  the  Blue  Hills,  Middlesex  Fells,  Muddy- 
Pond  Woods  (or  Stony  Brook),  Revere  Beach,  and  Beaver 
Brook.  You  directed  us  to  prepare  projects  for  boundaries 
which  would  show  alternative,  or  maximum  and  minimum, 
limits,  wherever  possible,  in  order  that  a  choice  might  be  open 
to  your  Board  when  the  estimates  of  the  probable  costs  of  the 
lands  to  be  taken  should  be  compiled  by  you.  Six  parties  of 
surveyors  were  placed  at  our  service  by  your  direction,  and 
during-  the  months  of  September,  October,  and  November  we 
gave  much  time,  in  conjunction  with  the  surveyors,  to  the 
careful  study  of  the  problem  put  before  us.  On  December 
15,  1893,  we  sent  to  your  office  the  last  of  a  series  of  eight 
surveyors'  maps,  drawn  to  a  scale  of  two  hundred  feet  to 
an  inch,  upon  which  we  had  indicated  by  a  continuous  green 
line  what  seemed  to  us  to  be  the  most  desirable  boundary  for 
each  of  the  proposed  reservations.  By  a  broken  green  line 
we  also  indicated  such  possible  alternative  positions  for  the 
several  boundaries  as  seemed  worthy  of  consideration.  In 
accompanying  reports  we  explained  the  proposed  boundaries 
in  detail. 

In  accordance  with  your  request,  we  now  submit  the  fol- 
lowing memoranda  of  the  general  principles  upon  which  we 
have  worked  in  determining  the  lines  lately  submitted  to  you, 
as  just  described  :  — 

First.  The  boundaries  of  the  proposed  reservations  should, 
if  possible,  be  established  so  as  to  include  all  lands  belonging 
to  the  same  topographical  unit,  and  exhibiting  the  type  of 
scenery  characteristic  of  each  reservation.  Obviously,  a  pub- 
lic domain  is  not  well  bounded  if  it  includes  only  half  a  hill, 
half  a  pond,  or  half  a  glen.  Neither  is  it  well  bounded  unless 
it  includes  such  contiguous  lands  as  form  the  essential  frame- 
work of  the  hill  scenery,  the  pond  scenery,  the  glen  scenery, 
or  whatever  other  type  of  scenery  it  is  desired  to  preserve. 
For  example,  it  is  desirable  to  include  in  the  Blue  Hills  Reser- 
vation all  the  hills  of  the  high  range  down  to  the  base  of  their 
steep  slopes.  Similarly,  it  is  desirable  to  include  in  the  Stony 
Brook  Reservation  all  the  uplands  which  enclose  the  glen  or 
valley  of  that  stream.  To  city  men  it  is  most  refreshing  to 
find  themselves  in  what  appears  to  be  a  wilderness  of  indefi- 


490  METROPOLITAN  PARK  WORK  [1893 

nite  extent.  This  impression  cannot  be  enjoyed  unless  the 
boundary  of  a  valley  reservation  is  established  beyond  the 
summits  of  the  enclosing  hills. 

Second.  The  boundaries  of  the  proposed  reservations  should 
be,  if  possible,  established  upon  public  streets  or  roads,  or  on 
lines  drawn  where  roads  may  ultimately  be  built  with  good 
grades. 

The  reasons  for  this  principle  are  many.  It  is  obvious  that 
the  back  fences  of  private  lands  cannot  make  a  handsome 
boundary  for  a  public  domain  of  any  description.  It  is  obvi- 
ous that  private  lands  abutting  directly  upon  public  lands  will 
be  much  more  liable  to  trespass  than  they  would  be  if  a  pub- 
lic roadway  separated  the  two.  Private  land  in  the  position 
described  is  a  nuisance  to  the  public,  while  the  public  is  likely 
to  be  a  nuisance  to  its  owner.  Speaking  generally,  the  polic- 
ing and  the  general  administration  of  a  public  reservation  are 
greatly  facilitated  when  the  boundary  is  a  road.  Still  more 
important  is  the  consideration  that,  if  the  private  lands  which 
adjoin  the  reservation  are  provided  with  a  road  frontage  look- 
ing on  the  public  domain,  they  will  eventually  be  greatly 
increased  in  attractiveness  and  value. 

These  two  principles  taken  together  explain  most  of  the 
possible  boundary  lines  submitted  for  your  examination. 
Where  existing  streets  meet  the  requirement  of  the  first  prin- 
ciple, they  have  been  adopted  as  the  boundary,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, at  Washington  Street,  Melrose,  and  Blue  Hill  Street, 
Canton.  Where  it  has  been  necessary  to  devise  new  roads  to 
serve  as  boundaries,  this  has  been  done,  with  due  respect  to 
the  first  principle,  with  due  regard  for  grades  and  curves,  and 
with  care  to  exclude  improved  lands,  and  lands  which  will 
ultimately  become  especially  suitable  for  building  sites. 

It  remains  to  mention  three  classes  of  exceptions  to  the 
principles  of  the  existing  or  proposed  road  boundary. 

In  some  places  it  has  proved  necessary,  for  the  sake  of 
economy,  to  exclude  from  the  reservations,  by  arbitrary  lines, 
improved  lands  which  would  have  been  included  under  our 
first  principle  had  they  not  been  occupied  by  buildings :  as, 
for  example,  at  two  places  on  Washington  Street  in  Melrose, 
and  again  at  Summit  Street  in  Maiden. 


*T.  34]  ROAD  BOUNDARIES  DESIRABLE  491 

In  some  places  the  reverse  operation  has  proved  desirable, 
and  tracts  of  wild  land  which  would  have  been  excluded  under 
our  second  principle  have  been  included  in  the  reservation  by 
arbitrary  lines,  because  some  subordinate  yet  still  important 
element  of  the  scenery  of  the  reservation  could  by  so  doing 
be  preserved  :  as,  for  example,  along  the  north  side  of  the 
valley  of  Furnace  Brook  in  the  Quincy  section  of  the  Blue 
Hills  Reservation,  where  there  has  been  included  the  face  of 
a  ridge  which  is  in  view  from  the  whole  basin  of  the  brook, 
although  the  road  must  here  be  within  the  reservation  in  the 
valley  of  the  brook.  Houghton's  Pond  has  been  shown  as 
included  in  the  Blue  Hills  Reservation  for  the  same  reason. 
It  is  not  an  essential  part  of  the  hill  scenery,  but  it  is  an 
exceedingly  valuable  addition  thereto. 

In  some  places,  after  a  road  boundary  had  been  studied  and 
mapped,  the  line  was  found  to  lie  in  such  relations  to  adjacent 
or  pai-allel  township  boundaries  that  rather  than  leave  parts 
of  townships  isolated  from  the  main  body  it  was  deemed  best 
to  adopt  the  township  boundary  as  the  boundary  of  the  reser- 
vation. It  was  in  this  way,  for  example,  that  the  township 
boundary  which  divides  Quincy  from  Randoljih  and  Braintree 
came  to  be  suggested  as  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Blue 
Hills  Reservation.  Another  variety  of  this  exceptional  kind 
of  boundary  is  illustrated  in  several  places  about  the  Fells, 
where  arbitrary  lines  have  been  drawn  so  as  to  connect  the 
new  reservation  with  preexisting  watershed  reservations  with- 
out leaving  wedges  or  islands  of  private  lands  between  the 
two. 

The  total  length  of  alternative  lines  thus  studied,  mapped, 
and  described  by  us  for  your  consideration  is  about  thirty 
miles. 

December,  1893. 


492  METROPOLITAN  PARK   WORK  [1894 

LANDSCAPE   ARCHITECTS'    EEPORT   FOR   1894   TO   THE    METRO- 
POLITAN   PARK   COMMISSION. 

I.  —  Acquired  Reservations. 

Section  1.  —  The  Determination  of  the  Bou7idaries. 

At  the  date  of  this  writing,  the  open  spaces  which  have  been 
acquired  for  the  public  by  the  Commission  are  the  Blue  Hills, 
the  Middlesex  Fells,  the  Stony  Brook,  and  the  Beaver  Brook 
reservations.  The  preliminary  Metropolitan  Park  Commis- 
sion, in  its  report  of  January,  1893,  had  suggested  the  pur- 
chase of  lands  at  these  places  among  others,  and  both  the 
public  and  the  legislature  had  approved  the  suggestion  ;  but 
the  areas  to  be  acquired  and  the  bounds  to  be  established  had 
not  been  determined  when  the  executive  Metropolitan  Com- 
mission was  created  by  the  Act  of  June,  1893.  Accordingly, 
when  we  were  summoned  to  assist  the  Commission  in  Septem- 
ber, 1893,  it  was  the  problem  of  the  boundaries  of  the  lands 
to  be  acquired  which  was  first  assigned  to  us. 

Speaking  generally,  it  has  not  been  the  habit  of  park  com- 
missions to  give  much  attention  to  the  boundaries  of  public 
domains.  It  is  generally  easier  to  acquire  the  whole  of  a 
given  parcel  of  real  estate,  though  half  of  it  is  not  really 
wanted,  and  then  to  omit  the  purchase  of  any  of  the  next 
parcel,  though  lialf  of  that  is  sadly  needed,  than  it  is  to 
acquire  a  part  from  this  and  a  part  from  that  for  the  sake  of 
obtaining  what  is  essential,  and  omitting  what  is  of  less 
importance,  to  the  landscape  of  the  domain  to  be  preserved. 
There  are  few  public  grounds  which  are  not  grossly  deformed 
by  the  imperfections  of  their  boundaries.  Almost  everywhere 
the  immediate  saving  in  time  and  trouble  for  the  surveyor, 
the  conveyancer,  and  the  commission  concerned  has  worked 
permanent  injury  to  public  interests  in  public  scenery. 

Accordingly,  we  took  up  the  detailed  study  of  the  bounds 
of  the  proposed  reservations  with  peculiar  interest.  In  each 
case  the  object  had  in  view  was  much  the  same ;  namely,  the 
carving  out  from  the  conglomerate  mass  of  private  estates 
such  a  body  of  land  as  in  each  locality  seemed  essential  to  the 
achievement  of  the  purpose  of  the  proposed  new  public  estate, 


^T.  35]  DETERMINING  THE   BOUNDARIES  493 

—  that  purpose  being  in  each  case  the  preservation  of  the  best 
of  the  scenery  of  the  tract  in  question. 

At  Beaver  Brook,  concerning  the  bounds  of  which  reser- 
vation we  reported  on  November  13,  1893,  the  area  to  be 
acquired  was  small,  the  boundaries  of  the  existing  estates 
were  visible  or  well  known,  and  the  problem  was  compara- 
tively a  simple  one. 

At  Middlesex  Fells  the  natural  boundary  at  the  base  of  the 
wall  of  the  plateau  was  found  to  be  hopelessly  beyond  reach 
in  many  places,  either  because  of  the  high  price  of  open  land 
which  pi'oximity  to  towns  had  induced,  or  because  buildings 
had  already  been  placed  on  the  slope  of  the  highland  region. 
Across  Medford  a  natural  boundary  was  put  out  of  the  ques- 
tion by  the  legislature,  which  prescribed  a  straight  line  south 
of  which  no  lands  could  be  taken.  Thus  the  boundary  for 
the  Fells  which  we  suggested  in  a  report  dated  December  15, 
1893,  was  of  necessity  a  compromise  line,  lying  generally  in  the 
right  position,  but  turned  aside  from  its  true  course  in  many 
places  by  force  of  circumstances  beyond  our  control,  —  in 
other  words,  by  the  legislative  line  in  Medfoixl,  and  by  high 
land  values  such  as  would  not  have  been  encountered  had  the 
Metropolitan  Commission  begun  its  labors  a  few  j'^ears  earlier. 

At  Stonj-^  Brook  and  in  the  Blue  Hills  the  field  was  freer. 
To  preserve  the  desired  valley  at  Stony  Brook  required  a 
reservation  two  miles  long,  and  to  secure  the  whole  range  of 
the  Blue  Hills  a  domain  five  miles  in  length  proved  necessary  ; 
yet  neither  of  these  large  tracts  touched  high-priced  lands  save 
at  their  ends.  The  method  of  procedure,  both  here  and  at 
the  other  reservations,  was  as  follows :  In  the  first  place,  we 
provided  ourselves  with  the  best  obtainable  maps.  These  were 
generally  the  ordinary  lithographed  township  maps,  and  the 
niile-to-an-inch  general  map  of  the  Boston  metropolitan  dis- 
trict. Armed  with  these  wholly  inadequate  guides,  one  of  us, 
with  an  assistant,  personally  explored  the  woods  and  thickets 
which  clothe  the  bases  of  the  Blue  Hills  and  the  flanks  of  the 
Stony  Brook  valley,  and  gradually  determined  on  the  general 
course  which  the  particular  boundary  in  question  ought  to 
take  in  order  to  fulfil  the  main  purpose  in  mind,  as  well  as  to 
make  it  generally  practicable  to  build  a  road  upon  the  bound- 
arv  in  the  future. 


494  METROPOLITAN  PARK  WORK  [1894 

The  general  absence  of  visible  property  lines  or  other  land- 
marks made  this  blind  work ;  but  the  autumn  weather  of  1893 
was  favorable,  and  good  progress  was  made.  As  soon  as  the 
general  course  of  any  considerable  stretch  of  boundary  was 
thus  selected,  a  surveyor's  transit  line  was  run  along  it,  fre- 
quent stations  being  numbered  both  on  the  ground  and  on  a 
map  drawn  on  tracing-cloth  to  the  adopted  scale  of  two  hun- 
dred feet  to  an  inch.  By  measurements  taken  from  these 
stations  and  afterwards  plotted  on  the  tracing,  the  projDosed 
boundary  was  more  exactly  defined;  and  then  sun-prints 
taken  from  the  tracing  were  submitted  to  the  Commission 
and  to  the  local  authorities  for  approval.  When  approved,  the 
surveyors  defined  the  jjrojected  lines  by  accurately  measured 
distances,  radii  of  curves,  and  the  like,  while  the  legal  advisers 
of  the  Board  drew  the  papers  required  to  accomplish  the  act 
of  taking  by  eminent  domain.  Speaking  generally,  but  very 
few  private  property  lines  had  been  either  discovered  or 
mapped  at  the  time  the  takings  were  made.  The  search  for 
these  lines  and  for  the  owners  of  the  estates  acquired  has 
proved  a  difficult  task,  which  we  understand  is  still  occupy- 
ing the  surveyors,  the  conveyancers,  and  the  secretary  of  the 
Commission. 

Our  werk  upon  the  problem  of  the  boundaries  of  the  four 
acquired  reservations  was  substantially  concluded  when  we 
addressed  our  semi-annual  report  to  the  Board  on  July  1, 
1894.  The  number  of  miles  of  alternative  and  adopted  bound- 
ary lines  studied  and  mapped  by  us,  with  the  assistance  of 
the  surveyors,  in  the  manner  thus  described,  exceeded  thirty. 

Section  2.  —  The  JiJxploration  of  the  Acquired  Lands. 

As  one  new  reservation  after  another  was  secured  by  the 
Commission,  many  questions  of  management  and  policy  at 
once  arose,  and  seemed  at  first  to  call  for  immediate  answer. 
It  was  said  that  numei-ous  carriage  roads  ought  to  be  opened 
immediately ;  that  woodsmen  ought  to  be  put  to  work  to  save 
the  finer  specimens  or  sorts  of  trees  from  being  strangled  by 
the  inferior ;  that  ten  thousand  dollars,  if  so  much  was  neces- 
sary, ought  to  be  spent  in  making  the  old  road  up  Great  Blue 
Hill  safely  passable  by  pleasure  carriages ;  and  so  on.     We, 


M.T.  35]    FIRE-GUARDS  THE  ONLY  PRESSING  WORK       495 

on  the  other  hand,  as  the  responsible  professional  advisers  of 
the  Commission,  felt  it  incumbent  upon  us  to  urge  caution  in 
all  these  matters.  We  took  the  ground  that,  the  reservations 
having  been  acquired,  a  sufficient  number  of  keepers  placed 
on  guard,  and  numerous  fire  lines  cut  through  the  worst  of 
the  dead  timber,  there  was  no  haste  whatever  about  any  fur- 
ther doings.  It  was  pointed  out  that  the  metropolitan  com- 
munity had  caused  the  Commission  to  assume  possession  of 
these  large  I'cservations,  not  for  the  sake  of  making  an  exhi- 
bition of  fine  trees,  economic  forestry,  model  roads,  or  any 
other  special  thing  or  things,  however  desirable,  but  simply 
in  order  to  provide  itself  with  ample  preserves  of  fine  scenery  ; 
and  consequently  that  all  work  done  within  the  reservations 
ought  to  be  directed  solely  to  preserving,  enhancing,  or  mak- 
ing available  the  charm,  the  beauty,  or  the  impressiveness  of 
that  scenery. 

If  this  opinion  were  just,  it  would  be  imprudent  for  any 
man,  however  adept,  to  undertake  to  determine  how  a  road 
ought  to  turn  and  climb  among  the  Blue  Hills  so  as  to  give 
as  much  pleasure  as  possible,  Mdiile  injuring  the  landscape 
as  little  as  possible  ;  or  how  trees  should  be  felled  at  Stony 
Brook  so  as  best  to  develop  the  hidden  beauty  of  the  glen  ; 
or  how  or  whether  planting  should  be  done  in  the  few  open- 
ings in  the  Fells,  until  he  had  had  ample  time  for  careful 
observation  of  the  natural  and  artificial  conditions  of  each 
place  and  landscape,  and  the  benefit  of  studying  good  contour 
maps.  In  accordance  with  these  views,  it  was  determined 
that  only  absolutely  necessary  ways  should  be  opened  in  the 
reservations,  and  that  only  the  indispensable  fire-guard  chop- 
ping should  be  done  ;  but  that  a  beginning  should  be  forth- 
with made  in  that  thorough  study  of  the  historical  evolution 
and  present  state  of  the  landscape  of  the  reservations,  upon 
which  alone  all  successful  endeavors  to  increase  the  effective- 
ness and  the  accessibility  of  that  landscape  must  be  based. 

The  scenery  of  all  the  reservations  thus  far  acquired  is 
essentially  sylvan.  Sylvan  scenery  is  compounded  of  the 
shape  of  the  ground  and  the  vegetation.  The  variously 
sculptured  or  modelled  forms  of  the  earth's  surface  furnish 
the  solid  body  of  landscape  which  man  seldom  finds  time  or 


496  METROPOLITAN   PARK  WORK  [1894 

strength  to  mar.  Vegetation,  on  the  other  hand,  supplies  the 
dress  of  living  green  which  man  often  changes,  strips  away, 
or  spoils,  but  which  he  can  generally  restore  if  he  so  chooses. 
Thus  the  study  of  the  present  landscape  of  the  reservations 
naturally  divides  itself  into  two  main  branches,  —  the  study 
of  the  forms  of  the  surface  of  the  reservations,  and  the  study 
of  the  vegetation.  In  both  of  these  directions  we  have  dur- 
ing the  past  six  months  made  diligent  researches,  but  it  is 
not  necessary  to  burden  this  report  with  a  detailed  recital  of 
the  facts  discovered.  Since  the  forms  of  topography  owe 
their  origin  to  geological  forces,  we  were  much  pleased  to  re- 
ceive from  Professor  Crosby  of  the  Institute  of  Technology 
his  notes  on  the  geology  of  the  regions  included  in  the  reser- 
vations. These  notes  will  be  found  printed  in  the  Appendix 
[not  reproduced  in  this  volume]. 

For  preliminary  sketch  maps  of  the  topography  of  the 
reservations  we  turned  to  an  expert  topographer,  Mr,  Gordon 
H.  Taylor  of  Brookline,  who  as  our  assistant  took  the  field  in 
Januar}^  1894.  By  making  use  of  sun-prints  of  the  recorded 
boundary  plans,  by  measuring  compass  lines  along  the  nu- 
merous woodpaths,  and  by  sketching  the  outlines  of  swamps, 
clearings,  ponds,  hills,  and  valleys,  extremely  serviceable  maps 
were  soon  produced.  The  draughting  of  the  several  sheets 
was  done  in  our  office.  Upon  one  sheet  of  tracing-cloth  were 
drawn  the  boundaries,  the  roads  and  paths,  and  the  lettering 
(of  the  Blue  Hills  map,  for  example)  ;  on  another  sheet  were 
drawn  the  streams,  ponds,  and  swamps ;  and  on  a  third  the 
hill  shading  was  roughly  indicated  by  pen  and  pencil.  Gray 
sun-prints  obtained  from  the  three  sheets  superimposed  in  the 
printing  frame,  when  mounted  on  cloth,  served  very  well  for 
all  purposes  of  study.  Photo-lithographed  in  three  colors, 
namely,  black,  blue,  and  brown,  the  same  sheets  will  serve  as 
guide  maps  for  the  use  of  the  public  and  the  illustration  of 
reports. 

Equipped  with  these  maps,  we  have  made  good  progress, 
as  before  remarked,  in  familiarizing  oui'selves  with  the  "  lay 
of  the  land "  in  the  reservations.  With  respect  to  topo- 
graphy, the  four  reservations  may  be  said  to  be  happily  dis- 
tinguished by  their  names.     Beaver  Brook  Reservation  and 


^T.  35]       TOPOGRAPHY  OF  THE   RESERVATIONS  497 

Stony  Brook  Reservation  are  both  concave  troughs,  drained 
by  strong  streams,  and  bordered  by  more  or  less  sharply  de- 
fined ridges  of  ledge  or  gravel.  Blue  Hills  Reservation  pre- 
sents a  chain  of  bold,  convex  masses  of  rock  and  gravel, 
affording  widespread  panoramic  prospects  in  all  directions. 
Middlesex  Fells  Reservation,  on  the  contrary,  exhibits  a  pla- 
teau the  surface  of  which  is  minutely  broken  into  numerous 
comparatively  small  hills,  bowls,  and  vales. 

At  Beaver  Brook  the  charm  of  the  place  springs  chiefly 
from  what  lies  close  at  hand  within  the  bounds,  —  the  ponds, 
the  cascade,  the  rushing  brook,  the  open  pasture,  and  the 
veteran  Oaks.  At  Stony  Brook  the  glen  and  pond  and  many 
rocks  are  interesting ;  but  the  eye  is  often  drawn  away  to  the 
Blue  Hills,  which  present  themselves  from  various  surprising 
and  delightful  points  of  view.  At  the  Blue  Hills  themselves, 
while  several  passes  and  defiles  are  very  striking,  and  many 
views  from  hill  to  hill  are  even  grand,  it  is  the  vast  blue  dis- 
tance which  tends  to  engross  the  attention,  —  a  distance  here 
of  ocean  and  there  of  forest,  and  there  again  marked  by  the 
remote  Wachusett  and  Monadnock,  —  a  distance  which,  for- 
tunately, is  not  yet  disfigured  by  the  too  near  approach  of 
any  town  or  city.  Lastly,  at  IMiddlesex  Fells  the  landscape 
pleases  chiefly  by  reason  of  the  intimate  mingling  of  many 
types  of  scenery  and  objects  of  interest.  Here  is  a  cliff  and 
a  cascade,  here  a  pool,  pond,  or  stream,  here  a  surprising- 
glimpse  of  a  fragment  of  blue  ocean,  or  again  a  faint  blue 
vision  of  a  far  distant  mountain. 

The  same  hastily  prepared  sketch  maps  have  in  like  man- 
ner assisted  us  in  studying  the  present  condition  of  the  vege- 
tation of  the  reservations.  To  the  investigation  of  this  subject 
in  detail  we  early  assigned  Mr.  Warren  H.  Manning  of  our 
office,  and  his  preliminary  notes  will  be  found  following  Mr. 
Crosby's  in  the  Appendix  [not  reproduced  in  this  volume]. 

However  sharply  distinguishable  the  reservations  may  be 
topographically,  with  respect  to  their  vegetation  they  are  very 
much  alike.  It  is  true  that  the  summits  of  the  higher  of  the 
Blue  Hills  are  clothed  with  chaparral  of  dwarf  Oak  or  with 
carpet  of  Bearberry,  as  are  none  of  the  other  hills  of  the  reser- 
vations.    The  shores  of  the  pond  at  the  head  of  Stony  Brook 


498  METROPOLITAN  PARK  WORK  [1894 

are  decked  with  an  incomparable  tHcket  of  swamp  shrub- 
bery. The  white  Cedar  and  the  Mountain  Laurel  of  the 
great  swamp  in  the  Blue  Hills  are  not  found  elsewhere.  The 
group  of  great  Oaks  at  Beaver  Brook  has  no  equal  in  all  New 
England.  On  the  other  hand,  all  three  of  the  larger  reserva- 
tions possess  the  same  rock-rimmed  hollows  filled  with  water 
and  Cat-tails,  the  same  red  Maple  and  Birch  swamps,  the  same 
monotonous  acres  of  coppice  Oak  which  for  generations  have 
suffered  cutting  for  firewood  every  thirty  or  forty  years,  the 
same  occasional  old  pastures  now  overgrown  by  red  Cedar, 
the  same  rare  groves  of  surviving  white  Pine.  Sj)eaking  gen- 
erally, it  is  an  ugly  fact  that  the  woodlands  of  the  reserva- 
tions are  remarkably  uninteresting  as  woodlands.  Constant 
chopping  and  frequent  fires  have  thoroughly  discouraged  the 
restorative  forces  of  nature.  Only  on  inaccessible  rocks  or 
in  the  depths  of  swamps  is  there  any  really  primitive  or  truly 
natural  vegetation  to  be  seen ;  for  it  is  only  these  places  which 
have  escaped  the  axe  and  the  fires.  Over  the  larger  part 
of  the  reservations  fires  have  almost  annually  destroyed  the 
fallen  leaves,  and  in  many  places  even  the  vegetable  matter 
of  the  soil  itself  is  gone.  In  the  Blue  Hills,  at  the  time  of  the 
taking,  many  hundred  acres  of  sprout  growth  between  five  and 
twenty-five  feet  in  height  were  standing  dead  from  the  effects 
of  recent  conflagrations,  while  several  hundred  other  acres 
were  found  littered  with  the  refuse  of  recent  fellings. 

Thus  these  studies  have  made  it  plain  that  the  one  impor- 
tant element  in  the  landscape  of  the  reservations  which  men 
can  control,  namely,  the  vegetation,  has  hitherto  been  grossly 
abused.  On  the  other  hand,  the  same  studies  have  developed 
many  facts  which  will  have  important  bearings  upon  the 
course  to  be  pursued,  both  by  those  who  will  direct  the  work 
of  making  the  scenery  of  the  reservations  accessible,  and  by 
those  who  may  have  charge  of  the  work  of  restoring  the  life 
and  enhancing  the  beauty  of  the  vegetal  element  in  that 
scenery. 

Section  3.  —  Work  to  he  done  in  the  Reservations. 
It  Is,  we  believe,  understood  and  agreed  by  all  concerned 
that  no  work  shall  be  done  in  the  acquired  reservations  except 


^T.  35]     STONE  BOUNDS  — FENCES  — DEAD   WOOD  499 

it  be  directed,  —  first,  to  better  safeguarding  the  scenery  of 
the  reservations ;  second,  to  making  that  scenery  accessible ; 
third,  to  enriching  or  enhancing  its  beauty,  which  is  its  value. 

For  the  permanent  preservation  of  the  reservations  it  is 
desirable  that  stone  boundary  marks  be  firmly  set  at  frequent 
intervals  along  the  boundary  lines'.  We  are  informed  that 
the  necessary  stones  have  been  contracted  for,  and  that  they 
will  be  set  next  spring  under  the  supervision  of  the  newly 
appointed  engineer  to  the  Commission. 

Where  the  public  reservations  adjoin  private  lands  it  is 
desirable  that  fences  be  constructed  on  the  dividing  line,  both 
in  order  to  defend  the  woods  of  the  reservations  from  spolia- 
tion by  stray  cattle,  and  in  order  to  defend  the  private  lands 
from  trespass  on  the  part  of  visitors  to  the  reservations. 
Several  miles  of  strong  wire  fence  ought,  in  our  opinion,  to 
be  built  next  spring,  at  a  cost  which  need  not  exceed  one 
dollar  per  rod.  By  order  of  the  Commission,  Beaver  Brook 
Reservation  has  already  been  enclosed  by  an  iron-posted  and 
steel-barred  fence.  In  similarly  conspicuous  positions,  and  on 
the  borders  of  private  house  grounds,  this  will  be  a  good  fence 
to  use,  reserving  the  ordinary  wooden-posted  wire  fence  for 
concealed  woodland  fi-ontages. 

Since  the  principal  destroyer  of  the  beauty  of  woodlands  is 
fire,  it  is  desirable  that  every  precaution  be  taken  to  prevent 
it  from  entering  the  reservations,  to  prevent  it  from  starting 
in  the  reservations,  and  to  prevent  it  from  spreading  should 
it  start  or  enter.  When  the  reservations  were  first  acquired, 
in  the  winter  of  1893-94,  and  large  areas,  particularly  in  the 
Blue  Hills,  were  found  strewn  with  falling  or  fallen  sticks  of 
dry,  fire-killed  wood,  it  was  seen  that  the  conditions  were  most 
favorable  for  the  spreading  of  new  conflagrations  of  the  most 
destructive  sort.  The  time  available  for  work  before  the  com- 
ing of  dry  and  dangerous  weather  was  not  sufficient  to  permit 
the  complete  removal  of  the  inflammable  material,  so  that  all 
that  could  be  done  was  to  clear  of  dead  wood  numerous  long 
strips  of  ground  selected  so  as  to  connect  some  of  the  natu- 
rally fire-proof  ledges  or  swamps.  Work  of  this  kind  needs 
to  be  continued  until  the  intervening  blocks  are  wholly  cleared 
of  tinder. 


500  METROPOLITAN   PARK  WORKS  [1894 

To  prevent  the  entrance  of  fire  from  adjacent  private  lands, 
as  well  as  for  other  reasons  set  forth  in  our  report  for  1893, 
it  is  advisable  that  public  roads  be  built  along  the  boundary- 
lines  as  soon  as  may  be. 

To  hinder  the  spreading  of  fires,  it  is  desirable  not  only 
that  inflammable  matter  should  be  removed,  but  that  a  suffi- 
cient length  of  makeshift,  or  temporary,  interior  roads  be  made 
passable  for  such  fire  apparatus  as  may  be  put  in  service ;  also, 
that  footpaths  for  the  use  of  the  keepers  or  watchmen  be 
opened  where  they  will  be  most  useful ;  also,  that  telephone 
connections  be  established  between  the  outlying  parts  of  each 
reservation  and  headquarters,  and  between  headquarters  and 
the  nearest  public  fire  stations. 

For  checking  ground  fires,  cans  of  water  and  "  Johnson  " 
pumps  should  be  always  in  readiness,  while  the  men  employed 
about  the  reservations  should  be  taught  to  use  the  pumps  with 
skill.  The  keepers  should  familiarize  themselves  with  the 
places  where  water  can  surely  be  found  even  in  the  driest 
weather,  and  the  number  of  these  places  should,  if  possible, 
be  increased.  If  ground  fires  can  be  controlled  through  the 
exercise  of  untiring  vigilance,  crown  fires,  or  fires  running 
through  the  tops  of  trees  in  the  manner  which  has  done  such 
great  damage  in  the  past,  will  no  more  sweep  the  reserva- 
tions, for  they  will  have  no  chance  to  start  unless  they  come 
from  outside. 

Besides  fire,  there  are  other  destroyers  of  trees  and  wood- 
lands for  which  the  keepers  of  the  reservations  must  be  con- 
stantly on  the  watch.  Such  are  the  injurious  insects,  the  most 
dangerous  of  which  at  the  present  time  is  the  imported  gypsy 
moth.  Much  of  the  woodland  of  the  Fells  has  already  been 
attacked  by  this  voracious  creature,  which  must  be  fought  as 
zealously  as  fire,  if  the  trees  are  to  be  saved  alive.  Lastly, 
the  keepers  must  be  watchful  lest  human  visitors  to  the  reser- 
vations, tempted  in  summer  by  fine  sprays  of  bloom,  and  in 
winter  by  evergreen  leaves  and  bright  berries,  do  not  soon 
damage  the  beauty  of  some  of  the  most  charming  spots. 

Two  special  pieces  of  safeguarding  work  remain  to  be  men- 
tioned. When  Beaver  Brook  Reservation  was  acquired,  the 
famous  Oaks  were  found  to  be  much  burdened  with  wounded 


;ET.  35]    PRESERVING  OLD  TREES  —  SERVICE  ROADS     501 

and  decaying  limbs.  So  important  are  these  trees,  both  as 
remarkably  large  specimens,  and  as  the  most  striking  element 
in  the  scenery  of  their  neighborhood,  that  we  at  once  advised 
that  they  be  surgically  treated.  The  work  of  removing  dead 
and  decaying  boughs,  tarring  the  cut  surfaces,  and  cementing 
the  worst  cavities  occupied  six  men  six  weeks.  This  unusual 
undertaking  was  well  conducted  by  Mr.  George  A.  Parker, 
under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Manning  of  our  office.  These 
operations  naturally  robbed  the  trees  of  much  of  the  pic- 
turesqueness  of  old  age,  but  the  expected  prolongation  of  the 
life  of  the  grove  certainly  justifies  this  loss  of  pictorial  in- 
terest. 

In  the  upper  part  of  the  same  reservation  there  lie  two  small 
mill-ponds,  beside  one  of  which  stood  the  flour  mill  celebrated 
by  James  llussell  Lowell  in  the  verses  called  "  Beaver  Brook." 
Both  ponds  are  charming  features  of  the  local  scenery.  The 
old  dams  were  found  to  be  much  in  need  of  the  repairs  which 
have  lately  been  completed.  This  was  the  second  of  the  two 
special  preservative  works  just  referred  to. 

Coming  now  to  the  discussion  of  work  to  be  done  towards 
making  the  landscape  of  the  reservations  more  accessible,  and 
towards  enriching  or  enhancing  its  value,  we  have  first  to  point 
out  that  it  seems  to  us  most  advisable  that  these  two  objects 
should  be  pursued  simultaneously  and  under  one  direction. 
Certain  of  the  old  woodpaths  of  the  Blue  Hills  and  the  Fells 
have  during  the  past  season,  and  under  instructions  from  our 
office,  been  linked  together  and  improved,  in  order  to  make 
it  possible  to  reach  the  remoter  quarters  of  the  reservations 
without  being  compelled  to  walk  miles.  These  roads  will 
well  serve  those  administrative  purposes  for  which  they  have 
been  built,  they  will  make  valuable  fire-guards,  and  the  public 
Avill  make  use  of  them  and  will  enjoy  them.^  It  is  true,  also, 
that  much  may  be  done  to  lead  many  people  to  avail  them- 

^  To  enable  persons  who  do  not  own  horses  to  enjoy  the  new  roads,  we 
suggest  that  a  buckboard  service  be  established  to  traverse  Blue  Hills 
Reservation  twice  daily  between  Readville  and  West  Qnincy  during  the 
pleasant  months,  passengers  to  be  allowed  to  stop  off  at  any  of  the  dif- 
ferent points  of  interest  ;  also,  that  a  similar  service  be  established  be- 
tween Winchester  and  Wyoming  or  Maiden,  by  way  of  the  south  end  of 
Bear  Hill  and  the  south  side  of  Spot  Pond  in  the  Fells  Reservation. 


502  METROPOLITAN  PARK  WORK  [1894 

selves  of  the  beauty  of  the  present  scenery  of  the  reservations 
by  providing  hitching-plaees  for  horses,  stands  for  bicycles, 
numerous  bridle  and  foot  paths,  and  plenty  of  sign-boards  to 
mark  the  way  to  points  of  interest  or  special  vantage.  The 
superintendents  of  the  reservations  should  see  to  it  that  the 
work  of  providing  these  helps  to  visitors  be  done  before  next 
summer.  The  sketch  maps  already  described  will  enable  them 
to  do  this  with  satisfaction  and  despatch. 

On  the  other  hand,  —  and  on  this  point  we  desire  to  speak 
emphatically,  —  such  roads  as  have  thus  far  been  opened  in 
the  reservations  are  not  to  be  considered  as  other  than  tem- 
porary affairs.  Built  to  serve  pressing  administrative  neces- 
sities, and  generally  following  closely  the  courses  of  ancient 
woodpaths,  these  roads  do  not,  and  cannot  be  made  to,  exhibit 
the  scenery  of  the  reservation  as  it  ought  to  be  and  may  be 
exhibited.  One  may  easily  drive  through  the  whole  length 
of  the  Blue  Hills  range  by  the  present  service  road,  and  come 
away  disappointed.  Contrariwise,  it  is  easily  possible  to 
imagine  a  road  along  the  range  which,  presenting  one  quiet 
or  surprising  picture  after  another,  could  not  fail  to  awaken 
admiration  of  the  scenery  in  every  observer.  The  reservations 
will  not  return  to  the  community  that  dividend  of  refresh- 
ment which  is  rightly  expected  of  them,  until  roads  and  paths 
shall  have  been  built  with  special  reference  to  the  exhibition 
of  the  scenery.  Such  roads  and  paths,  however,  cannot  possi- 
bly be  devised  hastily  or  without  prolonged  study,  not  only  of 
the  ground,  but  of  complete  topographical  maps.  Even  with 
map  in  hand,  it  is  extremely  easy  to  make  the  most  unfortu- 
nate mistakes  in  work  of  this  kind,  as  it  is  equally  easy  to 
go  wrong  in  attempting  to  open  or  close  vistas,  or  to  modify 
vegetation  for  the  sake  of  scenery. 

Much  work  of  this  latter  sort  greatly  needs  to  be  done  in 
the  woodlands  of  the  reservations.  Excepting  work  directed 
to  ponding  or  turning  water,  the  selection  of  high  or  low,  ever- 
green or  deciduous,  crowded  or  separated  types  of  vegetation 
is  practically  the  only  work  which  can  be  done  for  the  enhance- 
ment of  the  beauty  of  the  landscape  of  the  reservations.  In 
these  woodlands  which  have  been  so  badly  damaged,  work  of 
this  kind,  well  handled,  will  be  productive  of  remarkable  and 


^T.  35]  DEVELOPING  SYLVAN  SCENERY  503 

important  results.  In  general,  this  work  ought  to  be  directed 
to  the  selection  and  encouragement  of  those  forms  of  vegeta- 
tion which  are  characteristic  of  each  type  of  topography. 
Sameness  of  treatment,  regardless  of  site  and  exposure,  is  to 
be  scrupulously  avoided.  On  the  windy  summits  of  the  Blue 
Hills  the  dwarf  growths  native  to  such  hill-tops  ought  to  be 
preserved,  or  induced  to  take  possession.  On  sunny  crags  and 
ledges.  Pitch  Pine,  Cedar,  and  Juniper  slioidd  be  led  to  find 
place,  while  the  Hemlock  should  appear  among  shady  rocks. 
At  the  bases  of  bold  ledges  now  concealed  by  dull  curtains  of 
stump  growth,  large  areas  may  profitably  be  cleared  and  even 
pastured  for  the  sake  of  exhibiting  the  forms  of  the  rocks, 
and  the  grand  distant  prospects  discernible  between  them. 
In  other  places,  where  only  short-lived  sprout-growth  now 
exists,  seedlings  of  long-lived  trees  should  be  encouraged  to 
start.  On  slopes  of  poor  soil  permanent  thickets  may  be 
advisable,  while  some  rich  glade  or  valley  may  be  devoted  to 
the  development  of  soft  turf  and  broad-spreading  trees.  There 
is  thus  no  limit  to  the  variety  of  sylvan  types  of  scenery  which 
may  gradually  be  developed  within  these  broad  reservations. 
We  are  prepared  to  immediately  advise  the  superintendents 
of  the  reservations  in  certain  departments  of  this  work,  should 
the  Commission  decide  to  begin  labor  in  this  field  this  season. 
The  more  delicate  and  difficult  operations  of  this  art  of  en- 
hancing the  beauty  of  the  vegetal  element  in  landscape  must, 
however,  wait  upon  the  building,  or  at  least  the  planning,  of 
the  permanent  roads  and  paths.^  These  roads  must  be  made 
to  exhibit  the  scenery,  and  the  vegetal  scenery  must  be  im- 

^  "  The  mere  act  of  removing  certain  trees  from  a  natural  forest  and 
leaving  others  standing  is  a  fine  art,  if  done  with  a  view  to  beauty,  al- 
though human  interference,  in  this  instance,  adds  nothing  whatever  that 
is  tangible  or  material.  It  only  adds  beauty,  or  reveals  beauty,  by  taking 
away  the  impediments  that  prevented  it  from  being  seen.  Among  the 
recognized  fine  arts  there  are  two  that  consist  entirely  in  removal.  In 
sculpture  and  mezzotint  no  grain  of  marble  dust  or  copper  powder  is 
added  to  the  work  ;  the  artist  does  nothing  but  take  away  matter,  at  first 
in  large  quantities,  and  then  in  smaller  and  smaller  quantities  as  his  work 
approaches  completion.  The  work  of  clearing  in  a  wood  is  analogous  to 
these  arts,  when  carried  out  with  an  artistic  intention  only."  —  Philip 
Gilbert  Hamerton. 


504  METROPOLITAN  PARK  WORK  [1894 

proved  with  reference  to  the  roads.  Thus  we  have  double 
reason  to  regret  that  topographical  surveys  sufficiently  de- 
tailed to  serve  as  the  basis  for  the  planning  of  jjermanent 
roads  have  only  lately  been  ordered  by  the  Commission,  and 
that  the  contour  maps  cannot  be  finished  before  March,  1896. 
Not  until  these  maps  are  completed  will  it  be  possible  to  de- 
vise plans  for  the  ultimate  development  of  the  scenery  of  the 
reservations,  and  for  making  that  scenery  accessible  in  the 
most  advantageous  ways.  Meanwhile,  we  recommend  that 
the  Commission  and  the  public  rest  content  with  careful  guard- 
ing of  the  reservations  from  injury,  a  cautious  beginning  of 
the  work  of  modifying  the  vegetation  as  instanced  above, 
and  the  opening  of  a  few  temporary  or  makeshift  roads  and 
paths. 

II.  —  Proposed  Reservations. 

The  report  of  the  landscape  architect  to  the  preliminary  or 
inquiring  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  suggested  the  acqui- 
sition of  reservations  of  three  principal  types ;  namely,  forest, 
river-side,  and  sea-coast.  For  reasons  stated  in  its  first  report, 
the  permanent  or  executive  Commission  determined  that  the 
first  appropriation  of  one  million  dollars  should  be  spent  in 
buying  public  forests.  Not  content  with  this  programme,  re- 
presentatives of  various  sections  of  the  metropolitan  district 
obtained  from  the  legislature  of  1894  several  acts  command- 
ing the  expenditure  of  further  sums  of  money  for  the  acqui- 
sition of  river-side  and  sea-coast  reservations.  Accordingly, 
we  have  during  the  past  season  studied,  prepared,  and  pre- 
sented plans  suggesting  boundaries  for  lands  proposed  to  be 
acquired  at  Revere  Beach,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Charles 
and  upper  Mystic  rivers. 

Concerning  Revere  Beach  it  need  now  only  be  said  that 
the  plan,  as  thus  far  outlined,  contemplates  the  eventual 
abolishment  of  private  ownership  on  the  shore  between  the 
existing  railroad  and  the  water,  the  removal  of  the  railroad 
to  a  new  location,  and  ultimately  the  construction  of  a  proper 
sidewalk,  driveway,  and  promenade,  upon  a  long,  sweeping 
curve  extending  the  length  of  the  beach. 

Free  gifts  of  land  on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Mystio 


^T.  35]  PROPOSED   RESERVATIONS  505 

ponds  and  on  the  banks  of  the  upper  Mystic  or  Abbajona 
River  in  Winchester  naturally  led  the  Commission  to  consider 
the  acquiring  of  intervening  and  adjacent  properties.  The 
plans,  as  outlined,  will  give  to  the  public  the  possession  of 
both  banks  of  that  short  reach  of  tidal  river  which  lies 
between  High  Street,  Medford,  and  the  lower  Mystic  Pond, 
the  eastern  shore  of  both  ponds  from  the  water's  edge  to  the 
top  of  the  bluff,  both  banks  of  Abbajona  River  from  the 
upper  pond  as  far  upstream  as  Walnut  Street,  and  the  east- 
ern bank  from  Walnut  Street  to  the  Winchester  town  hall  on 
Pleasant  Street  at  the  foot  of  Mt.  Vernon  Street.  Within 
or  upon  the  borders  of  this  long  strip  of  public  land  a  plea- 
sant driveway  can  easily  be  built.  The  Abbajona  River  will 
need  to  be  bridged  once  only.  The  Low^ell  Railroad  will  be 
crossed  by  the  existing  Bacon  Street  bridge. 

The  banks  of  the  tidal  portion  of  Charles  River,  the  cen- 
tral waterway  of  the  metropolitan  district,  were  long  sup- 
posed to  be  about  to  become  pecuniarily  valuable  for  indus- 
trial or  commercial  purposes  ;  but  as  the  population  of  the 
river-side  lands  has  multiplied,  and  as  this  population  has 
come  to  feel  the  need  of  agreeable  open  spaces,  a  new  idea  of 
the  value  of  the  river  and  the  river-bank  has  developed  in 
the  public  mind  with  great  rapidity.  It  was  only  in  1885 
that  the  Boston  Park  Commission  removed  a  row  of  indus- 
trial establishments  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  public 
promenade  on  the  edge  of  the  river  between  Craigie  and 
West  Boston  bridges.  Few  citizens  realize  in  what  degree 
the  new  idea  of  the  value  of  the  river  has  crystallized  itself 
in  effective  action  during  the  few  years  which  have  passed 
since  "  Charlesbank  "  was  opened.  From  Craigie  bridge  to 
Watertown  bridge  by  the  course  of  the  stream  is  eight  miles. 
Out  of  the  sixteen  miles  of  bank  bordering  this  tidal  portion 
of  the  river  the  surprising  length  of  seven  miles  has  already 
been  acquired  by  public  or  semi-public  agencies ;  ^  while  an 

1  Below  Cottage  Farm  the  existiug  public  banks  measure  approximately 
as  follows  :  — 

Feet. 
Charlesbank  (Boston  Park  Commission)  ....  2,000 
The  Front  (Cambridge  Park  Commission)  .  .  .  1,300 
The  Esplanade  (Cambridge  Park  Commission)   .     ,     7,000    [over] 


506  METROPOLITAN   PARK  WORK  [1894 

additional  two  and  one  half  miles,  namely,  the  Boston  bank 
from  West  Boston  bridge  to  Cottage  Farm,  is  dedicated  in 
the  public  mind,  if  not  in  fact,  to  the  custody  of  the  Boston 
Park  Commission.  Only  two  miles  of  bank  are  occupied  by 
practically  irremovable  industrial  establishments.^  Thus  it 
appears  that  there  remain  only  about  five  miles  of  shore, 
concerning  which  it  may  still  be  asked.  Shall  this  river-bank 
become  public  or  remain  private  property  ? 

The  argument  for  public  ownership  has  been  so  often  re- 
peated of  late,  and  is  now  so  generally  understood  and  ap- 
plauded, that  it  need  not  be  repeated  here.  As  at  Middlesex 
Fells  the  Metropolitan  Commission  has  made  a  great  public 
forest  by  joining  together  the  fragmentary  public  holdings 
previously  acquired  by  various  water  boards  and  local  park 
commissions,  so  now  the  same  commission  has  been  com- 
manded to  connect  the  arsenal  reservation  with  the  public 
landings  and  river-banks  of  Watertown  on  the  one  hand,  and 
with  the  Longfellow  meaciow  and  the  Charles  River  drive  of 
Cambridge  on  the  other  hand,  to  the  end  that  the  public 
river-side  domain  may  acquire  that  great  increase  in  value 
which  arises  from  unity,  continuity,  and  completeness. 

By  direction  of  the  Commission,  we  have  accordingly  given 
our  best  attention  to  the  five  miles  of  remaining  river-bank 
just  mentioned,  and  have  devised  plans  suggesting  bound- 
aries for  the  proposed  additions  to  the  public  domain.  Like 
the  plan  adopted  for  the  Charles  River  road  of  the  Cam- 
bridge Park  Commission  and  the  plan  suggested  for  the  pro- 
Above  Cottage  Farm  the  present  public  and  semi-public  banks  measure 
approximately  as  follows  :  — 

Feet. 
Charles  River  drive  (Cambridge  Park  Commission)  .     .  13,000 

Cambridge  Hospital 500 

Cambridge  Cemetery 2,500 

Longfellow  Meadow  and  Soldier's  Field 6,000 

United  States  Arsenal 4,000 

1  These  commercial  holdings  measure  as  follows  :  — 

Feet. 

Boston  &  Albany  Railroad 3,000 

Brookline  Gas  Company 1,000 

Abattoir 3,000 

Other  establishments 3,000 


;ET.  35]  THE  BANKS   OF  CHARLES  RIVER  507 

posed  beach  road  at  Revere,  these  plans  of  boundaries  for  a 
metropolitan  reservation  at  Charles  River  are  based  upon  the 
idea  that  a  public  sidewalk  and  roadway  will  eventually  be 
built  adjacent  to  the  abutting  private  land.  Between  this 
roadway  and  the  water  will  be  a  strip  of  land  or  marsh  of  a 
width  which  will  necessarily  vary  in  more  or  less  exact  pro- 
portion to  the  i^robable  cost  of  the  area  in  question.  At  a 
few  points  the  plans  are  so  devised  as  to  make  it  possible  for 
established  coal-dealers  to  use  wharves  outside  the  driveway. 
Whether  the  remaining  open  portions  of  the  area  between  the 
driveway  and  the  stream  will  remain  marsh  subject  to  tidal 
flooding,  or  become  fresh-water  grass-land  usable  by  the  pub- 
lic, is  yet  to  be  seen.  In  either  event,  the  proposed  public 
open  space  will  be  well  worth  having ;  but  if  the  tide  can  be 
danmied  out  of  the  river,  as  the  late  joint  Commission  sug- 
gested, not  only  can  the  marshes  of  the  public  reservation  be 
made  usable  at  no  great  expense,  but  the  river  itself,  freed 
from  its  unsightly  flats  and  mud  shores,  will  (also  at  no  great 
cost)  become  a  valuable  and  even  beautiful  water  park.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  the  tide  must  continue  to  flow  up  to  Water- 
town,  flooding  the  marshes  on  its  way  and  damming  back  the 
fresh  waters,  the  public  river-banks  can  be  made  usable  only 
by  means  of  expensive  filling,  beaching,  or  walling  operations  ; 
while  the  resulting  public  domain,  consisting  of  the  river  and 
its  banks,  will  be  decidedly  less  serviceable,  as  well  as  much 
less  beautiful.  Thus  it  may  well  be  true  that  the  negative  sav- 
ing in  the  cost  of  treating  these  miles  of  public  river-bank, 
plus  the  positive  benefit  to  adjacent  estates  and  the  district  as 
a  whole,  would  pecuniarily  justify  the  district  in  building  the 
dam,  even  though  the  dam  (as  is  quite  unlikely)  should  make 
it  necessary  to  employ  continually  a  dredge  and  an  ice-boat 
in  the  harbor,  as  is  done  at  Philadelphia  and  at  Baltimore. 

In  addition  to  general  recommendations  as  to  the  acquire- 
ment of  forest,  river-side,  and  sea-coast  reservations,  the 
landscape  architect  to  the  preliminary  Commission  called 
particular  attention  to  two  small  but  remarkable  spots,  the 
destruction  of  which  would  work  great  loss  to  the  higher 
interests  of  the  metropolitan  district.  The  executive  Commis- 
sion visited  both  of  these  places,  and  found  both  of  them  to  be 


508  METROPOLITAN   PARK  WORK  [1894 

as  described,  but  nevertheless  determined  to  spend  the  avail- 
able metropolitan  loan  in  rounding  out  the  bounds  of  the  large 
forest  domains,  and  to  take  action  towards  the  preservation  of 
the  Beaver  Brook  Glen  and  Oaks,  and  the  Hemlock  Gorge 
of  Charles  River,  only  in  case  local  or  private  enterprise 
should  supply  at  least  a  large  part  of  the  price  of  the  desired 
lands.  Fortunately  for  the  metropolitan  district  and  its 
future  generations,  Mr.  Edwin  F.  Atkins  of  Belmont  and  his 
mother,  Mrs.  Elisha  Atkins,  came  promptly  forward  with  a 
gift  of  110,500  towards  the  cost  of  the  acquisition  of  the 
ponds,  the  glen,  and  the  cascade  at  Beaver  Brook ;  and  this 
gift  sufficed  to  cause  the  Commission  to  exercise  its  right  of 
eminent  domain,  to  appropriate  the  additional  sum  required, 
and  to  assume  for  the  public  the  custody  of  this  charming  spot. 
As  a  part  of  our  professional  duty  towards  the  Commission 
and  the  public,  it  is  incumbent  upon  us  to  again  call  atten- 
tion to  the  Hemlock  Gorge  of  Charles  River.  Whether  it  be 
viewed  from  the  high  summit  of  the  aqueduct  arch,  from  the 
low  level  of  Boylston  Street  bridge,  or  from  the  points  of 
ledge  near  the  Newton  mills,  this  passage  of  the  river  through 
the  rocks  and  Hemlocks  presents  a  scene  such  as  cannot  be 
matched  in  the  whole  metropolitan  district.  Will  not  a  few 
of  those  generous  persons  who  are  continually  enriching  the 
Boston  Art  Museum  unite  now  in  securing  the  permanent 
preservation  of  this  so  beautiful  natural  picture  ?  With  the 
Metropolitan  Commission  standing  ready  to  assume  the  cus- 
tody of  the  place,  it  will  be  worse  than  regrettable  if  another 
Hemlock  is  permitted  to  be  removed,  or  another  obtrusive 
building  to  be  inserted. 

III.  —  Metropolitan  Parkways. 

In  addition  to  commanding  the  acquisition  of  reservations 
at  Revere  Beach  and  Charles  River,  the  legislature  of  1894 
directed  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  to  invest  1500,000 
in  so-called  "boulevards." 

Immediately  upon  the  passage  of  this  act,  a  variety  of 
widely  different  schemes  were  proposed.  It  was  argued  that 
the  Commission  should  assume  charge  of  the  maintenance, 
watering,  and  policing  of  certain  selected  and  more  or  less 


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^T.  35]  CAR  AND  CARRIAGE   PARKWAYS  509 

direct  or  continuous  existing  highways,  and  thus  preserve 
them  as  pleasure  driveways  exempt  from  the  dangerous  intru- 
sion of  electric  cars.  In  other  quarters  it  was  held  that  the 
legislature  intended  the  appropriation  to  be  spent  for  the 
relief  of  "  the  unemployed,"  and  that  if  only  work  were  fur- 
nished, it  did  not  much  matter  what  existing  highways  were 
improved,  or  how  remote  from  the  centre  of  population  they 
might  be. 

In  May,  1894,  we  were  first  asked  to  give  attention  to  the 
problem  presented  by  this  new  act  of  the  legislature.  As 
to  the  place  where  the  appropriation  should  be  expended, 
it  seemed  to  us,  after  due  reflection,  that  wise  economy  de- 
manded, first,  that  only  the  interior  parts  of  the  metropolitan 
district  should  be  considered,  because  the  permanent  results 
of  work  done  therein  would  benefit  many  persons  for  every 
single  person  who  would  enjoy  the  results  of  labor  expended 
in  remoter  regions ;  and,  secondly,  that  the  particular  part 
of  the  interior  to  be  selected  should  be  determined  by  the 
generally  acknowledged  desirability  of  improved  means  of 
access  to  the  recently  acquired  public  forests  of  the  Fells  and 
the  Blue  Hills.  Again,  as  to  the  sort  of  improved  highway 
to  be  opened  or  built,  it  appeared  to  us  that  the  public  advan- 
tage would  be  best  served,  not  by  opening  merely  driveways 
to  be  enjoyed  only  by  bicyclers  and  carriage-owners,  but  by 
providing,  in  addition  to  roadways  and  sidewalks,  separate 
passageways  for  the  cheap,  agreeable,  and  rapid  transportation 
of  the  multitude  by  electric  cars. 

Guided  by  these  considerations,  which  to  us  seemed  funda- 
mental and  governing,  we  studied  to  determine  the  most 
convenient,  and  at  the  same  time  practicable,  routes  for  two 
such  car  and  carriage  highways,  one  of  which  should  lead 
from  the  Fells  and  the  other  from  the  Blue  Hills,  towards  the 
densely  built  centre  of  population  of  the  district.  The  product 
of  these  studies  may  now  be  briefly  described. 

Pine  Hill,  ISIedford,  and  Bear's  Den  Hill,  Maiden,  form 
the  two  southernmost  corners  of  Middlesex  Fells  Reservation. 
Between  the  two  hills  lies  a  section  of  Medford  about  a  mile 
square,  not  yet  much  occupied  by  buildings  because  of  its 
distance  from  steam  and  street  railways.  Both  hills  are  less 
than  five  and  a  half  miles  distant  from  the  State  House. 


610  METROPOLITAN  PARK  WORK  [1894 

Starting  from  the  reservation  at  the  bases  of  these  hills, 
how  far  towards  the  heart  of  the  metropolitan  area  can  a  con- 
venient way  for  cars  and  carriages  be  opened  without  incur- 
ring an  expense  unwarrantable  at  the  present  time?  The 
answer  made  by  our  plans  is  three  miles,  and  the  cityward 
terminus  of  the  proposed  Fells  Parkway  is  placed  by  these 
plans  at  Broadway  Park,  Somerville.  The  proposed  parkway 
may  best  be  likened  to  a  great  tree.  Its  tangled  roots  are  the 
main  streets  of  Charlestown,  East  Cambridge,  Cambridge,  and 
Somerville.  Its  trunk  bridges  Mystic  River  and  extends 
nearly  to  Pleasant  Street,  Maiden.  Its  main  branches  touch 
Maiden  and  Medford,  reach  the  Fells  Reservation  at  Bear's 
Den  Hill  and  Pine  Hill,  and  stretch  along  the  boundary  of 
the  Fells  to  Winchester  and  through  the  Fells  to  Stoneham 
and  Melrose.  Upon  reaching  Broadway  Park,  after  thread- 
ing the  maze  of  city  streets,  cars  and  carriages  will  find  relief 
and  opportunity  to  speed  away  to  the  Fells  or  the  northern 
suburbs.  Incidentally,  the  square  mile  of  Medford  territory 
already  mentioned  will  be  made  agreeably  accessible,  particu- 
larly if  the  electric  cars  should  complete  a  circuit  by  follow- 
ing the  boundary  road  of  the  Fells  from  Bear's  Den  around 
to  Pine  Hill. 

Crossman's  Pines,  the  northernmost  corner  of  the  western 
section  of  the  Blue  Hills  Reservation,  is  distant  more  than 
nine  miles  in  an  air  line  from  the  State  House ;  but  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  municipality  of  Boston  extends  four  times 
as  far  south  of  the  State  House  as  it  does  north,  and  because 
Boston  has  undertaken  the  construction  of  a  broad  highway 
out  to  her  uttermost  boundary  at  Mattapan,  the  length  of  the 
Blue  Hills  Parkway  proposed  to  be  acquired  by  the  Metropol- 
itan Commission  is  no  greater  than  the  length  of  the  proposed 
Fells  Parkway  already  described.  From  Crossman's  Pines  to 
Harland  Street,  Milton,  is  about  three  fourths  of  a  mile  ;  and 
by  Harland  Street  to  Canton  Avenue  is  three  fourths  of  a  mile  ; 
from  Canton  Avenue  by  Mattapan  Street  to  Mattapan  Square, 
which  is  the  terminus  of  the  widened  Blue  Plill  Avenue  and 
the  proposed  cityward  terminus  of  the  Blue  Hills  Parkway, 
is  another  mile  and  a  half.  Except  in  equality  of  length, 
this  parkway,  however,  bears  little  resemblance  to  the  Fells 


^T.  35]  PLANS  OF  PROPOSED  PARKWAYS  511 

Parkwa3\  The  tree  to  which  it  may  be  likened  has  one  root 
of  great  length  and  importance,  —  Blue  Hill  x\ venue  ;  but 
beyond  the  region  covered  by  its  trunk  and  branches  there 
are  found  no  such  considerable  bodies  of  population  as  lie 
around  and  beyond  the  Fells.  For  the  present,  therefore, 
this  southern  parkway  will  serve  only  as  a  means  of  approach 
to  the  great  public  domain  at  the  Blue  Hills.  Its  electric 
railroad  will,  however,  tend  to  populate  a  large  region  which 
has  hitherto  been  inaccessible  from  the  city. 

The  accompanying  skeleton  map  ^  illustrates  the  relation  of 
the  two  proposed  parkways  to  the  central  parts  of  the  metro- 
politan district  and  the  regions  about  the  two  great  reser- 
vations. It  appears  that  the  beginning  of  the  widened  Blue 
Hill  Avenue  at  Grove  Hall  is  a  mile  farther  from  the  State 
House  than  the  beginning  of  the  proposed  Fells  Parkway  at 
Broadway  Park,  and  that  Broadway  Park  is  no  farther  from 
the  centre  of  the  metropolis  than  Cottage  Farm  bridge  or 
Roxbury  Crossing.  On  the  other  hand,  either  of  these  latter 
places  can  at  the  present  time  be  reached  with  ease  by  car  or 
carriage,  while  Broadway  Park  can  be  attained  from  inner 
Boston  only  with  toil  and  difficulty.  Somerville  and  Arling- 
ton, Winchester,  Medford,  and  Maiden  undoubtedly  stand  in 
great  need  of  a  direct  and  adequate  avenue  of  approach  to 
Boston.  Charlestown  is  so  densely  built  as  to  make  the  open- 
ing of  a  new  and  sufficient  way  impracticable.  The  broad 
territory  occupied  by  the  northern  railroad  companies,  which 
now  extends  from  Rutherford  Avenue  almost  to  Somerville 
Avenue  (a  distance  of  three  fourths  of  a  mile),  blocks  all 
other  possible  routes ;  while  the  great  packing-houses  in  the 
Miller's  River  valley,  the  grade  crossings  of  the  Fitchburg 
Railroad,  and  the  high  prices  of  East  Cambridge  lands  stand 
in  the  way  after  the  railroad  yards  are  passed. 

"Without  giving  to  the  study  of  this  difficult  matter  more 
time  than  we  can  ai^ord  to  give  to  a  problem  not  specifically 
set  before  us,  we  may  say  that  at  present  we  believe  a  practi- 
cable, and  sufficiently  suitable  and  well-placed,  passage  through 
the  difficult  region  would  be  obtained,  if  the  present  location 
of  the  Lowell  Railroad,  between  Cambridge  Street,  Somer- 
1  See,  instead,  the  map  in  the  pocket  of  the  right-hand  cover. 


512  METROPOLITAN  PARK  WORK  [1894 

ville,  and  Charles  Eiver  at  Craigie  bridge,  could  be  acquired 
and  devoted,  with  adjacent  lands,  to  the  purpose  in  view. 
Now  that  the  railroads  use  one  station  and  own  the  old  Mc- 
Lean Asylum  grounds,  there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why 
the  Lowell  tracks  should  not  join  the  Fitchburg  tracks  on  the 
northern  side  of  the  ditch  called  Miller's  River,  where  an 
East  Cambridge  station  might  still  be  maintained,  if  neces- 
sary. Such  a  concentration  of  the  tracks  would  clear  the  way 
for  an  electric  car  and  carriage  avenue,  which,  crossing  the 
Fitchburg  Railroad  above  grade,  would  link  the  Charles 
Kiver  Basin  and  its  public  banks  with  one  after  another  of 
the  main  highways  of  East  Cambridge  and  Somerville,  and 
afford  the  outlying  cities  and  towns  the  inlet  to  the  great  city 
which  they  sorely  need.  From  Chai'les  River  to  the  crossing 
of  the  Fitchburg  Railroad  is  half  a  mile,  from  the  Fitchburg 
Railroad  to  Cambridge  Street,  Somerville,  is  half  a  mile,  and 
from  Cambridge  Street  to  Central  Hill  Park,  by  a  line  adja- 
cent to  the  railroad,  but  well  above  it,  another  half  mile.  At 
Central  Hill  Park  the  last  of  the  great  radial  highways  would 
be  tapped  and  the  new  trunk-line  avenue  might  end.  From 
Central  Hill  Park  to  Broadway  Park  and  the  beginning  of 
the  proposed  Fells  Parkway  is  only  a  third  of  a  mile.  Thus 
it  appears  that  the  relief  of  the  northwestern  suburbs  in  this 
particular  is  perhaps  not  quite  as  desperate  an  undertaking 
as  it  has  commonly  been  supposed  to  be. 

General  plans  of  the  proposed  Fells  and  Blue  Hills  park- 
ways, filed  in  the  office  of  the  Commission,  illustrate  their 
relations  to  existing  streets  and  the  various  subdivisions  of 
both.  The  standard  width  proposed  (one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet)  is  simply  the  narrowest  width  within  which  it  is  safely 
practicable  to  make  a  separate  reservation  for  electric  cars. 
The  roadways  accompanying  the  car- track  reservation  may, 
of  course,  be  increased  in  width,  but  not  without  a  dispropor- 
tionate increase  in  the  cost  of  the  necessary  land.  The  use 
of  the  wider  of  the  two  roadways  is  proposed  by  us  to  be  re- 
stricted to  pleasure  carriages,  except  for  the  necessary  service 
of  the  houses  fronting  upon  it. 

December  31,  1894. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

LETTERS   OF   1895   ON   PARKS   METROPOLITAN   AND 
OTHER 

We  live  in  deeds,  not  years  ;  in  thoughts,  not  breatlis  ; 
In  feeling's,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial. 
We  should  count  time  by  heart-throbs.     He  most  lives 
Who  thinks  most,  feels  the  noblest,  acts  the  best. 

Philip  James  Bailey. 

Beside  the  large  pi-oblems  of  areas,  boundaries,  roads,  and 
paths  fur  the  metropolitan  reservations,  many  smaller  but 
urgent  questions  were  answered  by  Charles.  Thus,  he  wanted 
plenty  of  sign-boards  put  up  to  direct  the  public  to  the  various 
objects  of  interest  in  the  somewhat  labyrinthine  forests ;  but 
where?  and  what  should  the  sign-boards  say?  and  what  colors 
would  be  best  ?  On  March  20,  1895,  Charles  wrote  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Commission :  "  We  will,  as  you  suggest,  pre- 
pare a  schedule  of  the  most  necessary  sign-boards  for  the  Blue 
Hills  and  Stony  Bx'ook  Keservations."  After  much  consid- 
eration, and  some  experiments  as  to  the  least  obtrusive  but 
sufficiently  distinct  colors,  he  chose  black  lettering  on  brown 
boards  as  preferable  to  any  other  combination  for  park  pur- 
poses winter  and  summer. 

In  the  middle  of  the  same  year,  Charles  wrote  thus  to  the 
chairman  of  the  Commission  :  — 

July  10,  1895. 

Attention  has  been  given  to  the  naming  of  the  principal 
hills,  valleys,  and  streams  of  the  reservations,  much  study 
having  been  directed  to  discovering  the  oldest  or  most  gen- 
erally accepted  designations  for  such  places  as  have  been 
named  in  times  past,  as  well  as  to  searching  for  suitable 
designations  for  unnamed  points  of  interest.  Many  names 
of  Indian  chieftains  have  been  applied  to  hills  especially. 

Points  have  been  selected  to  be  marked  by  sign-boards  giv- 
ing the  directions  and  distance  of  frequented  places,  and  the 
superintendent  has  already  put  up  a  certain  number  of  these 
signs.    It  might  be  well  to  place  "  label  signs  "  at  each  newly 


514       TOPOGRAPHY  — BOTANY  — GEOLOGY      [1895 

named  spot  in  order  to  familiarize  the  public  with  the  nomen- 
clature of  the  reservations. 

The  tojjograjjhical  surveys  of  the  Hills  and  the  Fells  Re- 
servations have  been  actively  prosecuted  during  the  past  six 
months  by  Messrs.  French,  Bryant  &  Taylor,  and  we  have 
several  times  advised  with  them  concerning  the  draughting  of 
the  sheets  of  the  maps  and  the  quality  of  the  work  in  the  field. 
It  is  advisable  that  the  accurately  determined  triangulation 
points  of  these  surveys  should  now  be  permanently  marked 
on  the  grouod  by  means  of  stones  and  iron  bolts ;  and  we 
recommend  that  the  Commission  authorize  the  Superintend- 
ent to  procure  the  stones  and  bolts,  and  set  them  at  once 
under  the  guidance  of  French,  Bryant  &  Taylor.  It  is  also 
advisable  that  the  boundaries  of  all  the  acquired  reservations 
should  be  permanently  mai-ked  by  stones  and  bolts,  before 
another  winter  shall  further  displace  the  stakes  of  the  first 
surveyors.  We  therefore  recommend  that  the  Commission 
authorize  the  Superintendent  to  complete  this  work  under  the 
guidance  of  Engineer  Pierce. 

The  study  of  the  distribution  of  botanical  species  in  the 
reservations  was  resumed  with  the  spring,  and  continuous 
progress  is  making.  The  many  botanists  engaged  seem  to 
take  a  lively  interest,  and  they  have  enjoyed  several  excur- 
sions to  the  woods  in  company.  Professors  Shaler,  Storer, 
and  Sargent  of  Harvard  University  have  all  visited  the  Blue 
Hills  at  different  times  in  company  with  Mr.  Eliot ;  while 
Professor  Crosby  of  the  Institute  of  Technology  has  con- 
tinued his  detailed  geological  explorations.  By  the  time  the 
topographical  surveys  are  delivered  to  us  completed,  probably 
by  the  1st  of  December  next,  we  now  expect  to  be  prepared 
to  describe  and  to  delineate  upon  the  maps  a  comprehensive 
scheme  of  treatment  of  the  woodlands  of  the  reservations 
such  as  will  ensure  their  slow,  but  ultimate  restoration  to 
something  like  their  primitive  character  and  beauty. 

The  way  in  which  Charles  did  his  studying  in  the  field  is 
well  described  in  the  following  note  written  to  his  wife  in 
midsummer,  1895.  He  would  spend  many  consecutive  hours 
on  foot  in  the  area  to  be  studied,  observing  the  contours,  the 
vegetation,  the  routes  for  roads  and  paths,  and  the  accessible 


^T.35]  PLEASURING  IN   THE  FELLS  515 

prospects,  and  making  notes  for  future  use.  Sometimes  he 
took  an  assistant  with  him,  but  of  tener  he  went  alone.  When 
bound  on  these  explorations,  it  was  a  matter  of  quite  second- 
ary consideration  where  he  slept,  or  where  he  took  his  meals. 
All  summer  his  life  was  a  wandering  one,  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren beinjT:  either  at  New  Hartford  or  Mt.  Desert. 


The  Langwood,  Middlesex  Fells, 

Melrose,  Mass.,  Sunday,  July  20,  '95. 

.  .  .  You  see  I  am  a  wanderer.  Friday  night  at  17  Quincy 
Street,  with  a  supper  at  Oak  Grove  Cafe,  so  as  to  be  on 
hand  for  a  review  of  Fresh  Pond  plans,  which  lasted  from 
8.30  to  2  p.  M.  This  was  a  private  view  with  Kellaway  of 
the  office,  and  I  begin  to  have  hopes  that  the  place  may  look 
well  ten  years  hence. 

Saturday  night  here,  after  visiting  the  Field  in  East  Cam- 
bridge and  supping  at  Union  Station,  so  as  to  be  on  hand  for 
certain  solitary  explorations,  which  consumed  a  long  morning 
to-day,  and  soaked  my  clothes  with  interior  moisture  to  that 
degree  that  I  had  to  change  all,  and  wring  them  for  fear  of 
mildew  in  my  bag  !  It  has  been  a  damp,  still,  densely  hazy, 
hot  day :  so  hazy  that  even  the  near-by  islands  of  Spot  Pond 
have  retreated  into  soft  smoky  blue  distance,  and  the  Fells 
seen  from  the  high  points  have  seemed  of  infinite  extent. 
First  I  met  two  great  brown  herons,  or  cranes,  who  turned 
to  look  at  me  from  a  charming  bog-hole,  and  then  rose  and 
flew  slowly  across  my  path.  Next  came  two  completely  lost 
but  happy  young  bicyclers  pushing  their  machines  up  a  very 
stony  trail  in  search  of  Wirepoykin  Hill,  which  I  assisted 
them  to  find.  Then  in  a  hollow  I  came  suddenly  upon  a  work- 
ingman  papa,  with  his  nine-year-old  boy,  and  the  man  moved 
suddenly  to  close  a  hand-bag  which  he  carried,  and  then  saw 
he  was  too  late  and  looked  guilty  ;  but  I  told  him  picking 
berries  was  allowed,  and  that  he  had  better  use  a  tin  pail ! 
Lastly,  about  noon,  I  found  two  carriage  loads  of  young  and 
old  folks,  who  were  preparing  to  picnic  in  a  little  grove  they 
had  discovered  near  where  their  wood-road  had  become  im- 
passable. I  could  n't  see  any  way  to  turn  the  carriages,  and 
I  guess  they  had  to  back  a  long  way  when  they  got  ready  to 
go  home,  —  but  they  doubtless  thought  that  part  of  the  fun. 


616  PROSPECT  HILL  IN   WALTHAM  [1893 

When  one  reflects  that  this  innocent  pleasuring  is  now 
likely  to  go  on  here  for  many  generations,  one  begins  to  see 
that  something  worth  while  has  been  accomplished. 

Although  the  central  interest  of  Charles's  professional  life 
after  1893  was  the  Metropolitan  Parks,  he  had  many  other 
interests  and  assigned  duties  as  a  member  of  the  Olmsted 
firm.  Thus,  proposed  parks  in  municipalities  within  the 
metropolitan  district  were  always  assigned  to  him  to  study 
and  report  on.  As  samples  of  his  work  on  such  parks  in 
1895,  four  letters  are  here  grouped,  one  about  parks  for 
Waltham,  a  suburban  city  nine  miles  west  of  Boston,  one 
about  a  park  and  a  parkway  for  Chelsea,  a  suburb  of  small 
area  northeast  of  Boston,  and  two  about  open  spaces  in  Cam- 
bridge, a  city  of  large  area.  The  letters  are  given  in  full." 
They  set  forth  a  large  variety  of  the  considerations  which 
affect  the  selection  and  management  of  public  grounds :  — 

Feb.  15,  1895. 

To  THE  Park  Commissioners  of  the  City  of  Wal- 
tham, —  In  obedience  to  your  request  for  such  suggestions 
as  we  may  advisedly  offer  you  at  this  time,  we  beg  leave  to 
reply  as  follows  :  — 

In  the  first  place  we  congratulate  you  and  your  fellow- 
citizens  on  the  possession  of  so  noble  a  hill  and  so  charming 
a  river.  That  town  is  fortunate  which  finds  within  its  bor- 
ders scenery  of  two  such  beautiful  contrasting  types. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  your  Commission  has  done  well 
in  securing  the  summit  of  Prospect  Hill  for  the  enjoyment  of 
the  public.  Park  Commissions  ought  everywhere  to  regard 
themselves  and  be  regarded  as,  primarily,  trustees  of  scenery; 
because  the  refreshment  which  townspeople  find  in  scenery 
is  the  most  recreative  mode  of  enjoyment  which  a  pai'k  com- 
mission can  possibly  supply.  Sewers,  water-pipes,  well-paved 
streets,  playgrounds  for  youth,  concert  grounds,  jiublic  gar- 
dens, open-air  nurseries,  —  all  these  and  the  like  are  good 
and  more  or  less  necessary,  and  yet  the  city  which,  while 
gaining  these  things  has  permitted  its  scenic  opportunities  to 
be  destroyed,  may  rightly  be  said  to  have  gained  the  world, 
but  lost  its  soul. 

We  speak  in  this  way  because  it  is  our  opinion,  formed 


^T.35]  THE  CHARLES  IN   WALTHAM  517 

after  careful  study  of  the  situation,  that  the  duty  of  your 
Commission  as  trustees  of  scenery  for  the  people  of  Waltham 
has  not  been  completed  by  the  acquisition  of  Prospect  Hill. 
The  banks  of  Charles  Kiver  ought,  undoubtedly,  so  far  as 
may  be  possible,  to  be  acquired  and  held  in  trust  by  your 
Board.  The  Water  Board  already  owns  a  long  stretch  of 
the  river-bank.  Whatever  private  rights  exist  in  the  land 
between  the  pumping  station  and  the  bridge,  and  between 
Mount  Feake  Cemetery  and  the  river,  ought,  in  our  opinion, 
to  be  resumed  by  the  public  ;  together  ^vith  whatever  other 
portions  of  the  river-bank  may  be  obtainable.  The  public 
domain  ought  to  be  continuous,  save  in  the  crowded  business 
centre  of  the  town.  Every  endeavor  should  also  be  made  to 
cause  Newton  to  take  similar  action  upon  her  side  of  the 
stream.  Boat  clubs  and  even  pi-ivate  citizens  might  well  be 
allotted  sites  for  landings ;  but  the  fee  of  the  banks  should 
belong  to  the  two  cities  whose  people  already  enjoy  the  right 
of  boating  upon  the  stream  itself.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
this  river  scenery  is  still  in  jeopardy,  while  Prospect  Hill  is 
at  least  safely  secured,  it  is  our  opinion  that  whatever  moneys 
are  next  available  for  park  purposes  should  be  devoted  to 
purchases  on  the  river-bank  rather  than  to  constructions  on 
the  hill. 

It  is  true,  indeed,  that  a  shelter  and  prospect-command- 
ing terrace  on  the  hill-top  will  greatly  enhance  the  usefulness 
of  the  hill  park,  and  that  roads  are  needed  to  make  the  hill 
comfortably  accessible. 

On  the  other  liand,  the  wisdom  and  far-sighted  economy  of 
a  Commission,  as  of  an  individual,  are  evidenced  by  the  way 
in  which  work  is  mapped  out,  and  the  essentially  first  duties 
separated  from  the  secondary.  After  traversing  Prospect 
Hill  and  inspecting  the  pi-esent  boundaries  of  the  public 
domain,  we  cannot  but  think  it  most  advisable  that  the  bound- 
aries should  be  considerably  enlarged  as  well  as  rectified. 
Just  where  the  boundaries  of  the  reservation  ought  to  be 
placed,  and  just  how  the  reservation  may  best  be  reached  from 
Waltham,  it  is  impossible  to  say  until  a  topographical  survey 
shall  have  been  made.  We  recommend  that  the  work  of 
making  this  survey  be  begun  as  soon  as  the  snow  disappears, 


518  PLEASURE  GROUNDS  FOR  CHELSEA  [1895 

in  order  that  the  field  work  may  be  completed  before  the 
leaves  come  out.  It  seems  clear  to  us  that  the  Commission 
will  do  Waltham  better  service  by  improving  the  boundaries, 
than  by  constructing  anything  upon  the  hill  at  this  time. 
The  survey  which  we  deem  essential  as  a  guide  in  the  study 
of  proper  boundaries  will  hereafter  prove  useful  in  devising 
interior  roads  and  other  constructions. 

It  only  remains  for  us  to  point  out  that  with  Beaver  Brook 
Reservation  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  city,  Mead's  Pond  in 
the  north,  the  new  Cambridge  water  reservoirs  in  the  north- 
west, the  banks  of  Charles  River  in  the  southwest,  and  Pros- 
pect Hill  in  the  middle  west,  Waltham  will  be  well  provided 
with  public  open  spaces  possessing  scenery.  If  public  play- 
grounds are  required,  they  may  be  obtained  regardless  of 
scenery  in  the  near  neighborhood  of  crowded  districts.  The 
only  other  public  grounds  which  the  city  need  consider  are 
those  strips  upon  the  banks  of  natural  streams,  the  universal 
desirajjility  of  which  has  been  pointed  out  by  City  Engineer 
Johnson.  Several  cities  of  the  neighborhood  —  notably  New- 
ton and  Medf ord  —  have  already  acquired  stream  reservations. 
It  would  doubtless  profit  Waltham  to  do  the  same. 

December  21st,  1895. 

To  THE  Secretary  of  the  Chelsea  Park  Commission, 
—  In  obedience  to  instructions  received  from  the  Metropolitan 
Park  Commission  we  have  visited  Chelsea,  and  now  beg  leave 
to  submit  the  following  suggestions  concerning  the  choice  of 
sites  for  public  pleasure  grounds. 

The  city  of  Chelsea,  omitting  the  grounds  of  the  Naval 
Hospital,  measures  only  about  one  and  one  half  miles  square. 
It  is  a  closely  built  city,  its  streets  occupying  an  upland  of 
irregular  form  which  is  two  thirds  surrounded  by  the  salt 
waters  and  marshes  of  Island  End  Creek,  Mystic  River, 
Chelsea  Creek,  and  Snake  Creek.  Between  Island  End  Creek 
and  the  head  of  Snake  Creek  Chelsea  adjoins  the  city  of 
Everett.  Snake  Creek  is  itself  the  boundary  between  Chelsea 
and  the  town  of  Revere.  The  city  is  divided  into  two  almost 
equal  parts  by  the  railroad  known  as  the  Eastern  Division  of 
the  Boston  and  Maine  system.     Almost  exactly  in  the  middle 


iET.  36]  THE   SNAKE   CREEK   PARKWAY  519 

of  the  northern  half  of  the  city  there  is  found  a  high  and 
narrow  ridge  of  day  and  stones,  known  as  Powderhorn  Hill, 
and  already  occupied  in  part  by  the  Massachusetts  Soldiers' 
Home.  Tliis  still  open  ridge  commands  a  panox-amic  view  of 
the  whole  circle  of  the  surroundings  of  Chelsea,  from  the  sea 
in  the  east  to  Prospect  Hill  in  the  west.  The  hill  is  capable 
of  development  as  a  public  promenade  or  terrace  of  a  very 
striking  and  unusual  sort,  and  we  must  earnestly  recommend 
its  acquirement  by  the  Chelsea  Park  Commission. 

The  southern  half  of  Chelsea  is  so  closely  built  that  it 
seems  impossible  to  find  any  room  for  even  playgrounds  until 
the  eastern  and  western  limits  of  the  dense  town  are  reached. 
On  the  low  lands  near  Island  End  Creek  and  Chelsea  Creek 
several  opportunities  present  themselves  for  the  purchase  of 
level  spaces  entirely  suitable  for  playgrounds.  Such  grounds, 
we  think,  ought  to  be  large  enough  to  be  capable  of  subdi- 
vision into,  at  least,  two  principal  sections,  —  the  end  near- 
est the  population  had  best  be  arranged  for  the  I'ecreation 
of  quiet  people,  small  children,  nurses  and  babies,  while  the 
remoter  section  may  be  devoted  to  the  boys.  If  the  extreme 
ends  of  these  grounds  could  be  extended  to  the  shores  of  the 
creeks,  public  boating  stations  might  eventually  be  estab- 
lished. The  views  which  would  thus  be  obtained  over  and 
up  and  down  the  creeks  would  add  considerably  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  public.  Accordingly,  we  would  recommend  that 
an  eastern  playground  be  obtained  east  of  the  railroads  and 
adjacent  to  Chelsea  Creek,  and  a  western  playground  north  of 
the  Naval  Hospital  and  adjacent  to  Island  End  Creek.  The 
last  named  ground  might  advantageously  adjoin  the  Hospital 
grounds  as  well  as  the  Creek,  since  it  would  then  possess  two 
sides  upon  which  it  could  not  be  seriously  shut  in.  The  east- 
ern ground  might  perhaps  be  divided  between  the  two  sides 
of  Eastern  Avenue,  the  women's  and  children's  pleasure 
ground  being  placed  on  the  western  side  of  the  street,  and 
the  boys'  playground  between  the  street  and  the  water. 

It  remains  only  to  point  out  that  the  valley  of  Snake  Creek, 
which  bounds  Chelsea  on  the  northeast,  affords  an  oppor- 
tunity for  a  useful  and  beautiful  parkway  similar  to  that 
which  has  already  been  constructed  in  the  valley  of  Muddy 


520  THE   USES   OF  CAMBRIDGE  FIELD  [1895 

River  on  tlie  boundai-y  between  Boston  and  Brookllne.  A 
park  or  parkway  in  this  valley  would  be  a  benefit  to  Chelsea, 
but  Revere  would  also  profit  from  it,  while  Everett,  Somei-- 
ville,  Maiden,  and  the  remoter  towns  would  find  this  valley 
the  pleasantest  route  to  the  sea  at  Revere  Beach.^  From  the 
head  of  the  Creek  to  the  bridge  of  the  Boston  and  Maine 
railroad  is  a  little  more  than  a  mile,  and  it  is  only  a  mile 
farther  to  the  circle  which  is  the  southern  terminus  of  the 
Revere  Beach  Reservation  of  the  Metropolitan  Commission. 

THE    BUILDING   IN    CAMBRIDGE    FIELD. 

23rd  February,  1895. 

To  THE  Superintendent  of  Parks,  Cambridge,  Mass., 
—  In  reply  to  your  request  for  a  few  suggestions  concerning 
the  maintenance  of  Cambridge  Field,  we  beg  leave  to  submit 
the  following  memoranda  :  — 

The  field  is  to  be  used  by  crowds  —  there  can  be  no  doubt 
of  that.  Water-closets  for  both  sexes  will  certainly  need  to 
be  provided.  The  women's  closets  should  have  a  vestibule 
in  which  a  woman  should  be  in  constant  attendance,  as  in  all 
well-managed  public  grounds  the  world  over.  With  such 
closets  and  a  band-stand,  we  suppose  that  every  absolute  need 
in  the  way  of  buildings  would  be  met.  There  would  remain 
to  be  attended  to  only  the  care  of  the  grass  and  gravel  spaces, 
and  the  necessary  service  of  jjolice. 

The  general  j^lan  submitted  by  us  calls  for  a  much  larger 
building  than  is  required  to  meet  the  primary  needs  just 
mentioned,  and  we  distinctl}-^  recommend  the  consti'uction  of 
this  larger  building  for  the  following  reasons  :  — 

It  is  important  that  when  the  field  is  opened  to  the  pub- 
lic, it  should  at  once  become  a  success  such  as  will  induce 
respect  and  greatly  help  the  formation  of  good  habits  in  the 
people  who  will  frequent  the  place.  Experience  proves  that 
when  such  a  ground  is  finished  in  a  poor  or  makeshift  man- 
ner, the  public  is  very  apt  to  abuse  it,  while  if  the  finish  is 
good  and  the  arrangements  ample  and  attractive,  improved 
behavior  follows.  The  recent  World's  Fair  illustrated  this 
happy  result  very  forcibl3\ 

^  See  the  map  in  the  pocket  of  the  right-hand  cover. 


^T.  35]  THE  VALUE   OF  A  FIELD   HOUSE  521 

The  building  proposed  by  our  plan  is  the  keystone  of  our 
design  for  Cambridge  Field,  and  ought  to  be  well  devised  by 
a  good  architect  with  special  reference  to  producing  a  pleas- 
ing result.  It  should  be  planned  to  serve  as  a  central  hall, 
or  meeting-place,  or  shelter  from  showers ;  to  it  should  be 
attached  the  band-stand  ;  within  it  should  be  found  a  check- 
room for  the  deposit  of  clothing,  bats  and  balls,  skates,  or 
other  articles ;  also,  a  counter  for  the  sale  of  milk,  beef  tea, 
coffee,  soda,  or  light  refreshments ;  also,  the  necessary  closets 
and  wash-rooms,  and  a  special  room  for  the  use  of  the  attend- 
ants upon  small  babies. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear  at  first  sight,  we  believe  that  after 
such  a  building  is  once  built,  the  annual  cost  of  maintaining 
the  whole  field,  building  and  all,  will  be  no  greater  than  it 
would  be  were  no  such  building  erected.  The  granting  of  a 
privilege  to  sell  refreshments  (soda  in  summer  and  hot  coffee 
in  the  skating  season),  to  maintain  a  stand  for  sharpening 
skates,  and  to  sell  skates  and  other  instruments  of  games,  would 
probably  induce  some  worthy  pei-son  to  take  the  position  of 
care-taker  without  other  pa}',  or  for  very  small  pay.  A  man 
and  woman,  with  a  boy  or  girl,  would  be  a  sufficient  staff. 
The  man  would  have  general  charge  of  the  field,  and  would 
work  about  the  place  much  of  the  time.  The  woman  assisted 
by  a  child  would  attend  the  check  and  refreshment  counters 
meanwhile. 

At  the  Overlook  Shelter  in  Franklin  Park  the  man  who 
has  the  privilege  of  selling  refreshments  supplies  all  the  jani- 
tor service  required,  including  supplies  of  soap  and  towels. 
The  Commission  receives  no  rent  from  him,  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  Commission  is  at  no  expense  whatever  for  main- 
taining a  very  important  and  successful  adjunct  of  the  park. 

We  believe  the  Cambridge  Park  Commission  would  do  well 
to  make  a  similarly  well-managed  building  the  central  feature 
of  Cambridge  Field.  With  the  building,  and  a  good  man  in 
charge,  the  enterprise  can  almost  certainly  be  made  success- 
ful from  the  start.  Without  the  building  and  its  care-taker, 
the  field  will  necessarily  seem  a  somewhat  unprotected  and 
uncared-for  place,  to  which  gentle  people  will  hardly  care  to 
resort,  and  in  which  the  ruder  element  will  see  opportunity 


522  PATHS  IN  A  SMALL   CITY   SQUARE  [1895 

to  display  its  rudeness.  We  believe  that  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars sunk  in  this  building  will  be  as  good  an  investment  for 
the  city  as  the  Park  Commission  can  make. 

June  20th,  1895. 

To  THE  Chairman  of  the  Park  Commission,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  —  We  beg  leave  to  report  as  follows,  con- 
cerning the  proposed  preservation  of  the  existing  gate  in  the 
middle  of  the  length  of  Broadway  Square. 

The  experience  of  cities  has  long  since  proved  that  it  is 
necessary  to  fence  public  grounds  of  small  area  in  order  to 
prevent  the  trampling  of  "  short-cut "  paths  across  the  grounds 
in  all  directions.  A  fence  having  been  provided  in  order  to 
preserve  some  untrodden  breadths  of  greensward  within  a 
square,  gates  are  to  be  opened  only  at  such  points  as  may 
accommodate  the  majority  of  people  desiring  to  take  pleasure 
in  the  square,  or  to  cross  it  on  their  way  to  distant  points. 
Every  gate  or  opening  in  the  boundary  fence  almost  neces- 
sarily involves  a  path  to  every  other  gate  or  opening.  The 
greater  the  number  of  gates,  the  more  a  square  must  tend  to 
resemble  the  trodden  desert,  which  is  the  normal  condition 
of  grounds  in  crowded  neighborhoods,  when  unprotected  by 
fencing. 

The  plan  for  Broadway  Square  submitted  by  us  will  pre- 
serve considerable  areas  of  lawn  free  from  cross  walks.  It 
will  also  preserve  a  section  of  the  grounds  near  Broadway 
where  the  children  of  the  neighborhood  may  find  a  place  to 
play  in  an  arbor  out  of  the  line  of  march  of  persons  who  may 
use  the  square  for  short  cuts.  The  scheme  presented  will  in 
this  way  make  a  particularly  useful  as  well  as  attractive  piece 
of  public  ground.  This  special  usefulness  and  attractiveness 
will  be  chiefly  due  to  the  simple  expedient  of  closing  the  mid- 
dle gate  on  Broadway.  If  the  gate  must  be  kept  open,  no 
such  plan  as  we  have  laid  before  you  ought  to  be  followed. 
The  opening  of  the  middle  gate  would  make  a  wholly  different 
plan  of  treatment  advisable  ;  and  this  new  plan  would  not 
develop  for  the  neighborhood  the  usefulness  and  the  attrac- 
tiveness which  the  present  plan  will  produce.  We  are  dis- 
tinctly of  the  opinion  that  the  neighborhood  can  well  afford 


^T.  35]  A  PARK  AND   POND  523 

to  forego  the  use  of  the  middle  gate  and  its  accompanying 
diagonal  and  straight  cross-walks,  for  the  sake  of  the  far 
greater  pleasantness,  beauty,  and  usefulness  which  the  plan 
you  have  before  you  will  secure. 

Two  other  interesting  designs  are  included  in  this  chapter, 
one  for  a  park  at  New  Bedford,  which  has  a  pond  as  its  main 
feature,  and  another  for  a  new  suburb  of  Detroit  arranged 
around  a  long,  central  common.  J'or  lack  of  money,  Button- 
wood  Park  at  New  Bedford  has  not  yet  been  finished  ;  but 
Charles's  design  was  accepted  as  the  ultimate  plan  of  the 
park,  and  all  work  thus  far  done  has  followed  closely  the 
recommendations  of  the  following  letter.  The  Detroit  design 
was  not  utilized. 

February  26,  1895. 

To  THE  Chairman  of  the  Park  Commission,  New  Bed- 
ford, Mass. 

Sii',  —  We  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  preliminary 
report  concerning  the  proposed  park  at  Buttonwood  Brook. 

The  boundaries  of  the  land  at  present  owned  by  the  city, 
as  they  are  shown  upon  the  map  sent  us  by  your  engineer, 
are  obviously  too  contracted  and  irregular.  For  instance, 
the  boundary  as  it  now  lies  runs  through  a  part  of  the  exist- 
ing ice  pond.  In  order  to  enable  the  city  to  derive  the  de- 
sired benefit  from  a  park  to  be  situated  in  this  valley,  it 
seems  to  us  necessary  that  the  boundary  of  the  tract  to  be 
devoted  to  park  purposes  should  be  extended  so  as  to  touch 
Hawthoi-n  Street  on  the  south,  and  Kempton  Street  on  the 
north.  On  the  west  also  the  proposed  location  of  Brownell 
Avenue  lies  so  near  the  pond  that  we  must  urge  the  reloca- 
tion of  this  street,  and  the  extension  of  the  park  accordingly. 
The  accompanying  sketch  plan  is,  therefore,  based  upon  the 
assumption  that  tlie  new  park  may  be  bounded  by  the  four 
streets  called  Rockdale,  Brownell,  Kempton,  and  Hawthorn. 

We  have,  from  the  first,  been  informed  that  the  principal 
object  in  view  in  securing  this  particular  tract  of  land  for 
a  park  was  the  provision  of  boating  and  skating  on  a  pond 
to  be  formed  in  the  valley.  We  believe  that  we  warned  the 
Commission,  at  the  time  of  our  first  visit,  that  the  brook,  in 
our  opinion,  was  incapable  of  furnishing  a  supply  of  water 


524  BUTTONWOOD   PARK  AT  NEW  BEDFORD        [1895 

sufficient  to  warrant  any  attempt  to  make  a  jjond.  The 
water-shed  of  the  brook  above  the  park  is  too  small  to  furnish 
a  sufficient  supply.  Assuming,  however,  that  it  is  still  the 
wish  of  the  Commission  to  create  a  pond,  we  have  drawn  our 
preliminary  plan  accordingly,  taking  it  for  granted  that  the 
Commission  will  obtain  a  supply  of  water  from  some  source. 
It  occurs  to  us  that  it  might  be  possible  to  make  an  arrange- 
ment with  one  of  the  mills  in  Dartmouth,  on  the  course  of  the 
stream  next  west  of  Button  wood  Brook,  by  which  the  water 
could  be  pumped  from  this  stream  to  the  summit  of  the  ridge 
between  the  valleys,  from  which  point  it  would  flow  down 
to  Buttonwood  Brook  and  so  feed  the  pond.  It  might  even 
be  possible  for  the  Commissioners  to  set  up  a  pump  of  their 
own,  say  at  the  point  where  the  railroad  to  Fail  Kiver  crosses 
the  stream  just  mentioned. 

Thus  for  present  purposes  we  have  assumed  that  an  ample 
water  supply  can  be  had,  and  we  have  accordingly  shown 
upon  the  plan  a  pond  some  twenty  acres  in  area,  the  surface 
of  which  would  be  at  an  elevation  slightly  above  that  of  the 
present  ice  pond,  namely  at  grade  93.  This  pond  has  been 
made  the  central  feature  of  our  design.  Its  shores  will  be 
irregular,  in  places  consisting  of  gentle  beaches,  and  in  other 
parts  of  banks  of  trees  and  shrubbery.  An  encircling  foot- 
path will  pass  from  beach  to  beach  behind  and  among  the 
trees.  At  the  southern  end  of  the  pond  this  footpath  will 
pass  over  the  concealed  dam  by  which  the  water  will  be 
retained  in  the  pond.  For  the  sake  of  certain  picturesque 
effect,  the  inlet  and  outlet  will  both  be  made  somewhat  tor- 
tuous. Beside  a  cove  on  the  east  shore  of  the  pond,  it  is  de- 
signed to  place  a  substantial  building,  which  will  serve  as  the 
central  rendezvous  for  all  who  visit  the  park.  In  winter  this 
will  be  the  skating-house,  where  skates  can  be  kept  in  lock- 
ers, and  hot  drinks  may  j^erhaps  be  obtainable.  In  summer 
the  same  building  will  be  the  boating-house,  the  boats  being 
drawn  up  upon  beaches  or  landings  extending  from  the  house 
to  right  and  left.  The  southern  quarter  of  the  park,  lying 
south  of  the  house,  can  be  easily  transformed  into  a  fairly 
level  ball-field,  and  those  who  use  the  field  may  also  use  this 
house  for  the  storage  of  their  bats  and  balls.     East  of  the 


^T.  35]  VISTAS  — THE   CIRCUIT  DRIVE  525 

house  the  broad  field-like  laud,  which  is  easily  attainable,  may 
well  serve  as  tennis  lawns.  Close  to  the  house,  upon  this 
side,  a  playground  for  smaller  children  may  be  provided,  if  it 
is  deemed  advisable ;  here  might  be  placed  swings  and  other 
apparatus.  This  ground  should,  of  course,  be  separated  by 
planting  from  the  broader  open  fields. 

Turning  now  to  the  outer  portions  of  the  park,  the  plan 
suggests  that  one  principal  entrance  should  be  placed  near 
the  top  of  the  slight  hill  in  Kempton  Street.  Here  will  be 
the  electric  cars,  and  here  a  driveway  and  two  walks  can  be 
opened  into  the  park  in  such  a  way  as  to  present  to  visitors, 
as  soon  as  they  have  entered,  a  particularly  fine  view  of  the 
whole  park.  By  careful  planting  of  trees  in  the  great  field 
and  by  the  shores  of  tlie  pond,  several  pleasing  vistas  can  be 
arranged  and  preserved.  One  view  from  this  hill  will  extend 
the  whole  length  of  the  open  lawn  down  to  the  end  of  the 
ball-field.  Another  pleasing  vista  will  be  laid  along  a  line 
passing  just  west  of  the  boating-house,  and  extending  to  the 
little  bridge  b}^  which  a  path  will  cross  the  outlet  of  the  pond. 

From  the  top  of  this  hill  the  one  circuit  driveway  of  the 
park  will  descend  to  right  and  left.  Passing  along  the  outer 
edges  of  the  open  fields  it  will  skirt  the  western  bank  of  the 
pond,  where  it  will  be  bordered  generally  by  woods.  This 
circuit  drive  has,  of  course,  been  arranged  to  afford  the  most 
extended  and  the  most  agreeable  views  which  it  is  possible  to 
obtain  within  the  proposed  limits  of  the  park.  It  is  important 
that  those  who  will  use  this  drive,  as  well  as  the  footpaths 
of  the  park,  should,  so  far  as  may  be  possible,  be  removed  from 
the  noise  and  sights  of  the  town,  and  accordingly  the  plan  pro- 
poses a  somewhat  dense  mass  of  trees  and  shrubbery  between 
the  circuit  road  and  the  bordering  streets.  The  great  fields 
or  meadows  which  lie  within  this  frame  of  verdure,  as  well  as 
within  the  circuit  of  the  pleasure  drive,  will  be  most  pleasing 
and  most  impressive,  if  they  can  be  kept  open  and  uncut  by 
numerous  paths.  Upon  the  plan  the  number  of  cross  paths 
has,  therefore,  been  reduced  as  much  as  seems  possible,  those 
that  are  shown  being  such  as  seem  to  be  absolutely  necessary 
in  order  to  afford  access  to  the  boating  and  skating  house 
from  the  entrances  of  the  park. 


626  SHEEP  FOR  KEEPING  TURF  GOOD  [1895 

It  Is  to  be  hoped  that  the  broad,  open  fields  may  be  well 
prepared  to  produce  a  close  turf,  and  it  will  probably  be 
advisable  to  rely  upon  pasturing  by  sheep  for  keeping  this 
turf  in  good  condition.  Sheep  are  used  for  this  purpose  in 
Central  Park,  New  York,  Franklin  Park,  Boston,  and  in  all 
English  parks.  In  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  pub- 
lic domain  the  plan,  accordingly,  provides  a  place  for  a  sheep- 
fold  and  sheds,  as  well  as  for  a  yard  and  stable  in  which  the 
carts,  watering-carts,  and  the  other  tools  required  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  park  may  be  stored.  Here  also  may 
eventually  be  built  a  house  for  the  use  of  the  head  keeper. 

You  will  notice  that  the  plan  suggests  the  widening  of 
Kempton  Street  and  the  construction  all  about  the  park 
of  sidewalks,  having  rows  of  trees  planted  in  a  grass  strip  of 
reasonable  width.  Many  other  details  of  the  plan  might 
be  mentioned,  but  enough  has  probably  been  said  for  present 
purposes. 

It  may  be  well  for  us  to  point  out  again  that  this  prelimi- 
nary sketch  is  based  upon  three  assumptions.  First,  that  the 
boundary  of  the  park  may  be  extended  to  Kempton  and 
Hawthorn  streets.  Secondly,  that  the  location  of  Brownell 
Avenue  may  be  shifted  to  a  line  parallel  with  the  city 
boundary  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  distant  therefrom. 
Thirdly,  that  an  amjjle  supply  of  water  can  be  obtained.  We 
shall  hope  to  hear  from  the  Commission  that  all  these  assump- 
tions may  become  realized  as  facts.  We  shall  wait  to  hear 
from  you  before  we  proceed  further  in  the  study  of  the  park. 

June  4,  1895. 

Mr. ,  Detroit,  Mich.  —  We  are  sending  Mr. 

two  new  sun-prints  of  our  design  for  the  subdivision  of  Log 
Cabin  Farm  into  roads  and  building-lots.     In  obedience  to  a 

reouest  made  by  Mr. ,  we  now  write  you  in  order  to  call 

>u.  .tention  to  a  few  of  the  more  conspicuous  features  of 
our  design  or  general  plan. 

In  the  first  place  we  deemed  it  especially  desirable  that 
this  new  suburb  should  possess  some  central  feature  of  inter- 
est and  beauty,  which  would  distinguish  it  very  decidedly 
from  all  the  other  suburbs  of  your  city.     Accordingly,  we 


^T.  35]  A  SUBURB  ROUND  A  COMMON  527 

conceived  the  idea  of  a  very  long;  central  common  or  park  of 
greensward  extending  along  the  axis  of  Hamilton  Boulevard, 
and  terminating  at  its  farther  end  in  a  symmetrical  sweep  of 
roadway,  which  would  enclose  within  the  common  a  certain 
wooded  knoll  which  is  found  in  that  part  of  the  estate.  This 
green,  central  common  we  next  suggested  should  be  sur- 
rounded by  a  suitably  broad  public  road,  which  would,  in 
turn,  be  accomi^anied  by  an  electric  car  line  on  one  side,  and 
on  the  other  side  by  a  shaded  sidewalk  giving  access  to  the 
long  adjacent  frontages  of  building  laud.  This  great  com- 
mon and  these  boundary  roads,  we  understand,  have  already 
been  provided  for  by  an  agreement  made  between  your  com- 
pany and  the  city  of  Detroit. 

In  order  that  the  car  line,  which  we  propose  should  make 
a  loop  around  the  common,  might  be  of  advantage  to  all  the 
adjacent  jiarts  of  your  estate,  it  next  seemed  necessary  that 
numerous  branch  roads  should  be  led  toward  the  common 
and  the  car  line  from  all  sides.  Agreeable  to  suggestions  re- 
ceived from  several  of  your  company  at  the  time  when  Mr. 
Eliot  made  his  first  visit  to  the  lands,  these  side  roads  (like 
the  boundary  roads  of  the  common)  have  all  been  planned 
to  follow  curvilinear  lines,  thus  again  differentiating  your 
new  suburb  from  all  others  near  Detroit. 

The  distance  from  the  common  to  the  outer  boundaries  of 
the  company's  land  being  very  considerable,  it  next  seemed 
desirable  to  introduce  one  other  circuit  road  connecting  the 
outer  ends  of  all  the  bi-anch  roads  just  mentioned,  and  thus 
unifying  the  whole  estate.     This  broad  circuit  road  has  been 

planned  in  accordance  with  a  suggestion  made  by  Mr. 

to  have  a  special  reservation  for  the  use  of  persons  on  horse- 
back placed  in  the  middle  of  the  higliway. 

"With  the  Common  or  Plaisance  and  the  Wetherell  Woods, 
the  loop  car  line,  the  curving  branch  roads,  and  the  enr'-*. 
cling  parkway,  your  estate  will,  we  feel  sure,  possess  no  -xval 
in  Michigan,  so  far  as  beauty  and  general  attractiveness  are 
concerned. 

Before  we  proceed  further  in  our  more  detailed  studies,  we 
ask  that  you  communicate  to  us  all  criticisms  and  suggestions 
which  you  may  be  able  to  collect. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

REPORTS   OF  THE  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS  FOR  1895  TO 
THE  METROPOLITAN  AND  BOSTON  PARK  COMMISSIONS 

The  perpetual  admonition  of  Nature  to  us  is,  "  The  world  is  new  — 
untried.  Do  not  believe  the  past.  I  g'ive  you  the  Universe  a  virgin 
to-day."  —  Ralph  Waldo  Emekson. 

TO    THE   METROPOLITAN    PARK    COMMISSION. 

We  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report,  covering 
the  first  eleven  months  of  the  year  1895,  together  with  some 
suggestions  and  recommendations  as  to  several  of  the  more 
important  problems  which  call  for  attention.   .  .  . 

The  Rock-hill  or  Forest  Reservations. 

The  reservations  of  this  class  acquired  and  opened  by  the 
Commission  are,  strictly  speaking,  only  two,  —  the  Blue  Hills 
and  the  Middlesex  Fells ;  nevertheless,  the  Stony  Brook  Re- 
servation will  here  be  included  in  the  same  class,  because  of  its 
similar  rocky  and  wooded  character. 

The  boundaries  of  the  Blue  Hills  Reservation,  originally 
studied  with  care,  as  described  in  previous  reports,  have 
recently  been  amended  as  follows  :  [by  a  short  strip  to  save  a 
row  of  fine  trees ;  by  a  narrow,  winding  tongue,  a  small 
triangle,  a  sliver  of  land,  a  small  triangle,  a  small  sliver,  a 
large  triangle  mostly  swamp  land,  all  to  impi-ove  entrances 
or  boundary  roads ;  and  by  the  extension  of  the  lines  from 
Cedar  Rock  and  Little  Dome  to  Randolph  Avenue  in  a 
manner  which  embraces  between  the  future  boundary  roads 
the  charming  valley  of  Pine  Tree  Brook,  while  also  providing 
a  convenient  entrance  from  the  direction  of  Milton  and  Dor- 
chester.] 

The  reservation  is  now  bounded  on  the  south  by  Monati- 
quot  Stream  and  a  short  stretch  of  Hillside  Street,  Milton  ; 
and  on  the  northern  or  cityward  side  by  lines  which,  save  at 


^T.  30]      ALTERING  RESERVATION   BOUNDARIES  529 

Hillside  Dell,  and  the  Quincy  Quarry  Ridge,  and  between 
Randolph  Avenue  and  Forest  Street,  are  generally  practicable 
for  roads.  It  is  obviously  desirable  that  a  road  boundary  be 
secured  between  Forest  Street  and  Randolph  Avenue,  so  that 
the  divided  ends  of  the  boundaiy  roads  already  arranged  for 
may  be  connected. 

Middlesex  Fells  Reservation  has  had  its  original  boundary 
lines  similarly  amended  by  the  following  changes  :  (1)  The 
addition  of  a  strip  of  land  in  Medford,  extending  from  Forest 
Street  to  the  Winchester-Medford  line,  and  so  shaped  as  to 
permit  the  eventual  construction  of  a  boundary  road  in  direct 
continuation  of  the  western  bi'anch  of  the  Fells  Parkway. 
The  boundary  thus  secured  is  the  best  which  can  be  had 
within  the  limiting  line  across  Medford  so  peculiarly  pre- 
scribed by  the  General  Court,  and  is  a  great  improvement 
upon  the  straight,  and,  so  far  as  a  road  was  concerned,  the 
impracticable,  line  which  it  supplants.  (2)  The  abandon- 
ment to  the  former  owners  of  an  irregular  tract  of  land  in 
Winchester,  much  of  it  lying  on  the  western  slope  of  Grind- 
ing Rock  Hill.  The  new  line  has  been  devised  so  as  to  be 
practicable  for  a  boundary  road,  but  in  so  far  as  it  releases 
to  private  possession  some  of  the  water-shed  and  some  of  the 
framing  landscape  of  the  Middle  Reservoir,  it  is  open  to 
serious  objection.  (3)  Tlie  abandonment  to  the  former  own- 
ers of  an  irregular  tract  of  land  lying  in  Melrose  and  Stone- 
ham,  east  of  Washington  Street  and  a  line  drawn  from  the 
"  red  mills  "  to  Emerson  Sti'eet.  There  is  thus  surrendered 
to  private  ownership  a  considerable  body  of  nearly  level  land, 
already  divided  into  thi'ee  parts  by  two  liighways  (Ravine 
Road  and  Wyoming  Avenue),  while  the  reservation  properly 
retains  within  its  limits  the  important  high  plateau  and  the 
slopes  thereof.  (4)  The  abandonment  to  the  former  owners 
of  a  small  parcel  of  land  in  the  rear  of  houses  on  Loanda 
Street,  Melrose.  (5)  The  addition  of  two  small  triangles  com- 
prising rocky  outcrops  which  will  permanently  ornament  the 
entrance  to  the  south  boundary  road  from  Summer  Street, 
Maiden. 

The  Fells  Reservation  consists  essentially  of  a  broad  pla- 
teau thrust  southward  from  Stoneham  between  the  valleys  of 


530  METROPOLITAN  REPORT  FOR  1895  [1895 

the  Abbajona  and  Maiden  rivers.  At  the  time  of  the  taking 
by  the  Metropolitan  Commission,  these  valleys  were  rapidly 
filling  with  buildings  ;  but  it  so  happened  that  only  two  mod- 
ern suburban  houses  had  as  yet  been  built  upon  the  brink  or 
sloping  edge  of  the  plateau  where  the  finest  distant  views  are 
naturally  obtained.  Several  gentlemen  had  dreamed  of  build- 
ing upon  the  edge  of  the  tableland  in  different  places,  and 
for  these  interrupted  dreams  they  now  ask  to  be  pecuniarily 
compensated.  However  reasonable  or  extravagant  their  claims 
may  be,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  further  surrender  of  the  brink 
to  buildings  may  be  averted,  not  only  because  of  the  impor- 
tance of  free  access  to  the  view-commanding  edge  of  the  pla- 
teau, but  also  because  buildings  in  this  position  will  necessarily 
be  conspicuous  from  the  interior  of  the  reservation,  where  it 
is  important  to  secure  the  appearance  of  indefinite  extent. 

At  Stony  Brook  Reservation  the  original  or  preliminary 
boundary  lines  remain  unchanged. 

With  respect  to  the  prepai^ation  of  general  plans  for 
making  the  scenery  of  these  reservations  agreeably  accessible, 
and  for  restoring  and  enhancing  the  beauty  of  their  much 
injured  woods,  comparatively  little  progress  has  been  made 
during  the  past  year.  The  delay  has  been  partly  due  to  the 
pressure  of  other  work  demanded  of  us  by  the  Commission ; 
but  the  weightier  of  the  problems  involved  have  been  post- 
poned intentionally.  Various  reasons  for  thus  postponing 
consideration  of  these  questions  were  detailed  in  our  last 
annual  report  (see  chap,  xxvi.,  pp.  495  and  501-504).  The 
evolution  of  plans  for  the  fitting  treatment  of  the  woods,  as 
the  mutable  element  in  the  scenery,  must  go  hand  in  hand 
with  the  devising  of  the  permanent  I'oads  and  footways  which 
shall  make  the  scenery  accessible,  while  injuring  it  least  and 
showing  it  best.  To  lay  wise  plans  for  these  delicate  and^ 
important  works  will  require  considerable  time,  even  after 
the  topographical  maps  ordered  near  the  end  of  last  year  are 
received. 

Meanwhile,  under  the  careful  guai'dianship  of  the  Commis- 
sion, the  existing  woods  have  been  successfully  defended 
against  fires;  while  large,  inflammable  areas  of  previously 


^T.  36]  COSTLY  ROADS  INADVISABLE  531 

burnt  and  killed  trees  have  been  cleared  away.  In  addition 
to  these  important  conserving  works,  the  Commission  has 
directed  the  opening  of  a  carriage  road  through  the  length 
of  Blue  Hills  Reservation,  and  several  similar  roads  in  the 
Fells.  This  road-building  has  been  done  under  the  direction 
of  the  general  and  local  superintendents  of  the  reservations, 
with  merely  occasional  suggestions  from  our  office  as  to  the 
choice  of  the  woodpaths  to  be  followed.  The  resulting  roads 
are  doubtless  enjoyed  by  the  driving  public,  but  they  possess 
bad  grades  and  bad  lines,  and  they  certainly  do  not  exhibit 
the  scenery  of  the  reservations  as  advantageously  as  it  ought 
to  be  and  may  be  exhibited.  In  view  of  these  facts,  and  of 
the  hitherto  unavoidable  unceitainty  as  to  what  parts  of  the 
wood  roads  may  desirably  become  sections  of  the  comprehen- 
sive scheme  of  permanent  roads,  we  have  consistently  recom- 
mended the  avoidance  of  all  expensive  construction.  Until 
complete  general  plans  can  be  prepared  from  data  furnished 
by  the  topographical  surveys,  it  seems  advisable  that  the 
building  of  stone-filled  and  finely  gravelled  carriage  roads 
should  be  avoided,  and  that  such  moneys  as  are  available 
should  be  devoted  to  clearing  a  greater  number  of  bj'-paths 
and  bridle  roads,  and  marking  them  systematically  by  guide- 
boards. 

Similar  and  additional  reasons  obliged  us,  during  the  past 
summer,  to  advise  the  barring  out  of  carriages  from  all  the 
too  narrow  and  rough  by-paths  of  the  reservations,  including 
the  path  which  leads  to  the  summit  of  the  much-frequented 
Great  Blue  Hill.  This  path  possesses  neither  lines  nor  grades 
such  as  might  fit  it  to  become  the  permanent  road  to  the  hill- 
top. No  money  should,  therefore,  be  thrown  away  in  either 
widening  or  "stoning"  it  for  carriage  travel.  It  may  pro- 
perly be  made  a  smooth  footpath,  and  this  has  been  done ; 
but  carriages  should  be  excluded,  because  of  its  narrowness, 
crookedness,  and  steepness,  as  well  as  because  of  the  danger 
and  inconvenience  to  which  foot  passengers  would  be  sub- 
jected by  them. 

In  view  of  the  unfortunately  prolonged  postponement  of 
the  making  of  general  plans  in  accordance  with  which  work 
may  go  on  with  surety,  it  is  pleasant  to  report  that  the  topo- 


632  METROPOLITAN  REPORT  FOR   1895  [1893 

graphical  surveyors,  Messrs.  French,  Bryant  &  Taylor,  have 
just  at  this  writing  completed  their  woi-k  ;  so  that  photo- 
lithographs  of  the  maps  of  the  Blue  Hills  and  Fells  reserva- 
tions may  soon  be  obtained.  The  scale  of  the  original  sheets 
of  these  maps  is  one  hundred  feet  to  an  inch,  and  the  contour 
interval  five  feet.  The  positions  on  the  ground  of  the  corners 
of  the  several  sheets  of  the  maps  are  marked  by  stone  monu- 
ments or  iron  bolts,  as  are  also  the  positions  of  the  primary 
triangulation  points  and  the  bench  marks  of  the  surveys.  The 
corresponding  topographical  survey  of  Stony  Brook  Reserva- 
tion is  now  progressing  under  the  direction  of  the  engineer  to 
the  Commission,  Mr.  W.  T.  Pierce,  whose  appointment  early 
in  this  year  was  noted  at  our  office  with  particular  satisfac- 
tion, which  will  be  understood  when  it  is  remembered  that  all 
surveying  up  to  that  date  had  been  distributed  among  several 
engineers  whose  offices  were  in  different  places. 

The  Lake,  Brook,  and  River  Reservations. 

The  public  domains  of  this  class  opened  and  controlled  by 
the  Commission  are  five  in  number ;  namel}^  Stony  Brook 
(already  mentioned  under  Forests),  Beaver  Brook,  Hemlock 
Gorge,  Mystic  River,  and  Charles  River  reservations. 

At  Beaver  Brook  Reservation  the  boundaries  originally 
secured  will  protect  reasonably  well  the  delightful  scenery  of 
the  place,  although  the  lines  are  not  generally  such  as  will 
ever  be  suitable  for  streets.  A  part  of  the  eastern  boundary 
is  formed  by  the  existing  highway  called  Mill  Street,  and  we 
have  made  several  plans  and  had  several  conferences  with  the 
engineer  to  the  Middlesex  County  Commissioners  with  refer- 
ence to  securing  a  demanded  widening  of  the  "  travelled 
way  "  without  injury  to  the  trees  which  line  the  eastern  edge 
of  the  reservation.  It  seems  important  that  binding  agree- 
ments concerning  widenings  and  maintenance  should  be  en- 
tered into  with  all  local  or  county  authorities  controlling  such 
existing  streets  as  border  the  reservations,  or  else  that  the 
control  of  such  streets  should  be  lodged  in  the  Metropolitan 
Commission  itself,  just  as  the  control  of  new  boundary  roads 
hereafter  to  be  built  on  the  now  roadless  edges  of  the  reser- 
vations will  be. 


JET.  36]  THE   MYSTIC   VALLEY   PARKWAY  533 

The  boundaries  of  the  new  Hemlock  Gorge  Reservation 
have  been  contrived  so  as  to  preserve  the  peculiarly  interest- 
ing scenery  of  Charles  River  at  this  point,  so  far  as  this  can 
be  accomplished  without  unreasonable  expenditure.  The  ex- 
isting Boylston  Street  (or  Woi'cester  turnpike)  forms  the 
northern  boundary,  and  Ellis  Street  the  eastern  boundary, 
save  that  the  estates  of  a  church  and  of  the  Newton  Mills 
have  been  omitted  from  the  "  taking."  Central  Avenue 
bridge  makes  the  southern  end  of  the  public  river-bank,  while 
the  western  border  of  the  reservation  is  fixed  upon  a  new 
street  to  be  eventually  opened  on  a  long  curve  extending  from 
Central  Avenue  to  Reservoir  Street.  It  will  be  observed  that 
the  banks  of  the  storage  reservoir  adjacent  to  Worcester 
Street  have  been  included  in  the  reservation  in  addition  to 
the  Hemlock  Gorge.  This  pond  or  "  back-water  "  will  doubt- 
less make  a  useful  boating  and  skating  place.  A  topographi- 
cal survey  of  this  beautiful  reservation  is  yet  to  be  obtained. 

Early  in  1895  the  Commission  determined  to  acquire  a  con- 
tinuous strip  of  ground  in  Medford  and  Winchester  (see 
accompanying  map),  forming  a  part  of  the  possible  Mystic 
River  Reservation,  which  had  been  suggested  in  the  report 
addressed  by  Mr.  Eliot  to  the  inquiring  Commission  of  1892- 
93.  At  the  time  when  this  partial  project  (called  the  Mystic 
Valley  Parkway)  was  under  discussion,  we  felt  obliged  to 
point  out  that  the  proposed  public  strip  began  and  ended 
illogicnliy  ;  that,  instead  of  leading  to  the  Fells,  it  paralleled 
that  reservation ;  and  that,  if  it  were  to  be  regarded  as  an 
in'!ependent  reservation,  it  was  badly  bounded,  in  that  none 
of  the  western  shore  of  the  Mystic  ponds  was  included. 

Within  the  limits  laid  down,  we  have,  however,  done  what 
we  could  to  secure  rational  boundaries.  From  Main  Street, 
Winchester,  southward  to  the  Upper  Mystic  Pond,  both  banks 
of  the  little  Abbajona  River  will  hereafter  be  preserved  from 
building  operations.  Along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Upper 
Pond  all  the  land  which  lies  between  the  pond  and  the  Lowell 
Railroad  has  been  acquired,  and  along  the  Lower  Pond  all 
which  lies  between  the  water  and  the  top  of  the  adjacent  and 
almost  continuous  bluff.  In  addition  to  these  studies  for 
boundaries,  complete  designs  for  a  continuous  pleasure  drive- 


634  METROPOLITAN  REPORT  FOR  1893  [1895 

way,  extending  the  whole  length  of  the  reservation,  have  been 
prepared  and  handed  to  the  engineering  department,  where 
they  have  served  as  guides  in  the  prepai'ation  of  working- 
plans  and  profiles.  Several  conferences  have  been  had  with 
the  engineer  of  the  Middlesex  County  Commissioners  respect- 
ing a  widening  of  Bacon  Street,  Winchester,  intended  to  ac- 
commodate the  pleasure  driving  which  must  use  that  street  to 
cross  the  Lowell  Railroad  and  the  Abbajona  River.  Other 
conferences  have  been  held  with  representatives  of  the  Brooks 
estates,  concerning  the  connection  of  proposed  new  streets 
with  the  public  pleasure-drive.  It  seems  desirable  that  this 
precedent  should  be  followed  hereafter  in  all  cases,  and  no 
street  be  permitted  to  obtain  entrance  to  the  boundary  roads 
of  the  reservations  unless  the  plans  thereof  are  first  approved 
as  to  both  lines  and  grades. 

When  the  legislature  commanded  the  creation  of  a  Charles 
River  Reservation,  it  became  our  duty  to  review  once  more 
the  peculiar  conditions  presented  by  this  central  stream  of 
the  metropolitan  district,  as  well  as  to  point  out  those  parts 
of  the  river-bank  which  might  be  deemed  to  be  of  first  im- 
portance to  the  public.  The  Park  Commission  of  Cambridge 
was  found  to  be  already  in  possession  of  the  north  bank  of 
the  river  from  West  Boston  bridge  to  the  Cambridge  Hos- 
pital. The  Park  Commission  of  Boston  we  knew  to  be  still 
intending  to  ultimately  control  an  embankment  from  West 
Boston  bridge  to  Cottage  Farm.  Immediately  above  Cottage 
Farm  the  south  bank  was  found  to  be  owned  by  the  Boston 
and  Albany  Railroad  and  the  Brookline  Gas  Light  Company. 
Harvard  University  proved  to  be  the  owner  of  a  long  stretch 
just  above  North  Harvard  Street,  while  above  Western 
Avenue  the  Abattoir  possessed  the  bank.  On  the  north  side, 
the  Cambridge  Hospital,  the  Cambridge  Cemetery,  and  the 
United  States  Arsenal  were  similarly  found  to  own  consider- 
able river  frontages.  Accordingly  plans  were  prepared  for 
acquiring  all  frontages  lying  between  the  above-named  tracts, 
as  well  as  between  the  Abattoir  and  Maple  Street,  Newton, 
and  between  the  Arsenal  and  the  public  landing  in  "Water- 
town  ;  and  in  submitting  these  plans  to  the  Commission  it 
was  recommended  that  the  designated  tracts  be  acquired  in 


CO     o 

<    a 


o   2. 

H    be 

-i!    .S 


^T.  36]  CHARLES   RIVER  RESERVATION  535 

sequence,  beginning  with  the  tract  next  above  the  Brookline 
gas  works,  and  continuing  upstream,  along  both  banks,  as  far 
as  the  appropriation  might  allow. 

The  inland  boundary  of  the  lands  which  have  since  been 
"  taken  "  is  generally  intended,  as  in  the  other  reservations, 
to  ultimately  become  the  sidewalk  line  of  a  boundary  street. 
Of  the  varying  space  between  the  north  and  south  boundary 
roads,  about  half  is  salt  water  and  flats,  and  the  other  half 
salt  marsh ;  the  former  being  easily  convertible  into  fresh 
water  of  a  permanent  level,  and  the  latter  into  fresh  green 
meadow,  by  the  building  of  a  dam  which  shall  exclude  the 
tides.  That  it  is  clearly  desirable  to  shut  out  the  high  tides 
is  shown  by  the  two  contrasting  pictures  printed  herewith. 
That  it  is  even  more  advisable  to  hold  the  river  water  at  a 
fairly  constant  elevation  is  shown  by  the  second  pair  of  pic- 
tures. The  marshy  plains  can  be  saved  from  flooding,  the 
marshy  river-banks  can  be  made  usable  and  beautiful,  the 
water  area  can  be  made  navigable  for  boats  and  safe  for 
skating,  while  its  sui'face  can  be  kept  at  or  near  one  level, 
by  the  building  of  a  dam,  as  was  recommended  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court  by  the  State  Board  of  Health  and  the  Metro- 
politan Park  Commission  in  1894. 

The  Bay  and  Seashore  Reservations. 

The  public  seashore  already  acquired  through  the  agency 
of  the  Commission  consists  of  the  so-called  Revere  Beach. 

For  the  "  taking "  of  King's  Beach,  Swampscott,  we  were 
asked  to  suggest  boundaries ;  but  we  understand  that  this 
reservation  is  hereafter  to  be  controlled  and  managed  by  the 
local  Park  Commission  of  the  town  of  Swampscott.^ 

The  problem  of  the  inland  boundary  line  of  Revere  Beach 
Reservation  required  much  study  and  many  preliminary  trials 
before  it  was  satisfactorily  solved.  The  natural  curve  of  the 
beach  is  very  fine,  and  it  was  our  desire  that  the  row  of  build- 
ings which  must  eventually  face  the  public  beach  throughout 
its  whole  length  should  be  compelled  to  conform  with  exact- 
ness to  this  long  and  grand  sweep.  It  was  found,  however, 
that  the  private  lot  lines  on  the  beach  conformed,  for  the 
1  Later  assumed  by  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission. 


536  METROPOLITAN  REPORT  FOR  1895  [1895 

most  part,  to  the  lines  of  the  "  location  "  of  the  Revere  Beach 
Railroad ;  and  that  these  lines,  instead  of  paralleling  the  nat- 
ural lines  of  the  beach,  proceeded  eastward  by  a  succession 
of  alternating  straight  lines  and  curves.  It  was  not  advisable 
to  leave  any  sliver  of  the  railroad  location,  or  of  any  public 
or  semi-public  streets  or  passageways,  outside  or  west  of  the 
reservation ;  neither  was  it  advisable  to  place  the  boundary 
line  so  near  the  water  that  the  cost  of  future  woi-ks  of  con- 
struction would  be  greater  than  the  present  cost  of  more  land. 
On  the  other  hand,  to  push  the  boundary  line  far  into  the 
private  lands  west  of  the  railroad  seemed  likely  to  prove 
expensive.  The  boundary  finally  fixed  upon  is,  therefore,  a 
compromise  line,  which  we  believe  will  preserve  the  desirable 
natural  curve,  while  saving  future  outlays  for  construction, 
so  far  as  is  possible  without  involving  too  great  immediate 
expense.  For  the  slivers  here  and  there  taken  from  private 
lands  west  of  the  railroad  ample  compensation  is  offered  by 
the  total  removal  of  the  railroad  and  of  all  the  view-blockad- 
ing buildings  between  the  railroad  and  the  sea. 

The  circle  at  the  southern  end  of  the  beach  is  intended  to 
form  the  common  terminus  of  the  present  highways  which 
lead  from  Winthrop  and  from  East  Boston,  and  of  the  pro- 
spective highway  which,  it  must  be  hoped,  may  some  day 
bring  thousands  to  the  beach  from  the  direction  of  Chelsea, 
Everett,  Somerville,  and  Maiden.  The  shore  of  Saugns  River 
is  included  in  the  reservation  up  to  the  point  which  a  bridge 
from  Lynn  may  be  expected  to  reach  before  many  y^ars.  No 
detailed  plan  for  the  development  of  the  reservation  has  as 
yet  been  prepared,  but  undoubtedly  it  may  be  expected  to 
include  an  ample  sidewalk  adjacent  to  the  abutting  private 
land  and  a  suitably  wide  accompanying  driveway. 

In  addition  to  the  Revere  Beach  studies,  plans  have  been 
prepared  for  a  possible  extension  of  the  seashore  reservation 
along  the  coast  of  Revere  and  Winthrop  to  Great  Head, 
where  a  view  of  Boston  harbor,  as  well  as  of  the  ocean,  is 
obtained.  These  plans,  however,  were  ordered  by  the  Com- 
mission in  response  to  the  request  of  the  local  Winthrop  Park 
Commission,  and  solely  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  two 
boards  to  jointly  consider  the  advisability  and  the  probable 
expense  of  the  proposed  extension. 


^T.  36]  A  NEW  MAP  OF  THE   DISTRICT  537 

Metropolitan  Parkways. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  a  so-called  "boulevard  act," 
passed  by  the  General  Court  of  1893-94,  placed  burdens 
upon  the  Commission  which  were  entirely  beyond  and  out- 
side of  all  suggestions  as  to  public  reservations  offered  by 
the  inquiring  Commission  of  1892-93.  Realizing  the  gravity 
of  the  problems  likely  to  arise  if  such  enabling  legislation 
should  be  duplicated,  we  suggested  to  the  Commission  the 
desirability  of  procuring  a  map  of  the  metropolitan  district, 
such  as  would  enable  the  Commission  to  study  the  coming 
questions  intelligently.  A  new  map  was  ordered ;  and,  after 
the  lines  of  latitude  and  longitude  had  been  plotted,  the 
corners  of  the  township  boundary  lines,  as  recently  ascer- 
tained by  the  Massachusetts  town  boundary  survey,  were 
placed  on  the  drawing,  where  they  served  as  the  framework 
into  which  all  the  more  detailed  information  concerning  the 
streets,  etc.,  of  each  township  was  afterwards  fitted  as  accu- 
rately as  was  possible.  Much  of  the  obtainable  detailed  in- 
formation is  well  known  to  be  erroneous ;  but  the  skeleton 
being  now  fixed  by  the  work  of  the  State  survey,  the  details 
can  be  corrected  from  time  to  time,  as  better  information  is 
received.  The  sketched  contours  of  the  United  States  geo- 
logical survey  and  the  data  concerning  wooded  areas  gathered 
by  the  same  survey  have  also  been  placed  upon  the  map,  to- 
gether with  some  new  information  as  to  the  courses  of  streams 
specially  obtained  by  sending  men  into  the  field  in  certain 
districts.  Under  an  arrangement  made  by  the  Commission 
with  the  governing  committee  of  the  Appalachian  Mountain 
Club,  this  new  map  is  to  be  published  by  the  club  at  a  greatly 
reduced  scale,  namely,  1-62,500. 

With  respect  to  the  improvement  of  main  avenues  leading 
southward  and  westward  from  Boston,  the  present  year  has 
seen  a  remarkable  advance.  Dorchester  Avenue  is  now  a 
fairly  finished  city  street  all  the  way  to  Neponset  River,  — 
six  miles  from  the  State  House.  Blue  Hill  Avenue  is  in 
process  of  widening  from  Grove  Hall  and  Franklin  Park  to 
Npponset  River  at  Mattapan,  —  six  and  one  half  miles  f i-om 
the  State  House.     Washington  Street  is  fast  building  up  all 


538  METROPOLITAN   REPORT   FOR   1895  [1895 

the  way  to  Forest  Hills.  Columbus  Avenue  is  in  process  of 
extension  to  Franklin  Park.  Huntington  Avenue  is  being 
widened  to  Brookline.  Beacon  Street  has  been  widened  to 
Chestnut  Hill  Reservoir.  Commonwealth  Avenue  has  been 
widened  to  the  Reservoir  and  onward  through  Newton  to 
Charles  River  at  Auburndale,  —  ten  miles  from  the  State 
House.  Moreover,  in  the  widened  Blue  Hill  Avenue,  Hunt- 
ington Avenue,  Beacon  Street,  and  Commonwealth  Avenue 
special  central  reservations  have  been  secured  for  electric 
cars. 

Turning  to  the  region  north  of  Charles  River,  which  so 
nearly  bisects  the  metropolitan  district,  we  find  numerous 
principal  radial  streets,  such  as  Massachusetts  Avenue,  Mys- 
tic Avenue,  Highland  Avenue,  Broadway  (Everett),  and  the 
Lynn  and  Salem  turnpike ;  but  none  of  these  have  yet  been 
widened  or  arranged  with  separate  tracks  for  electrics.  The 
northern  suburbs  are  apparently  hampered  in  their  develop- 
ment by  their  complex  subdivision  into  separate  townships, 
as  well  as  by  the  natural  obstacles  to  convenient  access  pre- 
sented by  the  Mystic  River,  its  branching  creeks,  and  the 
accompanying  salt  marshes. 

However  this  may  be,  it  presently  became  clear  that,  in 
taking  up  the  work  of  opening  "  parkways  "  under  the  spe- 
cial command  of  the  legislature,  no  regard  could  be  paid  by 
the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  to  the  relative  lack  or 
abundance  of  existing  avenues  on  one  side  or  the  other  of 
the  central  city,  but  that  the  available  appropriation  could 
most  suitably  be  devoted  to  the  acquirement  and  construction 
of  such  car  and  carriage  highways  as  might  best  connect 
the  centre  of  population  of  the  metropolitan  district  with  the 
newly  opened  public  forests  at  the  Middlesex  Fells  and  the 
Blue  Hills.  General  plans  for  the  Fells  and  Blue  Hills 
Parkways,  devised  in  accordance  with  this  theory,  are  sub- 
mitted herewith. 

The  general  course  of  the  proposed  Middlesex  Fells  Park- 
way was  described  in  our  last  annual  report.      [See  p.  510.] 

Early  in  the  present  year  the  Commission  obtained  posses- 
sion of  the  land  required  for  the  realization  of  those  parts  of 
the  general  design  which  lie  between  the  Fells  Reservation 


^T.  36]     THE   FELLS  AND   BLUE   HILLS   PARKWAY  539 

and  the  east  and  west  highway  which  in  Maiden  is  called 
Pleasant  Street  and  in  Medford  Salem  Street.  These  wera 
the  first  "  takings  "  of  land  made  in  this  neighborhood  for 
highways  to  be  built  and  governed  by  metropolitan  as  distin- 
guished from  local  authority,  and  the  details  of  the  plans  and 
taking  lines  were  studied  with  great  care.  Before  the  lines 
were  finally  determined,  many  topographical  surveys  had 
been  made  by  the  engineer,  and  many  alternative  courses 
had  been  sketched  by  us.  For  these  two  branches  of  the  pro- 
posed parkway  grading-plans  have  also  been  prepared  and 
handed  to  the  engineer,  who  in  turn  has  drawn  working-plans 
and  specifications  for  the  guidance  of  the  work  of  construc- 
tion which  is  in  progress  at  this  writing.  Each  branch  of 
the  parkway  possesses  two  roadways,  one  of  which  is  thirty- 
six  and  the  other  twenty-six  feet  wide.  Between  the  road- 
ways is  a  grassed  space  for  the  exclusive  use  of  electric  cars, 
and  outside  of  the  roadways  are  the  necessary  sidewalks. 
The  total  normal  width  is  only  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet, 
but  it  is  understood  that  all  buildings  fronting  on  the  park- 
way will  be  set  back  at  least  twenty  feet,  so  that  the  total 
width  between  buildings  will  be  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet. 

Where  the  western  arm  of  the  parkw^ay  diverges  from 
Forest  Street,  Medford,  the  broader  of  the  two  roadways  con- 
tinues, towards  the  city,  the  Winchester-Medford  boundary 
road  of  the  Fells  Reservation.  As  far  as  Valley  Street,  Med- 
ford, the  parkway  possesses  an  abnormal  widtli  for  the  sake 
of  including  between  the  two  roads  the  course  of  a  brook,  as 
well  as  space  for  electric  cars.  Near  Valley  Street  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  improvements  now  making  by  the  city  of  Med- 
ford along  Gravelly  Creek  may  be  extended  to  connect  with 
the  parkway.  Thence  to  Salem  Street  the  new  parkway  is 
an  improved  substitute  for  Valley  Street,  the  course  of  which 
it  closely  follows. 

The  eastern  arm  of  the  parkway,  now  under  construction, 
leaves  the  reservation  at  the  foot  of  Bear's  Den  Hill,  the 
broader  road  being  the  easternmost.  As  far  as  Highland 
Avenue,  Maiden,  its  course  is  through  rough  lands,  not  yet 
subdivided  by  streets.  Between  the  avenue  and  the  Maiden 
park,  called  Fellsmere,  the  parkway  is  obtained  by  widening 


640  METROPOLITAN   REPORT  FOR   1895  [1895 

Auburn  Street  on  its  eastern  side,  where  several  houses  have 
been  necessarily  disturbed.  Along  the  eastern  side  of  Fells- 
mere  the  broader  road  of  the  parkway  makes  the  boundary 
road  of  the  park,  while  it  is  hoped  that  the  Maiden  Park 
Commission  may  eventually  carry  the  narrower  roadway 
around  the  western  side  of  the  Mere  to  a  connection  with 
Murray  Street,  which  becomes  a  part  of  the  parkway  between 
Fellsmere  and  Pleasant  Street.  From  this  last  mentioned 
section  three  houses  had  to  be  removed.  Deep  cutting  was 
also  required  here,  in  order  to  obtain  a  practicable  grade. 

South  of  Salem  and  Pleasant  streets,  where  no  land  has 
been  acquired  and  no  construction  begun,  the  general  plan 
calls  for  a  union  of  the  two  branches  of  the  parkway  in  a 
circle,  and  its  continuation  thence  to  Mystic  River  by  a  line 
which  curves  in  order  to  avoid  a  factory,  in  order  to  cross  the 
Medford  Branch  Eailway  at  right  angles,  and  in  order  to 
skirt  closely  along  the  edge  of  the  fine  building  land  which 
lies  just  west  of  the  modern  suburb  of  Wellington.  For  effec- 
tiveness, a  straight  avenue  across  such  level  land  is  pi'efera- 
ble ;  but  a  straight  line  would  in  this  case  secure  none  of  the 
economies  and  advantages  just  mentioned.  South  of  Wel- 
lington the  proposed  parkway  is  planned  to  join  the  exist- 
ing Highland  Avenue,  from  which  avenue  it  parts  again  at 
the  southern  end  of  the  bridge  over  Mystic  River,  in  order 
to  strike  a  straight  course  for  Broadway  Park,  the  widened 
boundary  roads  of  which  will  carry  pleasure  driving  com- 
fortably to  Broadway.  From  Wellington  to  Broadway  the 
two  parallel  roads  should  be  of  even  and  ample  width,  in 
order  to  accommodate  heavy  traffic  as  well  as  pleasure  driv- 
ing. Here,  as  elsewhere,  it  is  expected  that  traffic  will  be 
excluded  from  one  of  the  roadways  of  the  parkway. 

Concerning  the  general  course  of  the  corresponding  Blue 
Hills  Parkway,  we  wrote  a  year  ago.  [See  p.  510.]  Since 
that  date.  Blue  Hill  Reservation  has  been  extended  from 
Crossman's  Pines  to  Harland  Street,  Milton,  in  the  form  of 
a  narrow  strip,  the  western  edge  of  which  is  the  foot  of  a 
range  of  hills,  while  the  eastern  edge  is  a  straight  line  drawn 
arbitrarily  through  the  midst  of  a  swamp.  A  boundary  road 
giving  access  to  adjacent  building  lands  will  eventually  be 


^T.  36]    EXTENT  OF   THE   OPEN   SPACES   ACQUIRED      541 

called  for  on  the  western  edge  of  this  strip,  and  the  possible 
electric  car  tracks  may  then  find  place  alongside.  For  the 
accommodation  of  pleasnre  driving  to  and  fi'ora  the  reserva- 
tion, and  particularly  from  Hoosic-Whisick  by  way  of  Ponk- 
apog  Pass,  the  general  plan  suggests  an  entirely  separate 
roadway  leading  from  Grossman's  Pines  to  Canton  Avenue 
opposite  Mattapan  Street,  by  way  of  the  centre  of  the  strip 
just  mentioned  and  the  bottom  of  the  charming  valley  of 
Pine  Tree  Brook.  In  order  to  obtain  this  desirable  separate 
pleasure  driveway,  to  preserve  the  scenery  commanded  by  it, 
and  at  the  same  time  accommodate  ordinary  traffic,  it  is  sug- 
gested that  Harland  Street  be  discontinued  so  far  as  it  now 
lies  within  the  valley,  and  that  two  boundary  roads,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  valley,  be  substituted  for  it.  These  roads 
will  include  between  them  the  best  of  the  local  scenery.  They 
will  also  develop  adjacent  building  land,  while  supplying  the 
desired  route  for  traffic. 

At  Canton  Avenue  it  seems  necessary  that  the  separate 
pleasure  drive  should  end  ;  but  a  parkway  like  the  Fells  Park- 
way, one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  wide,  is  planned  to  follow 
the  course  of  Mattapan  Street  all  the  way  to  the  Neponset 
River  at  Mattapan,  where  the  Blue  Hill  Avenue  of  Boston 
will  be  joined.  Again,  we  should  prefer  a  straight  line  for 
this  section  of  the  parkway,  but  economy  seems  to  command 
the  crook  which  the  plan  shows  near  Mattapan.  The  present 
Mattapan  Street  is  not  quite,  though  nearly,  straight,  and  the 
contemplated  widening  consequently  cuts  peculiar  slices  from 
many  estates.  It  also  involves  the  moving  of  several  houses. 
By  careful  adjustment  of  the  lines,  the  large  trees  near  Mat- 
tapan can,  however,  be  preserved,  either  in  the  central  or  the 
sidewalk  planting-strips.  A  new  and  more  capacious  bridge 
over  Neponset  River  will  naturally  be  needed  whenever  the 
parkway  is  built.  Thus  far,  no  land  having  been  acquired, 
construction  has  not  begun  ;  but  the  general  plan  having 
been  approved  by  the  Commission,  it  is  herewith  submitted 
for  publication. 

In  conclusion,  we  may  perhaps  point  out  that  the  various 
public  open  spaces  now  or  soon  to  be  controlled  by  the  Me- 


542  REPORT  TO   THE   BOSTON  COMMISSION  [1895 

tropolitan  Park  Commission  include  more  numerous  large 
public  pleasure  grounds  than  are  governed  by  any  other 
public  authority  in  northern  America,  excepting  the  govern- 
ments of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Blue  Hills  Reser- 
vation is  five  miles  long  ;  Middlesex  Fells  Eeservation,  two 
miles  square ;  Stony  Brook  Reservation,  two  miles  long ; 
Charles  River  Reservation  (including  semi-public  river- 
banks),  five  miles  long ;  Mystic  Valley  Parkway,  two  miles 
long ;  the  Fells  and  Blue  Hills  Parkways  each  three  miles 
long,  and  Revere  Beach  Reservation  three  miles  long.  The 
legislation  of  1893,  by  which  the  cities  and  towns  surround- 
ing Boston  were  enabled  to  cooperate  with  Boston  in  obtain- 
ing suitable  public  open  spaces,  has  certainly  proved  effective. 

November  30,  1895. 

A  fev/  weeks  after  the  foregoing  report  was  sent  in,  Charles 
had  occasion  to  deal,  in  the  annual  report  of  the  firm  to  the 
Boston  Park  Commissioners,  with  the  evil  of  huge  hoardings 
set  up  beside  highways,  parkways,  and  railroads. 

Upon  private  lands  adjacent  to  several  of  the  boundary 
roads  and  parkways,  huge  advertising  boards  or  "  hoardings  " 
have  been  set  up  during  the  past  year,  to  the  disgust  of  all 
sensible  persons.  Throughout  the  State,  similar  advertising 
has  greatly  increased  of  late,  "  hoardings  "  being  placed  on 
private  lands  within  view  of  all  the  principal  railroads  and 
highways.  It  seems  that  the  Public  Statutes  permit  the 
painting  or  posting  of  advertisements  on  natui-al  or  artificial 
objects,  wherever  the  consent  of  the  owner  can  be  obtained  by 
the  advertiser.  Moreover,  the  penalty  attached  to  such  paint- 
ing or  posting  without  consent  is  very  small,  while  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  catching  offending  persons  are  great.  It 
is  obvious  that  the  conditions  are  favorable  for  a  rapid  in- 
crease of  the  advertising  plague  throughout  the  country,  until 
the  vacant  lands  adjacent  to  every  much-frequented  spot  shall 
all  be  adorned  by  reminders  of  soaps,  pills,  and  tonics. 

That  such  advertising  is  in  many  places  damaging  to  public 
interests,  and  even  to  private  propertj'^,  cannot  be  doubted.  It 
should  be  allowed  only  as  the  keeping  of  dogs,  the  building 
of  stables,  the  opening  of  drinking-saloons,  and  the  giving  of 


^T.  36]  HUMANIZED   LANDSCAPE  543 

public  entertainments  are  allowed  in  civilized  communities; 
namely,  upon  permit  granted  by  police  commissioners  or 
selectmen.  Public  opinion  undoubtedly  condemns  such  adver- 
tising along  the  Boston  parkways,  and  it  is  lamentable  that 
the  statutes  are  so  far  behind  the  times  as  to  prevent  the 
execution  of  the  public  will  in  this  matter. 

In  the  same  report  he  replied  with  patient  moderation  to 
ill-considered  criticisms  on  the  Boston  parks  which  about  that 
time  appeared  frequently  in  Boston  newspapers.  INIost  of  the 
critics  complained  that  "  nature  "  was  too  much  interfered 
with  in  the  parks  which  Mr.  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  had 
designed  for  the  city  during  the  twenty  years  preceding;  and 
their  notion  of  "  nature  "  seemed  to  be  the  desirable  surround- 
ings of  a  family  country-seat,  or  the  aspect  of  a  lonely  New 
England  farm  with  its  brook,  lanes,  fields,  and  wood-paths. 

The  Boston  parks,  after  nearly  twenty  years  of  effort,  have 
only  lately  reached  that  stage  of  development  whicli  enables 
the  general  public  to  begin  to  understand  what  parks  really 
are,  and  what  the  designing  of  them  means.  Crowded  popu- 
lations need  space  for  exercise,  for  air,  and  for  obtaining  the 
refreshing  sense  of  openness,  and  the  sight  of  sky,  distance, 
and  landscape,  of  which  they  are  so  completely  deprived  in 
the  streets.  The  Adirondacks,  the  White  Mountains,  and 
the  Maine  woods  supply  for  many  persons  who  can  afford  to 
travel  to  them  the  needed  antidote  to  city  life.  The  nearer, 
more  thoroughly  humanized,  and  yet  unsophisticated  landscape 
of  rural  townships  affords  annual  refreshment  to  thousands 
of  others.  For  the  recreation  of  those  who  nmst  remain  in 
town,  why  is  it  not  possible  to  purchase  an  attractive  and 
acceptable  rural  area,  comprising  woods,  fields,  streams,  and 
ponds,  and  preserve  it  forever  in  that  charming  condition 
which  is  the  product  of  the  natural  partnership  of  man  and 
nature?  No  gravel  paths  are  half  so  charming  as  the  turfed 
wood-roads  of  New  England  farms,  no  shrubbery  so  pleasing 
as  those  which  nature  rears  along  the  farmer's  walls,  no  pools 
so  lovely  as  those  which,  fringed  with  natural  growths,  fill 
and  drain  away  according  to  the  season  and  the  supply  of  rain. 

Possibly  it  is  a  pity  that  such  preservation  of  rural  condi- 
tions in  public  parks  is  impossible,  but  that  it  is  impossible  is 


544  REPORT  TO  THE  BOSTON  COMMISSION         [1896 

certain.  The  woodland  and  the  farming  land,  the  embowered 
pond,  the  river-banks,  which  possessed  such  fresh  beauty  and 
such  virgin  charm  so  long  as  they  were  frequented  merely 
by  the  farmer  and  his  boys,  occasional  sportsmen,  or  the 
owners  of  the  country-seat,  will  inevitably  be  despoiled  of 
much  of  their  attractiveness  when  they  are  invaded  by  thou- 
sands of  persons  every  week  or  afternoon.  The  undergrowth 
of  the  woods  is  soon  broken  and  trampled,  the  beautiful 
fringe  of  the  little  pool  is  reduced  to  mire,  the  old  trail  along 
the  river-bank  is  soon  worn  so  wide  and  deep  that  the  roots 
are  exposed  and  the  trees  slowly  killed.  But  because  it  is 
thus  impossible  to  preserve  the  charms  belonging  to  the  quiet 
country-side,  is  it  necessary  to  abandon  the  attempt  to  secure 
for  city  people  some  measure,  at  least,  of  that  refreshment 
which  they  so  sorely  need  ?  The  Boston  parks,  incomplete  as 
they  still  are,  already  answer  this  question  in  the  negative. 
Formed  slowly,  in  accordance  with  well-studied  plans,  it  is 
now  evident  that  Charlesbank  and  Charlestown  Heights,  the 
Fens  and  the  Parkway,  Leverett,  Jamaica,  and  Franklin 
Parks  supply,  each  in  its  own  way,  kinds  and  means  of  recre- 
ation both  helpful  and  valuable.  Fresh  air  and  exercise  in 
pleasant  surroundings  are  obtained  at  the  two  first-named 
places.  The  Fens  and  Parkway  will  furnish  miles  of  agree- 
able roads  which,  with  all  the  adjacent  houses  of  the  future, 
will  command  views  of  stream-side  scenery  very  unusual  in 
the  midst  of  a  city.  Lastly,  in  Franklin  Park  there  is  found 
a  leafy  screen  which  hides  the  town,  a  breadth  of  view,  an 
openness,  a  peculiar  kind  of  scenery,  which,  in  spite  of  neces- 
sarily broad  roads  and  gravel  walks  is  refreshing,  interest- 
ing, and  beautiful  in  a  high  degree.  Such  park  scenery  bears 
little  resemblance  to  either  the  ideal  landscape  of  painters, 
or  the  so-called  natural  landscape  of  farms,  orchards,  and 
wood-lots.  No  designer  of  parks  has  ever  pretended  to  imi- 
tate these  kinds  of  landscape ;  and  no  sensible  person  will 
criticise  a  park  for  their  absence  or  presence.  It  is  the  call- 
ing and  duty  of  the  conscientious  landscape  architect  to  devise 
ways  of  arranging  land  and  its  accompanying  landscape  so 
that,  whatever  the  particular  purpose  in  view  may  be,  the 
result  shall  be  as  thoroughly  convenient,  and  at  the  pame  time 


^T.  36]  A   PARK   NOT  A  COUNTRY-SEAT  OR  A  FARM    545 

as  thoroughly  beautiful,  as  possible.  This  is  the  problem 
which  presents  itself  in  countless  forms  —  in  the  smallest 
suburban  lot  and  the  finest  country-seat,  the  new  seaside 
pleasure  resort  and  the  new  factory  town,  the  public  school- 
boys' playground  and  the  ornate  city  square.  The  country 
park  of  a  great  city  presents  this  universal  problem  in  one 
of  its  most  difficult  phases.  Such  a  park  is  a  tract  of  land 
dedicated  to  a  particular  purpose,  namely,  the  refreshment 
of  the  bodies  and  souls  of  great  numbers  of  people.  In 
arranging  land  and  landscape  with  this  purpose  in  view,  it  is 
undoubtedly  desirable  to  follow  as  far  as  possible  the  dictates 
of  poetic  and  artistic  feeling  for  breadth  of  composition  and 
picturesqueness  of  detail.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  law  of 
nature  which  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  satisfying  beauty 
springs  from  fitness,  or  adaptation  to  purpose,  much  more 
surely  and  directly  than  from  added  ornament,  or  the  most 
careful  imitation.  At  all  events,  it  is  in  this  faith  that  the 
undersigned  have  worked  for  years  upon  the  plans  and  de- 
signs of  the  Boston  parks,  with  what  measure  of  success  only 
time  can  determine. 
January  27, 1896. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

WHAT  WOULD  BE  FAIR  MUST  FIRST  BE  FIT 

Wilt  thou  not  ope  thy  heart  to  know 
What  rainbows  teach  and  sunsets  show  ? 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 

The  two  book  reviews  and  two  newspaper  articles  which 
are  united  in  this  chapter  all  teach  the  same  doctrine,  namely, 
—  that  the  landscape  of  civilization  is  an  artificial  landscape, 
which  may  be  either  beautiful  or  ugly,  and  that  the  root  of 
landscape  beauty  is  adaptation  to  the  delight  and  service  of 
men. 

Art  Out  of  Doors.     By  Mrs.  Schuyler  Van  Rensselaer. 

Before  attempting  to  note  the  conspicuous  merits  and  de- 
ficiencies of  this  charmingly  made  book,  it  may  be  well  to 
sketch  the  outlines  of  that  exceedingly  broad  field  of  human 
labor  in  which  Mrs.  Van  Rensselaer  would  have  us  work 
"  artistically."  Ever  since  man  became  man  he  has  been 
remodelling  the  face  of  the  earth.  His  blind  trails  through 
the  forests  have  become  highways  and  railroads.  His  wig- 
wams and  pueblos  are  now  farmsteads  and  great  cities.  The 
prairies  are  become  his  grain-fields  and  the  forests  his  lumber 
yards.  Purely  natural  scenery  is  already  a  distant  rarity, 
what  is  called  such  being  generally  the  distinctly  humanized 
landscape  of  coppice,  pasture,  and  farm.  That  all  this  labor 
of  men  is  vandalism  is  the  cry  of  sentimentalists ;  but  men  of 
sense  remain  of  the  opinion  that  the  world  would  be  a  dull 
place  without  its  fields  and  roads,  its  cottages  and  mansions, 
its  villages  and  cities,  its  rails  of  shining  steel,  and  all  its 
otlicr  grand,  lovely,  or  pathetic  evidences  of  man's  toiling  and 
aspiring  life.  The  transformers  of  the  earth  have  seldom 
aimed  to  produce  beauty,  yet  beauty  has  time  and  again 
sprung  up  under  their  hands  —  witness  the  English  church- 
yard, the  Swedish  farmstead,  the  New  England  pasture  or 


^T.  34]         MAN  TRANSFORMS   NATURAL   SCENERY         547 

village.  There  is  no  mystery  about  this.  Human  happiness 
is  not  won  by  giving  one's  thoughts  to  the  direct  jiursuit  of 
it ;  neither  is  beauty  in  the  surroundings  of  life.  Although 
man  is  conscious  and  Nature  is  unconscious,  the  man  who 
hopes  for  beauty  must  work  as  Nature  works,  and  must  trust- 
fully obey  her  laws  of  purpose,  utility,  and  adaptation  to 
circumstance.  Beauty  is  not  to  be  won  as  an  immediate  aim. 
It  is  a  result,  a  development,  a  flower. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  general  account  of  either  the 
breadth  or  the  depth  of  the  subject  described  by  its  title  is  to 
be  found  in  the  book  before  us.  Its  various  chapters  deal 
lightly  and  pleasantly  with  such  special  problems  as  the  group- 
ings of  trees  and  shrubs,  the  attachment  of  houses  to  their 
sites,  roads  and  paths,  formal  gardens,  piazzas,  and  so  on  ;  the 
plea  of  the  book  being  that  all  such  problems  should  be  solved 
in  an  "artistic  spirit."  The  advice  offered  is  well  j^ut,  and 
the  book  should  have  a  multitude  of  readers.  Our  only  fear 
is  lest  the  author  has  inadequately  warned  these  readers  of 
the  main  facts,  that  good  "  art  out  of  doors  "  must  be  founded 
in  rationality,  purpose,  fitness ;  and  that  its  field  is  not  only 
the  garden,  the  shrubbery,  and  the  park,  but  also  the  village, 
the  factory,  and  the  railroad  yard.  According  to  this  book, 
landscape  architecture  is  much  like  house-furnishing:  a  select- 
ing of  agreeably  harmonizing  elements  in  the  shape  of  build- 
ings, rocks,  trees,  climbing-plants,  and  so  on.  The  essentially 
virile  and  practical  nature  of  the  art  and  profession  is  ignored, 
together  with  most  of  its  greater  and  more  democratic  pro- 
blems. But  when  this  has  been  said  and  allowance  made, 
the  book  remains  the  best  book  in  its  field  that  we  have  had 
in  many  a  day.  Its  style  is  exceedingly  good,  and  its  tone 
puts  it  above  comparison  with  the  books  of  the  horticulturists 
•which  are  its  only  contemporary  rivals  for  the  public  ear. 

Italian  Gardens.    By  C.  A.  Piatt. 

The  scenery  of  the  earth  was  made  for  man,  not  man  for 
scenery.  Civilized  man  enjoys  natural  scenery  as  the  savage 
cannot,  and  he  permanently  preserves  what  he  may  of  it  in 
parks  and  public  forests.  Elsewhere  he  is  necessarily  a 
transformer  and  destroyer  of  nature.    The  landscape  of  civil- 


548   WHAT  WOULD  BE  FAIR  MUST  FIRST  BE  FIT    [1894 

izatlon  is  an  artificial  landscape,  and  as  such  it  may  be  either 
beautiful  or  ugly  —  beautiful  wlien  it  is  the  blossom  of  use, 
convenience,  or  necessity ;  ugly  when  it  is  the  fruit  of  pomp- 
ous pride  or  common  carelessness.  The  gardens  of  the  Re- 
naissance in  Italy,  France,  and  England  have  been  thought- 
lessly ridiculed  in  modern  days  because  of  their  unlikeness 
to  wild  nature.  As  well  revile  a  palace  for  its  unlikeness  to 
a  wigwam.  The  vast  extent  and  the  tiresome  repetitions  of 
some  of  the  gardens  in  question  may  convict  them  of  the  sin 
of  vainglorious  display ;  but  if  they  fitly  served  any  human 
need  or  pleasure,  their  unnaturalness  was  no  sin.  Likeness 
or  unlikeness  to  wild  nature  is  no  criterion  of  merit.  Farm- 
steads, country  roads,  villages,  city  streets,  and  world's  fairs 
are  all  more  or  less  removed  from  nature  and  naturalness,  yet 
even  the  last-named  may  be  beautiful,  as  we  have  lately  seen. 
Fitness  for  purpose  is  the  safe  foundation  of  the  art  of  ar- 
ranging land  and  landscape  for  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  men. 

That  the  gardens  of  the  classic  world  and  the  Italian 
Renaissance  fitly  served  a  worthy  purpose,  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  In  the  Italian  climate,  halls  and  drawing-rooms  out 
of  doors  were  even  more  to  be  desired  than  parlors  indoors. 
Groves,  parterres,  terraces,  and  approaches  were  designed 
conjointly  with  the  house  or  palace  to  form  one  composition 
—  the  so-called  "  villa."  The  boundary  of  the  villa  was  a 
sharp  line  separating  it  from  the  hills  of  Tivoli  or  the  plains 
of  the  Campagna.  Inside,  the  boundary  was  the  formality 
which  befits  stately  living ;  outside,  yet  in  view  from  the  ter- 
races, was  the  informality  and  picturesqueness  of  the  natural 
world. 

Rightly  thinking  that  these  villas  of  Italy  may  teach  les- 
sons of  value  to  the  America  of  to-day,  Mr.  Piatt  has  pub- 
lished in  the  book  before  us  forty  full-page  pictures  of  their 
buildings,  pavilions,  terraces,  water-basins,  and  gardens,  with 
many  smaller  drawings  and  photographs  of  architectural  de- 
tails. He  has  made  an  uncommonly  charming  yet  truthful 
picture-book.  We  are  compelled  to  wish  he  had  done  more. 
The  text  of  the  book  is  very  handsomely  printed  with  wide 
margins,  but  it  consists  of  the  briefest  of  notes.  Even  if  it 
be  "  taken  purely  as  supplementary  to  the  illustrations,"  as 


JET.  34]  THE   UNITY  OF  THE   ITALIAN  VILLA  549 

we  are  asked  to  take  it,  it  is  very  unsatisfying.  For  the 
fairly-to-be-expected  elucidation  of  the  plates,  plans  (as  well 
as  fuller  notes)  are  sadly  needed,  yet  only  one  is  provided. 
On  the  first  page  mention  is  made  of  the  great  book  of  Per- 
cier  and  Fontaine,  and  it  is  stated  that  there  exists  no  other 
work  "  of  any  gTeat  latitude  "  treating  of  Italian  gardens. 
Evidently  our  author  is  not  acquainted  with  W.  P.  Tucker- 
mann's  "  Die  Gartenkunst  der  Italienischen  llenaissance- 
Zeit,"  published  in  Berlin  in  1884,  and  containing,  besides 
twenty-one  plates  and  numerous  other  cuts,  some  twenty 
ground  plans  and  ci-oss-sections  of  Renaissance  villas. 

In  the  grassless  regions  of  our  South  and  Southwest,  in 
the  necessarily  rectilinear  public  squares  of  our  cities,  in  con- 
nection with  stately  buildings  in  all  parts  of  our  country,  be 
they  public  offices  in  Washington  or  hotels  by  Lake  George, 
the  formal  lines  of  tlie  Italian  villa  will  always  be  accepta- 
ble because  they  will  always  be  fitting.  Our  public  has  still 
to  learn  that  only  by  designing  buildings  and  their  surround- 
ings as  one  harmonious  composition  can  a  happy  result  be 
secured  in  either  the  formal  or  the  picturesque  style.  The 
recent  World's  Fair  taught  this  lesson  very  clearly.  Mr. 
Piatt's  delightful  pictures  teach  it  also.  If  those  whom 
these  pictures  interest  will  turn  from  them  to  the  works  of 
Tuckermann,  Repton,  and  the  other  professional  writers  on 
landscape  architecture,  and  then  will  practice  what  they  learn 
therefrom,  Mr.  Piatt  will  have  accomplished  a  good  work 
for  America. 
January  8,  '94. 

WHAT   WOULD    BE    FAIR    MUST   FIRST    BE    FIT. 

A  constantly  increasing  number  of  Americans  are  desirous 
of  securing  some  measure  of  beauty  in  the  surroundings  of 
their  e very-day  lives.  These  people  are  not  content  with 
things  as  they  are.  They  want  more  and  more  of  pleasant- 
ness in  and  around  their  own  houses  and  about  their  village, 
town,  or  city  as  well. 

To  these  earnest  and  inquiring  people  come  a  numerous 
company  of  writers  and  would-be  missionaries,  who,  however, 
preach  strangely  differing  gospels.     First  to  appear  are  the 


550    WHAT  WOULD   BE  FAIR  MUST  FIRST   BE   FIT    [1896 

gentlemanly  agents  of  the  commercial  nurserymen.  These 
bring  many  books  of  pictures  of  more  or  less  lovely  and  rare 
plants,  shrubs,  and  trees,  and  say,  "  Look,  you  can  make  your 
surroundings  beautiful  if  you  will  plant  some  of  these  inter- 
esting and  lovely  things.  You  ought  to  screen  that  ugly 
fence  with  Roses,  scatter  '  specimen  ornamentals '  about  your 
grounds,  and  put  a  bed  of  Cannas  before  your  door."  Next 
come  the  more  pretentious  landscape  gardeners,  who  pre- 
scribe curves  for  paths  and  other  approaches  as  being  more 
"  natural "  than  straight  lines,  and  then  propose  plantations 
to  fit  or  account  for  the  curves.  These  gentry  talk  much 
about  Nature,  and  affect  to  consider  formal  treatment  of 
ground  and  planting  a  sort  of  profanation.  They  are  of  many 
schools,  for  some  will  urge  the  planting  of  purjjle  Beeches, 
blue  Spruces,  and  all  manner  of  exotics,  while  others  say, 
"  You  will  do  well  to  use  few  but  wild  native  shrubs.  What 
can  be  lovelier  than  this  wayside  group  of  red  Cedar,  Bay- 
berry,  and  wild  Kose  ?  "  Thirdly  come  the  modern  Amer- 
ican architects,  whose  technical  training  has  been  acquired  at 
the  Parisian  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts.  These  hold  up  their 
hands  in  holy  horror  at  the  landscape  gardeners  of  all  schools, 
and  say  to  the  inquiring  public,  "  Let  us  show  you  how  wrong 
these  men  are !  What  you  really  need  to  make  your  sur- 
roundings beautiful  are  straight  avenues,  terraces  and  balus- 
trades, a  '  rampe  douce '  at  your  door  and  a  sun-dial  in  an 
old-fashioned  garden." 

This  is  no  fanciful  picture  of  the  strange  conflict  of  modern 
doctrine  concerning  beauty  in  the  surroundings  of  daily  life. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  the  inquiring  public  is  bewildered. 
Controversial  papers  and  books  are  continually  appearing. 
Bad  language  is  employed  by  all  parties  ;  but  the  modern 
architects  appear  to  be  decidedly  the  most  skilled  in  its  use. 
Such  adjectives  as  asinine,  silly,  and  i-idiculous  are  not  un- 
common in  the  writings  of  Messrs.  Blomfield,  Thomas,  and 
Seddings,  who,  however,  are  English  and  not  American  con- 
troversialists. 

How  absurd  all  this  quarrelling  seems  when  once  a  moment 
can  be  obtained  for  sober  reflection.  Is  beauty,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  often  won  by  following  shifting  fads  or  fashions,  by 


iET.  36]         BEAUTY  FOUNDED  ON  RATIONALITY  551 

heaping  up  decorations,  by  gathering  architectural  or  botani- 
cal specimens,  however  remarkable  or  even  lovely?  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  by  wrong-headed  attempts  to  win  beauty  iu 
these  impossible  ways  that  the  ignorant  rich  and  their  imita- 
tors so  often  succeed  in  putting  pretentious  ugliness  in  place 
of  simple  loveliness  and  charm  ;  witness  the  greater  part  of 
Newport,  and  many  another  once  pleasing  region  now  sophis- 
ticated and  destroyed. 

Little  or  no  thought  being  given  to  the  fundamental  ar- 
rangement of  lands  and  buildings  for  convenience  and  beauty, 
an  attempt  is  often  made  to  retrieve  the  situation  by  adding 
decorations,  such  as  statues,  fountains,  and  bridges,  or,  more 
generally,  a  selection  from  the  marvellous  products  of  modern  , 
nursery  gardens.  In  those  rarer  cases  where  some  real  at- 
tention is  devoted  to  the  all-important  fundamental  arrange- 
ment, the  design  is  apt  to  be  strictly  limited  by  the  supposed 
requirements  of  the  particular  style  of  treatment  which  may 
be  selected.  The  picturesque,  the  gardenesque,  and  the  for- 
mal styles  are  soberly  discussed ;  but  selection  is  apt  to  be 
made  according  to  fancy  merely,  and  the  results,  as  in  the 
first-mentioned  class  of  cases,  are  generally  amusing  or  strik- 
ing rather  than  beautiful.  A  house  scene  filled  with  irra- 
tionally curved  paths  is  seldom  lovelier  than  one  which  is 
decked  with  a  collection  of  contrasting  specimens.  A  private 
country  house  approached  by  an  unnecessary  triple  avenue, 
and  fitted  with  steps  and  terraces  broad  enough  for  a  state 
capitol,  is  equally  amusing  in  its  way. 

The  cause  of  the  failure  to  attain  to  beauty  in  these  and  all 
similar  cases  is  doubtless  the  same  ;  it  is  (is  it  not  ?)  the  com- 
mon lack  of  rationality  at  the  foundation. 

How  is  it  that  so  much  of  the  natural  scenery  of  the  world 
is  beautiful,  and  that  so  many  myriad  kinds  of  living  things 
are  lovely  ?  The  fact  may  not  be  explicable,  but  "  it  is  one 
of  the  commonplaces  of  science  that  the  form  which  every 
vital  product  takes  has  been  shaped  for  it  by  natural  selec- 
tion through  a  million  ages,  with  a  view  to  its  use,  advan- 
tage, or  convenience,  and  that  beauty  has  resulted  from  that 
evolution." 

How  is  it  that  so  much  of  the  humanized  landscape  of  the 


552    WHAT  WOULD  BE  FAIR  MUST  FIRST  BE  FIT    [1896 

world  is  lovely?  Is  not  the  same  natural  law  at  work  here 
also  ?  The  generations  who  by  their  arduous  labor  made  the 
scenery  of  Italy,  England,  and  the  valleys  of  New  England 
what  each  is  to-day  — 

"  wrought  with  a  sad  sincerity. 
Themselves  from  God  they  could  not  free, 
They  builded  better  than  they  knew, 
The  conscious  (earth)  to  beauty  grew." 

In  New  England,  for  example,  the  hard- worked  men  of 
the  last  century  cleared  and  smoothed  the  intervales,  left 
fringes  of  trees  along  the  streams  and  hanging  woods  on  the 
steep  hillsides,  gathered  their  simple  houses  into  villages  and 
planted  Elms  beside  them,  for  "  use,  advantage,  and  conven- 
ience "  merely,  and  yet  beauty  is  the  result.     Truly,  — 

"  this  is  an  art 
Which  does  mend  nature,  change  it  rather  ; 
But  the  art  itself  is  nature." 

The  moral  to  be  taken  to  heart  by  the  sophisticated  and 
self-conscious  seekers  after  beauty  in  our  present  day  is  obvi- 
ous. Success  in  achieving  the  beautiful  is  to  be  hoped  for 
only  when  we  bow  to  the  law  of  nature,  and  follow  in  the 
appointed  way.  Special  purpose  is  the  root,  and  fitness  for 
purpose  the  main  stem,  of  the  plant  of  which  beauty  is  the 
flower.  As  William  Wyndham  wrote  to  Humphrey  Repton, 
"  Lands  should  be  laid  out  solely  with  a  view  to  their  uses 
and  enjoyment  in  real  life.  Conformity  to  these  purposes 
is  the  one  foundation  of  their  true  beauty." 

Thus,  the  right  planning  of  the  arrangement  of  lands  for 
private  country-seats  or  suburban  houses,  for  public  squares, 
playgrounds,  or  parks,  for  villages,  or  for  cities,  is  not  a 
question  of  "  the  gardenesque  "  or  "  the  picturesque,"  "  the 
artificial "  or  "  the  natural,"  "  the  symmetrical "  or  "  the 
unsymmetrical."  Whoever,  regardless  of  circumstances,  in- 
sists upon  any  particular  style  or  mode  of  arranging  land 
and  its  accompanying  landscape,  is  most  certainly  a  quack. 
He  has  overlooked  the  important  basal  fact,  that  although 
beauty  does  not  consist  in  fitness,  nevertheless  all  that  would 
be  fair  must  first  be  fit.     True  art  is  expressive  before  it 


^T.  36]  GOOD  TASTE  OBEYS  GOOD  SENSE  553 

is  beautiful;    at  its  highest  it  is  still  the  adornment  of  a 
service.  , 

The  modern  practitioners  of  Renaissance  architecture  need 
especially  to  be  reminded  that  they  have  not  a  monopoly  of 
the  lovely.  "  Symmetry  is  beautiful,  but  so,  also,  is  the  un- 
symmetrical  relation  of  the  parts  to  a  whole  in  Nature." 
Since  all  natural  landscape,  save  that  of  the  plains  and  the 
oceans,  is  unsymmetrical,  it  follows  that  humanized  landscape 
is  also  generally  and  fittingly  informal.  Such  landscape  pro- 
perly becomes  symmetrical  or  formal  only  occasionally  and 
for  good  reasons.  The  roads  of  a  hilly  park  rightly  curve 
to  avoid  obstacles  or  to  secure  easy  grades ;  but  a  particular 
spot  within  that  park,  intended  for  the  gathering-place  of 
crowded  audiences  at  band  concerts,  is  rightly  graded  evenly 
and  symmetrically  and  shaded  by  trees  set  in  rows.  Again, 
the  fields  and  woods  of  a  country-seat  are  rightly  disposed 
picturesquely,  while  those  outdoor  halls  and  rooms  of  the 
mansion  called  the  terrace  and  the  flower  garden  are  just  as 
rightly  treated  formally  and  decoratively.  The  naturalists 
are  justified  in  thinking  formal  work  often  impertinent  and 
out  of  place.  The  formalists  and  the  decorators  are  justified 
so  long  as  their  work  is  rooted  in  usefulness  and  adaptation 
to  purpose.  "  Each  has  its  proper  situation  ;  and  good  taste 
will  make  fashion  subservient  to  good  sense,"  wrote  Hum- 
phrey Repton.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  our  quarrelling  faddists 
may  take  to  heart  this  saying,  and  may  turn  themselves  to 
the  advancement  of  Repton's  real  and  much-needed  art  of 
arranging  land,  vegetation,  buildings,  and  the  resultant  land- 
scape for  the  use  and  delight  of  men. 
April  1, 1896. 

Of  the  above  article  the  late  W.  A.  Stiles,  Editor  of  "  Gar- 
den and  Forest,"  wrote  to  Charles,  March  31,  1896 :  — 

"  If  it  teaches  all  our  readers  as  much  as  it  has  taught  me, 
you  ought  to  feel  gratified  as  an  educator." 

He  had  previously  (March  28th)  said  of  it :  "I  consider 
[it]  one  of  the  most  discriminating  and  useful  articles  that 
has  ever  been  published  in  '  Garden  and  Forest,'  that  is,  it 
states  principles  which  have  never  before  been  stated,  or,  at 
least,  which  have  not  been  defined  and  separated  from  other 
matters  so  cleanly  and  clearly." 


554    WHAT  WOULD  BE  FAIR  MUST  FIRST  BE  FIT    [1896 
.  "  THE   GENTLE  ART   OF   DEFEATING  NATTJRE." 

To  THE  Editor  of  the  "  Transcript,"  —  Your  readers 
may  well  be  weary  of  the  subject  of  your  recent  editorial  with 
the  above  title,  since  you  have  published  substantially  the 
same  lamentation  annually  during  several  years.  The  follow- 
ing jottings  contain,  however,  only  cheerful  words,  and  you 
may  therefore  be  ready  to  give  space  to  them. 

That  the  red  men  have  disappeared  from  the  neighborhood 
of  Boston  may  or  may  not  be  cause  for  tears  ;  but  when  the 
departure  of  the  "  Indian  maiden  "  is  lamented,  it  seems  as 
if  it  might  be  well  to  mention  that  she  fled,  not  last  year,  but 
generations  ago.  Nature  long  since  and  gladly  surrendered 
to  man  the  spaces  now  known  as  Jamaica  and  Franklin  parks. 
The  shore  of  Jamaica  Pond  was,  until  lately,  occupied  by  two 
vast  icehouses,  and  by  the  generally  stone-walled  and  more  or 
less  well-kept  back  yards  and  pleasure  grounds  of  suburban 
houses.  A  water  company  was,  also,  continually  busy  draw- 
ing off  the  water,  with  the  result  that  a  broad  beach  and 
even  several  shoals  were  laid  bare  every  summer.  Similarly, 
Franklin  Park  was,  until  lately,  a  conglomeration  of  the  wood- 
lots,  pastures,  fields,  lawns,  gardens,  and  avenues  appurtenant 
to  many  suburban  mansions  and  estates.  Your  headline 
printed  above  seems  therefore  to  indicate  serious  self-decep- 
tion. "  Nature  "  was  "  defeated  "  long  before  the  Park  Com- 
mission was  created. 

To  suggest  that  the  Commission  ought  to  have  restored  the 
primitive  forests  (which  was  Nature  in  these  parts)  would  be 
too  absurd.  To  suggest  that  the  Commissioners  should  have 
preserved  the  man-made  groves,  fields,  gardens,  and  pond 
shores  precisely  as  they  found  them  when  they  took  posses- 
sion for  the  city  would  be  equally,  though  perhaps  not  so 
obviously,  irrational.  The  areas  in  question  had  been  labo- 
riously worked  over  in  times  past  by  numerous  owners  guided 
solely  by  regard  for  their  individual  profit  and  pleasure ;  and 
let  it  be  noted  that  much  beauty  resulted.  Common  sense 
has  similarly  directed  the  Park  Commissioners,  representing 
the  present  single  owner,  the  city,  to  straightforwardly  adapt 
the  new  public  estates  to  the  common  use  and  benefit  of  the 


^T.  36]        MAN  IMPROVES   PRIMITIVE   LANDSCAPE         555 

people.  The  acquisition  of  laud  for  a  particular  purpose 
necessarily  involves  the  adaptation  of  the  land  in  question  to 
its  designated  purpose,  else  the  price  of  the  land  is  thrown 
away.  And  this  necessity  will  alarm  no  one  who  is  unde- 
ceived concerning  "  nature."  The  work  of  man  and  his  do- 
mestic animals  on  the  land  and  vegetation  of  rural  New  Eng- 
land has  greatly  increased  the  variety,  interest,  and  beauty  of 
the  primitive  landscape,  and  if  the  Park  Commission  will  ad- 
just the  park  lands  to  their  peculiar  modern  uses  with  equal 
frankness  and  directness,  experience  teaches  that  the  happiest 
results  may  be  expected.  It  is,  indeed,  a  law  of  God  that 
interesting  and  even  beautiful  appearance  shall  be  the  blossom 
of  adaptation  to  purpose,  and  in  this  law  we  all  of  us  need  to 
have  stronger  faith. 

With  respect  to  changes  and  adaptations  already  made  or 
planned,  the  Park  Commission  and  the  park  architects  wel- 
come honest  criticism ;  but  the  questions  of  design  which  are 
involved  are  fully  as  technical  and  professional  as  those  which 
confront  the  architects  of  buildings,  and  almost  too  compli- 
cated to  be  helpfully  debated  in  print.  Some  preliminary 
account  of  them  may  be  found  in  Mr.  Olmsted's  "  Notes  on 
the  Plan  of  Franklin  Park,"  and  in  the  successive  reports  of 
the  landscape  architects.  It  is,  moreover,  to  be  remembered 
that  the  adopted  plans  in  accordance  with  which  the  parks 
are  slowly  forming  were  devised  to  meet  the  requirements 
and  purposes  of  the  future  as  well  as  the  present ;  and  that 
for  true  economy's  sake  the  Commission  has  from  the  first 
chosen  to  build  whatever  is  built  as  for  the  future,  regardless 
of  whether  this  particular  path  is  strictly  necessary  to-day, 
whether  this  road  might  be  narrower  for  the  present,  or 
this  bridge  less  strong,  until  the  day  comes  when  it  may  be 
crowded.  This  question  of  the  advisability  of  immediate  or 
permanent,  as  opposed  to  postponed  or  temporary  construc- 
tion is,  of  course,  debatable  ;  but  it  should  always  be  argued 
apart  from  questions  of  design.  It  should  be  remembered, 
also,  that  in  the  course  of  thus  adapting  means  to  ends,  tem- 
porary ugliness  is  something  only  to  be  expected.  Raw  stones, 
gravel,  and  loam,  and  newly  planted  and  small  trees  make 
Ugly  landscape,  particularly  when  they  surround  half  empty 


556    WHAT   WOULD   BE   FAIR  MUST  FIRST   BE   FIT     [1898 

ponds,  like  those  which  have  been  so  often  cited  in  the 
"  Transcript."  On  the  other  hand,  we  of  the  present  ought 
to  be  ready  to  bear  some  trials  and  burdens  of  this  sort  if  the 
people  of  the  future  may  thereby  secure  recreation  grounds 
well  fitted  to  their  needs.  The  banks  of  the  long  waterway 
of  the  Fens  and  Muddy  River  were  lately  completely  changed 
from  their  "  natural "  state,  and  for  a  time  left  very  raw,  but 
they  already  plainly  indicate  to  those  who  thread  the  stream 
that  adaptation  to  new  purposes  does  not  necessarily  involve 
any  final,  or  even  long,  banishment  of  beauty. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

CHARLES  RIVER  — 1891-96 

'T  is  we  ourselves,  each  one  of  us,  who  must  keep  watch  and  ward 
over  the  fairness  of  the  earth,  and  each  with  his  own  soul  and  hand  do 
his  due  share  therein,  lest  we  deliver  to  our  sons  a  lesser  treasure  than 
our  fathers  left  to  us.  —  Mokris. 

The  treatment  of  the  tidal  estuary  called  Charles  River 
was  the  most  important  park  problem  which  the  new  Metro- 
politan District  had  to  solve;  and  after  nine  years  of  the 
extraordinarily  successful  operations  of  the  Metropolitan  Park 
Commission,  it  still  remains  the  one  supremely  important 
aesthetic  and  financial  problem  on  which  final  action  has  not 
been  taken  by  the  Commonwealth,  although  successive  ap- 
proaches have  been  made  towards  a  fortunate  issue  of  the 
long-drawn  discussions.^  The  wise  solution  is  sure  ultimately 
to  give  the  District  a  central  water-park  of  surpassing  beauty 
and  usefulness,  and  to  make  Boston  the  best  parked  city  in 
the  world,  because  of  the  extent  and  variety  of  its  easily  acces- 
sible public  reservations. 

Charles's  writings  on  this  subject  from  1892  to  1896  in- 
clusive enable  one  to  follow  the  course  of  discussion,  and 
the  progress  of  executive  action,  on  this  vital  subject ;  and  in 
them  one  may  also  trace  the  change  his  own  mind  underwent 
between  1891  and  1894.  His  early  studies  of  the  estuary 
were  all  made  under  the  influence  of  the  long-accepted  doc- 
trine that  Boston  Harbor  is  kept  from  filling  up  by  the  "  scour- 
ing "  eifect  of  the  ebbing  waters  of  the  numerous  creeks  and 
inlets  above  the  Navy  Yard  ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  spring 
of  1891  that  his  mind  was  free  to  entertain  the  thought  of 
excluding  the  tide  altogether  from  the  Charles  River  Basin. 
When,  however,  eminent  engineers  like  Hiram  F.  Mills  and 
Frederic  P.  Stearns  declared  in  the  Report  of  the  joint  Board 
on  the  Improvement  of  Charles  River  (House  Doc.  775, 
April,  1894)  that  in  their  judgment  a  dam   near    Craigie's 

1  For  early  projects  concerning  the  river  and  its  basin,  see  the  plan 
facing  p.  34  in  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  volume  iv.,  A.  "  Dam 
to  form  a  pond  of  this  river."  1814  ;  a  pamphlet  by  Uriel  H.  Crocker  of 
Boston,  published  in  1870,  with  a  map  ;  and  lithographs  published  from 
1873  to  1885,  by  Charles  Davenport  of  Cambridge. 


558  CHARLES  RIVER  — 1891-96  [1892 

Bridge,  high  enough  to  exchide  the  highest  tides,  would  do  no 
harm  whatever  to  the  harbor,  and  supported  their  opinion  with 
convincing  arguments  drawn  from  new  investigations,  and 
from  the  altered  conditions  of  the  harbor  as  regards  the  dis- 
charge into  it  of  sewerage,  silt,  and  material  from  its  shores, 
Charles  welcomed  this  well-grounded  opinion,  and  thereafter 
felt  free  to  advocate  the  complete  exclusion  of  the  tide  frcrra 
Charles  River  in  the  interest,  pecuniary,  sanitary,  and  aesthetic, 
of  all  the  municipalities  which  touch  the  river,  but  particu- 
larly of  Boston,  Cambridge,  and  Watertown.  So  long  as  the 
thorough  method  of  reforming  the  river  —  namely,  the  con- 
struction of  a  high  dam  to  exclude  the  tides,  which  twice  daily 
dammed  the  river  and  soaked  its  lowlands  —  seemed  to 
Charles  impracticable,  however  desirable,  he  advocated  infe- 
rior but  useful  expedients,  such  as  sea  walls,  ripraps,  and 
low  dams  at  Cottage  Farm,  or  higher  up  the  stream,  to  hold 
back  the  descending  water ;  but  as  soon  as  the  most  effectual 
method  appeared  to  be  both  safe  and  practicable  he  advocated 
that  and  no  other. 

In  recent  years  it  has  become  the  universally  accepted  view 
that  Boston  Harbor  and  its  approaches  must  be  made,  and 
kept,  deep  enough  for  modern  vessels  by  dredging  and  blast- 
ing. The  theoretical  "  scour  "  action  —  never  of  proved  effec- 
tiveness —  has  given  way  to  the  sure-working  dredge  and  drill. 

The  legislature  of  1891  created  a  commission  on  the  Im- 
provement of  Charles  Eiver,  consisting  of  the  Mayors  of  Bos- 
ton, Cambridge,  and  Newton,  the  chairman  of  the  Selectmen 
of  Watertown,  and  three  citizens  to  be  appointed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor, the  commission  to  serve  without  pay,  and  for  two  years 
as  their  term  of  office.  Charles  was  appointed  by  Governor 
Russell  a  member  of  this  body.  The  commissioners  person- 
ally examined  the  state  of  the  river  and  of  its  banks,  held  a  long 
series  of  public  hearings,  at  which  many  interested  citizens  of 
Boston,  Cambridge,  Watertown,  and  Newton  appeared,  and 
in  two  reports,  one  presented  in  March,  1892,  and  the  other 
in  April,  1893,  summarized  the  evidence  before  them,  and 
stated  their  own  conclusions.  Both  these  reports  were  written 
by  Charles  as  the  scribe  of  the  commission  —  he  was  not 
officially  its  Secretary.  The  reports  prepared  by  him  were 
intended  to  express  the  mind  of  the  commission,  and  were 
accepted  by  them  at  a  second  reading.  The  o])})ortunity  to 
investigate  thoroughly  this  central  problem  of  "  greater  Bos- 
ton "  was  of  value  to  Charles ;  and  this  value  was  heightened 
when  the  task  of  draughting  the  reports  was  assigned  to  him. 
The  two  reports  of  the  commission  follow  :  — 


^T.  32]  THE  COMMISSION  OF  1891-93  559 


FIRST  REPORT    OF    THE    CHARLES   RIVER    IMPROVEMENT 
COMMISSION. 

The  undersigned  commissioners,  appointed  under  chapter 
390  of  the  Acts  of  1891  for  the  purpose  of  considering  what 
improvement  can  be  made  in  the  Charles  River  Basin  be- 
tween the  dam  at  Watertown  and  the  Charles  River  Bridge 
in  Boston,  and  for  other  related  purposes  which  are  stated  in 
the  Act,  a  copy  of  which  is  hereunto  appended,  respectfully 
submit  the  following  report,  covering  their  investigations  to 
February  1,  1892. 

The  commissioners  first  met  and  organized  July  23, 
1891,  and  immediately  set  themselves  to  study  in  person  the 
complicated  problem  they  found  before  them.  The  ragged 
banks  of  the  Charles  were  familiar  enough  to  all  the  com- 
missioners, and  yet  a  journey  up  and  down  the  stream  in  a 
tow-boat  proved  instructive.  It  not  only  afiforded  the  com- 
missioners i^resent  a  new  and  comprehensive  view  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  river  and  its  banks,  but  it  also  gave  them  a  vivid 
impression  of  the  serious  obstruction  to  navigation  presented 
even  to  a  tow-boat  by  the  numerous  bridges,  and  by  the  rail- 
road bridges  in  particular. 

In  pursuance  of  the  policy  of  gathering  all  the  important 
facts  of  the  case  before  drawing  conclusions  or  making  recom- 
mendations, the  commissioners  next  instituted  a  prolonged 
series  of  public  hearings,  at  which  full  opportunity  was  given 
the  citizens  of  Boston,  Cambridge,  Newton,  and  Watertown 
to  present  facts,  and  to  state  their  views  as  to  the  future  of 
the  river  and  its  banks.  The  views,  desires,  and  ideas  set 
forth  at  these  hearings  were  diverse  and  conflicting,  but  many 
solid  and  pertinent  facts  were  incidentally  brought  out.  It 
is  upon  these  facts  of  nature,  of  past  history,  and  of  the  pre- 
sent time,  that  any  and  every  intelligent  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem presented  by  Charles  River  must  be  based,  and  therefore 
the  commission  offers  no  apology  for  submitting  the  following 
summary  of  these  fundamental  facts  as  the  principal  part  of 
this  preliminary  report. 

The  natural  or  physical  character  of  Charles  River  is  and 
always  was  peculiar.     In  the  first  place,  the  so-called  "  river  " 


560  CHARLES   RIVER  — 1891-96  [1892 

is  not  a  river.  It  is  a  tidal  estuary,  a  shallow  and  muddy 
trough,  broad  in  its  seaward  part,  narrow  and  tortuous  in  its 
inward  extension,  and  filled  and  almost  emptied  by  the  tide 
twice  every  day.  At  high  tide  the  original  Back  Bay  was 
about  three  miles  long  and  two  miles  wide,  and  the  original 
"  river  "  wound  its  way  inland  five  ci'ooked  miles  to  the  nat- 
ural head  of  the  tide  in  Watertown.  When  the  tide  is  out, 
the  upper  mile  of  the  trough  in  Watertown  is  drained  prac- 
tically dry ;  the  four  succeeding  miles  of  narrow  channel 
retain  only  from  one  to  ten  feet  of  water,  and  the  bottom  of  the 
lower  basin  is  exposed  over  at  least  half  its  area.  The  rise  and 
fall  of  the  tide  averages  about  ten  feet,  and  the  consequent 
rapid  seaward  rush  of  the  ebb  out  of  the  river  is  an  impor- 
tant factor  in  producing  that  scouring  of  the  ship  channel 
of  Boston  Bay  which  is  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  its 
depth.  Except  at  the  extreme  inland  part  of  its  course,  the 
natural  rim  of  this  tidal  trough  is  the  ragged  edge  of  a  salt 
marsh.  These  marshes  are  plains  of  mud,  overlying  gravel 
or  clay,  covered  with  salt  grasses,  and  penetrated  by  numerous 
crooked  and  narrow  creeks.  The  mud  of  which  the  marsh 
consists  is  in  some  places  only  one  or  two  feet  deep,  but  in 
other  parts  its  depth  is  twenty  or  even  fifty  feet.  The  level  of 
the  surface  is  everywhere  approximately  that  of  mean  high 
water.  Spring  tides  overflow  the  marshes,  and  then  the  river 
assumes  a  deceptive  appearance  of  great  breadth  ;  for  the  area 
of  marsh  land  bordering  upon  the  channel  greatly  exceeds  the 
total  area  of  the  trough  or  waterway.  In  the  neighborhood 
of  many  of  the  principal  creeks,  such  as  Miller's  River  and 
Muddy  River,  and  in  parts  of  Somerville,  Cambridge,  and 
Brighton,  distant  as  much  as  a  mile  or  more  from  salt  water,  are 
other  large  areas,  elevated  little,  if  any,  above  the  level  of  the 
salt  marsh.  If  it  were  not  for  the  fact  that  the  daily  periods 
of  low  tide  in  the  river  afford  natural  drainage  for  these  last- 
named  districts,  they  would  be  permanent  fresh-water  swamps. 
Even  as  things  are,  these  low  lands  and  the  mud  marshes 
afford  only  unwholesome  and  unstable  sites  for  the  buildings 
and  streets  of  cities. 

The  course  of  the  historical  development  of  Charles  River 
and  its  banks  has  been  perhaps  equally  distinctive  and  pecul- 


^T.  32]  THE   RIVER  AS   HIGHWAY  561 

iar.  In  the  early  years  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony 
the  river  was  the  principal  highway  of  the  district.  For  years 
a  boat  was  the  only  means  of  conveyance  to  Newtown  (later 
Cambridge),  Gerry's  Landing,  and  Watertown.  Ferries  to 
Charlestown  and  to  Lechmere's  Point  (East  Cambridge)  suf- 
ficed for  almost  two  hundred  years.  As  population  increased, 
the  use  of  the  river  as  a  commercial  highway  increased  also ; 
but  the  use  of  it  as  a  highway  for  travel  was  abandoned  when 
bridges  and  causeways  across  the  marshes  furnished  more 
direct  routes.  On  the  Boston  side,  and  on  the  Cambridge 
side  after  the  building  of  the  modern  Craigie  and  West  Bos- 
ton bridges,  dealers  in  lumber,  building-stone,  and  other  bulky 
and  heavy  articles  gradually  took  possession  of  the  shores 
near  the  bridges  and  causeways,  and  built  wharves.  Further 
up  stream  an  occasional  wharf  appeared.  At  one  time  the 
commercial  future  of  the  river  looked  so  bright  that  certain 
capitalists  invested  considerable  sums  in  digging  a  so-called 
Broad  Canal  through  the  flats  and  marshes  on  the  Cambridge 
side,  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  wharfage  to  the  foreign 
and  domestic  commerce  of  ambitious  Cambridgeport  and  the 
short-lived  Middlesex  Canal. 

Meanwhile,  the  same  increasing  population  which  called 
for  lumber,  stone,  and  coal  "  at  wharf  prices  "  came  also  to 
require  direct  and  swift  communication  with  the  centre  of 
population  in  Boston.  Numerous  bridges,  carrying  omni- 
buses, horse-cars,  and  steam-railroad  trains  were  accordingly 
provided,  and  all  were  equipped  with  draws  for  the  passage 
of  vessels. 

Again,  the  pressure  for  building  room  within  the  naturally 
narrow  limits  of  the  original  peninsula  of  Boston  necessitated 
the  making  of  more  land  by  filling  the  shallow  coves  which 
bounded  the  original  town.  The  Town  Dock  became  Dock 
Square,  the  North  Cove  was  filled  to  Causeway  Street,  and 
the  South  Cove  and  the  Back  Bay  disappeared  in  like  man- 
ner.  As  this  filling  went  on  it  was  accompanied  by  the  build- 
ing of  retaining  walls  on  the  lines  of  the  new  water  fronts, 
and,  where  commerce  demanded  it  and  the  harbor  commis- 
sioners permitted  it,  by  the  construction  of  wharves  outside 
the  walls.     The  mouth  of  Charles  River  was  considerably 


662  CHARLES   RIVER  — 1891-96  [1892 

contracted  by  wharf-building,  and  the  Back  Bay  was  nar- 
rowed on  the  Boston  side  by  as  much  as  a  mile,  but  there  no 
wharves  have  been  built  outside  the  wall  line.  Many  hun- 
dreds of  acres  of  flats  and  marshes  were  thus  reclaimed,  the 
largest  area  filled  by  any  one  owner  having  been  the  Back 
Bay,  which  was  filled  by  the  Commonwealth,  and  afterwards 
sold  in  building  lots  at  a  large  profit. 

.  Buildings  set  upon  these  filled  lands  are  founded  on  piles, 
as  are  all  heavy  structures,  such  as  the  abutments  of  bridges, 
the  retaining  sea  walls,  and  even  the  sewers  under  the  streets  ; 
but  farther  from  town,  in  districts  where  the  price  obtainable 
for  building  land  has  not  warranted  expenditure  for  filling, 
piling,  and  proper  sewers,  the  marshes  have  been  built  upon 
in  many  places  without  previous  filling,  or  after  only  so  much 
as  suffices  to  keep  the  doorsteps  of  the  houses  out  of  water. 
The  marshes  are  the  cheapest  lands  near  Boston,  and  they 
naturally  tend  to  become  the  site  of  the  cheapest  tenements 
and  the  obnoxious  trades.  Years  ago  the  crowded  settlement 
of  some  parts  of  the  Charles  River  lowlands  bred  conditions 
which  proved  unbearable ;  as  in  the  lower  part  of  Cambridge- 
port,  where  in  1872  several  acres  of  buildings  were  lifted  by 
the  city  of  Cambridge  at  a  great  expense,  in  order  that  gravel 
might  be  thrown  under  them  and  the  cellar  grade  raised 
twelve  and  thirteen  feet  above  mean  low  water. 

One  still  more  dangerous  result  of  the  increase  of  popula- 
tion in  the  neighborhood  of  Charles  River  remains  to  be 
noticed ;  namely,  the  pollution  of  the  bed  of  the  river  by  the 
sewage  which  has  for  many  years  been  discharged  into  the 
stream  in  ever-increasing  quantity.  The  fresh-water  river 
comes  over  the  dam  at  Watertown  polluted  to  a  considerable 
degree  ;  but  the  salt-water  estuary  below  the  dam  has  been 
the  receptacle  of  the  filth  of  the  population  on  its  banks  from 
before  the  days  of  the  first  sewer  until  now. 

The  present  condition  of  Charles  River  is  the  natural  pro- 
duct of  the  peculiar  character  of  the  river  and  of  the  unin- 
telligent treatment  it  has  received.  This  present  condition 
must  now  be  summarized,  in  connection  with  the  conclusions 
which  the  commission  draws  from  its  study  of  the  natural,  the 
historical,  and  the  present  facts. 


^T.  32]  THE   RIVER'S   PRESENT  CONDITION  563 

First.  The  river  is  to-day  a  much  less  efficient  source  of 
«  scour  "  than  it  used  to  be.  In  the  first  place,  the  filling  of 
the  shallow  coves  and  the  Back  Bay  has  done  away  with  a 
great  part  of  that  high-level  water,  the  rapid  ebbing  of  which 
causes  "  scour  ;  "  and,  in  the  second  place,  the  choking  of  the 
mouth  of  the  river  by  the  countless  piles  of  the  railroad 
bridges  has  checked  the  force  of  both  the  inward  and  the 
outward  currents  to  a  considerable  degree.  In  this  way  the 
pile  bridges  tend  to  cause  a  more  rapid  sedimentary  shoaling 
of  the  river  itself,  as  well  as  a  diminution  of  "  scour  "  in  the 
harbor  channels.  The  community  cannot  afford  to  interfere 
with  Nature's  method  of  preserving  the  channels  of  Boston 
Bay.  It  is  obvious  that  the  pile  bridges  should  be  removed, 
and  span  bridges  carried  upon  piers  substituted. 

Secondly.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  commercial  im- 
portance of  Charles  River  in  the  past,  the  river  to-day  is  rela- 
tively unimportant  as  a  highway.  The  commerce  of  the 
river  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  population  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  stream.  Since  the  opening  of  the  rail- 
roads, and  particularly  in  recent  years,  the  coasting  trade 
(especially  the  coal  trade)  has  for  reasons  of  economy  begun 
to  employ  large  vessels,  many  of  which  draw  too  much  water 
to  venture  within  Charles  River.  Other  causes  have  doubt- 
less operated  to  check  the  development  of  the  commerce  of 
the  stream  ;  but,  without  naming  others,  it  is  sufficient  to 
point  out  that  there  is  now  only  one  wharf  used  for  commer- 
cial purposes  in  the  three  miles  of  Boston's  frontage  on  the 
river,  while  on  the  Cambridge  side  and  further  up  stream 
several  old  wharves  have  been  either  abandoned  or  converted 
to  uses  not  connected  with  navigation.  A  leading  lumber 
dealer,  who  formerly  did  business  on  Broad  Canal  and  is  now 
established  beside  a  railroad  track,  informed  the  commission 
that  he  would  not  go  back  to  the  water-side  if  he  could  go 
rent  free ;  and  a  coal  merchant  of  Newton  gave  somewhat 
similar  testimony.  It  is  evident  that  the  experience  of  the 
world  in  general  is  being  repeated  here.  The  railroad  is 
gradually  becoming  the  universal  domestic  carrier.  And  yet, 
in  spite  of  the  obviously  decreased  relative  importance  of  the 
carrying  trade  upon  the  river,  to  close  the  river  absolutely 


664  CHARLES  RIVER  — 1891-96  [1892 

would  certainly  be  folly.  Even  if  the  railroad  should  in  time 
monopolize  the  coal  trade  of  the  valley,  the  fact  that  coal 
might  be  obtained  by  water  would  tend  in  a  most  effective 
way  to  reduce  railroad  rates  and  charges.  For  this  reason, 
among  others,  the  commission  finds  itself  compelled  to  dis- 
agree both  with  those  who  advocate  costly  works  of  river 
improvement  for  the  sake  of  admitting  large  vessels,  and  with 
those  who  desire  to  see  the  river  absolutely  closed.  On  this 
head  the  commission  holds  to  one  simple  conclusion,  —  that 
the  possibility  of  navigation  should  be  maintained. 

Thirdly.  It  may  be  set  down  as  certain,  that,  to  the  great 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  metropolitan  district, 
Charles  River  to-day  presents  itself  in  one  aspect  only,  — 
that  of  an  obstruction  to  travel.  The  stream  which  was  once 
the  only  highway  of  the  district  is  become  the  principal 
obstacle  in  many  highways.  The  bridges  have  been  multi- 
plied until  there  are  now  twelve  ordinary  bridges  and  five 
railroad  structures  crossing  the  river,  and  still  there  are  not 
enough.  Moreover,  travel  on  the  bridges  is  liable  to  delays 
arising  from  opening  the  draws  for  the  passage  of  schooners, 
scows,  and  tugs.  Long  lines  of  street  cars,  carriages,  and 
wagons  are  thus  delayed  on  all  the  lower  bridges  daily  during 
the  open  months.  It  is  true  that  the  steam-railroad  trains 
are  delayed  by  open  draws  comparatively  seldom  ;  but  this  is 
because  the  daylight  traffic  on  the  railroad  bridges  is  so  con- 
stant that  the  companies  generally  compel  vessels  to  wait 
until  night,  or  as  long  as  the  law  allows.  The  bridges  carry 
not  only  the  four  hundred  regular  trains  which  leave  the 
northern  stations  of  Boston  every  day,  with  the  corresponding 
number  of  incoming  trains,  but  they  also  serve  the  companies 
as  rent-free  switching  yards,  where  engines  engaged  in  mak- 
ing up  trains  cross  and  recross  continually.  To  accommodate 
the  business,  the  railroad  bridges  have  been  widened  of  late 
years  until  they  now  fairly  roof  the  river,  while  they  choke 
it  with  their  supporting  piles,  as  already  described.  The 
Maine  and  Fitchburg  railroads  appeared  before  the  commis- 
sion by  counsel,  and,  after  citing  figures  showing  the  thou- 
sands of  persons  carried  by  them  over  Charles  River  every 
day,  they  expressed  their  very  natural  desire  that  the  draws 


^T.  32]  BRIDGES  SHOULD  BE  ELEVATED  565 

might  be  permanently  closed.  It  appears,  however,  to  this 
commission,  that  the  concentration  of  the  railroad  tracks  upon 
one  broad  bridge,  elevated  sufficiently  to  permit  the  passage 
imder  it  of  tow-boats  and  large  barges,  would  solve  the  rail- 
roads' difficulty  in  a  manner  much  more  conducive  to  the 
public  welfare.  Such  an  elevated  bridge  would  at  once  ac- 
complish three  important  reforms :  it  would  permit  trains  to 
enter  Boston  without  delay  attributable  to  the  crossing  of 
Charles  River ;  it  would  at  the  same  time  allow  of  the  navi- 
gation of  the  river  by  all  mastless  vessels  not  too  deep  for  the 
channel ;  and,  if  it  were  built  upon  piers,  it  would  restore  its 
ancient  force  to  the  scouring  current  of  the  ebb  tide.  Such 
high-level  approaches  to  terminal  stations  have  proved  en- 
tirely practicable  in  Philadelphia,  in  London,  and  elsewhere ; 
all  the  passenger  tracks  here  concerned  can  gain  the  neces- 
sary elevation  without  difficulty ;  the  dangerous  and  wasteful 
grade  crossings  of  these  passenger  tracks  can  at  the  same 
time  be  disentangled ;  and  the  commission  hopes  to  see  this 
most  desirable  improvement  carried  out  very  shortly,  if  not 
voluntarily  by  the  companies  concerned,  then  under  manda- 
tory legislation  to  be  framed  by  the  railroad  commission  or 
by  the  General  Court. 

As  to  the  highway  bridges,  the  commission  concludes  that, 
as  the  present  pile  structures  decay,  they  should  be  replaced 
by  permanent  span  bridges  founded  upon  piers,  and  elevated 
at  the  channel  to  permit  navigation.^ 

Fo^ivtMy.  If  the  river  of  to-day  forces  itself  upon  the 
attention  of  most  people  as  an  obstacle,  it  presents  itself  to 
many  others  in  the  aspect  of  a  dangerous  nuisance.  People 
who  live  near  it  are  well  acquainted  with  the  peculiar  odor 
which  rises  from  the  flats  and  muddy  banks  when  exposed. 
The  fact  is  that  the  upper  layer  of  the  bottom  of  the  river  is 
thoroughly  polluted  with  sewage. 

In  view  of  this  fact,  it  is  a  fortunate  circumstance  that 
clean  gravel  underlies  this  sludge  and  mud  in  so  many  parts 
of  the  river  bottom.  When  the  completion  of  the  Metropoli- 
tan intercepting  sewers  shall  have  ended  the  direct  discharge 

^  The  new  West  Boston  Bridge  now  (1902)  under  construction  is  of 
this  nature  ;  it  is  also  drawless. 


666  CHARLES  RIVER  — 1891-96 

of  sewage  into  the  stream,  it  will  not  be  very  difficult  to  clean 
the  river  bed  by  means  of  the  powerful  pump-dredges  which 
are  now  available ;  ^  for  experience  seems  to  prove  that  this 
foul  material  is  harmless  when  it  is  thrown  out  on  the  land- 
ward side  of  a  sea  wall,  and  buried  under  several  feet  of  clean 
gravel. 

It  is  evident  that  the  retaining  sea-wall  is  the  first  step 
in  the  necessary  sanitation  of  Charles  Kiver.  Such  walls 
already  edge  the  water  on  the  Boston  side,  from  the  river's 
mouth  to  the  Cottage  Farm  Bridge.  Elsewhere,  only  a  few 
thousand  feet  of  wall  are  as  yet  constructed.  The  walls  are 
built  upon  lines  laid  down  by  the  United  States  engineers 
and  the  State  harbor  commission.  They  make  the  cleanest 
possible  river  bank,  and,  though  they  become  slimy  between 
high  and  low  water  marks,  they  are  undoubtedly  the  most 
sightly  form  of  bank  possible  under  the  circumstances. 

After  the  building  of  the  sea  wall,  the  pump  dredge  should 
complete  the  process  of  sanitation  by  transferring  material 
from  the  water  side  to  the  land  side  of  the  wall,  thus  effect- 
ing by  one  process  two  desirable  results :  the  raising  of  the 
marsh  to  a  safe  level,  and  the  excavation  of  the  river  to  such 
a  depth  that  its  bottom  between  the  sea  walls  shall  not  be 
exposed  at  low  water.  It  is  true  that  the  unhealthful  ex- 
posure of  the  river  bottom  to  the  air  might  be  prevented  by 
simply  holding  the  water  in  the  river  trough  at  a  high  level 
by  means  of  a  dam ;  and  it  may  possibly  be  advisable  to 
resort  to  this  method  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  river's 
course,  where  dredging  to  the  depth  required  to  retain  water 
at  low  tide  would  be  excessively  expensive. 

But  from  the  United  States  Arsenal  to  the  river's  mouth 
this  makeshift  method  of  suppressing  the  nuisance  arising 
from  the  flats  would  in  all  probability  entail  more  serious 
dangers  than  it  would  cure.  In  the  first  place,  it  would 
destroy  the  scouring  force  of  the  ebb  tide.  In  the  second 
place,  it  would  convert  the  basin  behind  the  dam  into  a 
genuine  settling  basin,  in  which  sedimentary  shoaling  and 
the  making  of  new  flats  would  go  on  rapidly.  In  the  third 
place,  it  would  result  in  a  deleterious  rise  of  the  ground 
1  This  has  been  in  large  measure  accomplished. 


iET.  32]  THE   BEST   USE   OF  THE   RIVER  507 

waters  of  all  districts  near  the  river.  In  the  fourth  place, 
it  would  deprive  the  large  low-lying  areas  of  the  district  of 
their  only  means  of  getting  rid  of  storm  and  surface  waters. 
The  sewers  which  now  drain  these  districts  fall  towards  the 
river  with  the  least  possible  grades,  and  yet  the  tide  in  the 
river  dams  up  their  outlets  except  at  the  periods  of  low  water. 
During  rainstorms  or  thaws  these  sewers  simply  fill  up  until 
a  low  tide  in  the  river  relieves  them.  Moreover,  the  Metro- 
politan sewers  now  in  course  of  construction  will  not  be 
able  to  relieve  this  situation,  —  no  sewers  and  no  pumps  big 
enough  to  afford  relief  could  well  be  built.  By  means  of 
automatic  gates,  placed  at  the  intersections  of  the  present 
sewers  with  the  new  trunk  sewers,  the  storm  waters  of  the 
valley  must  continue  to  be  discharged  into  their  natural  out- 
let, —  the  trough  of  Charles  River.  Extremely  dilute  sewage 
will  be  carried  into  the  river  with  the  storm  waters  on  these 
exceptional  occasions,  which  may  occur  on  the  average  perhaps 
twice  in  every  month ;  but,  if  the  river  bottom  is  lowered  so 
that  it  shall  remain  covered,  if  the  river  banks  are  cleanly 
walled,  and  if  the  natural  swiftness  of  the  tidal  currents  is 
restored,  no  appreciable  nuisance  will  result  from  this  source. 

It  appears  from  the  foregoing  statement  that  Charles  River, 
which  was  formerly  a  convenient  artery  of  trade,  has  now 
become  chiefly  an  obstacle  and  a  nuisance.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  appears  that,  if  ways  and  means  can  be  found  to 
accomplish  the  reconstruction  and  elevation  of  the  bridges, 
to  excavate  the  filthy  river  bed,  to  build  the  sea  walls  and  to 
fill  the  marshes,  the  river's  present  evil  character  will  be 
reformed,  and  it  may  again  exercise  a  wholly  favorable  influ- 
ence upon  the  life  of  this  community. 

What  will  be  the  most  profitable  use  to  which  the  commu- 
nity can  then  put  the  reformed  river  ?  As  already  detailed, 
the  stream  will  be  of  use  as  a  source  of  scour,  as  an  outlet  for 
storm  waters,  and  as  a  navigable  channel  by  which  coal  and 
other  heavy  commodities  can  be  delivered  clieaply  if  neces- 
sary ;  but,  when  a  densely  populated  city  shall  extend  five  or 
ten  miles  from  the  State  House,  the  greatest  benefit  derivable 
by  the  community  from  the  river  will  arise  from  the  large 
open  space  which  the  stream  provides.     Many  a  crowded  city 


568  CHARLES   RIVER  — 1891-96  [1892 

would  give  mucli  for  such  an  air  space ;  and  there  can  he  no 
douht  hut  that  our  community  will  come  to  value  it  at  its  full 
worth.  When  that  day  comes,  it  will  be  evident  to  all  that 
the  full  benefit  of  the  open  space  cannot  be  reaped  unless 
the  public  shall  have  access  to  the  river  bank.  Indeed,  this 
truth  is  now  partially  recognized.  Boston,  through  her  park 
commission,  has  already  opened  to  the  public  almost  half  a 
mile  of  river  embankment,  which  takes  the  place  of  a  row  of 
lumber,  stone,  and  coal  yards.  The  Park  Commission  has, 
furthermore,  obtained  permission  from  the  General  Court  to 
extend  this  embankment  another  third  of  a  mile  to  the  angle 
in  the  Basin  at  the  foot  of  Chestnut  Street ;  and  this  Commis- 
sion hopes  to  see  this  improvement  accomplished  at  an  early 
date.  Boston  has  also  laid  out  a  river-side  street,  extending 
about  a  third  of  a  mile  along  the  river  wall,  near  Cottage 
Farm  railroad  station.  Cambridge  is  contemplating  the  pur- 
chase of  the  so-called  Captain's  Island  and  the  adjacent 
marshes ;  ^  and  the  Charles  River  Embankment  Company  is 
under  conti-act  with  Cambridge  to  build  half  a  mile  of  river- 
side boulevard  two  hundred  feet  in  width.^  On  the  upper 
river,  though  there  are  as  yet  no  reservations  for  public  pur- 
poses, there  are  several  considerable  stretches  of  shore  which 
are  held  for  semi-public  and  wholly  harmless  purposes ;  such 
as  the  frontages  owned  by  the  United  States  at  the  Arsenal, 
by  Harvard  University  for  athletic  and  park  purposes,  by  the 
Cambridge  Hospital,  and  by  the  Longfellow  Memorial  Asso- 
ciation. 

Where  the  river  is  broad,  combinations  of  marsh  owners, 
such  as  the  Charles  River  Embankment  Company  and  the 
Roxbury  Mill  Corporation,  embark  upon  the  work  of  improv- 
ing their  properties  for  residential  purposes  with  no  apparent 
hesitation  ;  but  it  is  only  natural  that  the  riparian  owners  of 
the  narrow  parts  of  the  river  should  be  fearful  of  the  evil  effect 
on  their  properties  which  an  unsightly  occupation  of  the  oppo- 
site bank  would  cause.  These  owners  of  opposite  banks  are  cer- 
tainly in  an  unenviable  position  to-day,  and  it  would  be  to  their 
advantage  if  they  could  agree  among  themselves  upon  a  gen- 
eral plan  of  development,  in  accordance  with  which  certain 
1  Done. 


^T.  32]  FAR-SEEING  RECOMMENDATIONS  569 

parts  of  the  river  banks  might  be  devoted  to  industry  and  com- 
merce, while  other  parts  might  be  allotted  to  residences  front- 
ing upon  public  embankments.  If  such  a  plan  were  once 
adopted  and  made  rigidly  binding  upon  all  concerned,  indi- 
vidual owners  might  then  develop  their  particular  portions  as 
fast  or  as  slowly  as  they  pleased,  without  fear  of  any  sudden 
revolution  in  values.  Moreover,  the  adoption  of  such  a  de- 
finitive plan  would  undoubtedly  encourage  the  development 
of  the  river  lands  to  the  benefit  of  the  community  as  well  as 
to  the  profit  of  the  owners. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  local  owners  fail  (through  their 
own  short-sightedness  or  quarrelsomeness)  to  agree  upon  any 
such  general  plan,  they  must  expect  to  see  their  shore  lands 
taken  from  them  by  right  of  eminent  domain,  the  work  of 
reformation  done  by  public  authority,  and  much  of  the  cost 
thereof  assessed  in  betterments  upon  the  marshes  in  the  rear 
of  the  improved  strip.  For  so  important  to  the  community 
is  the  reformation  of  the  river  and  the  prevention  of  the  un- 
sanitary occupation  of  the  banks,  that,  if  the  owners  of  the 
banks  fail  to  act  eft'ectively  for  their  own  advantage  and  the 
public  weal,  the  cities  and  towns  which  abut  upon  the  river, 
or,  if  they  cannot  agree,  then  the  Commonwealth  itself,  must 
take  the  banks,  do  the  work,  and  collect  the  cost  from  the 
municipalities  and  the  individuals  concerned.^ 

Postponing  all  further  discussion  of  the  ways  and  means  of 
effecting  the  reservation  and  eventual  reformation  of  the 
river  banks,  the  commission  suggests  the  desirability  of  legis- 
lation enabling  towns  and  cities  to  cooperate  in  securing  and 
eventually  improving  public  open  spaces  lying  in  more  than 
one  town  or  city.^ 

The  commission  also  recommends  the  passage  of  the  fol- 
lowing joint  resolution  :  — 

Resolved,  That  the  Senators  <lnd  Representatives  of  Mas- 
sachusetts in  Congress  be  requested  to  advocate  an  additional 
appropriation  for  the  dredging  of  Charles  River. 

^  Done  through  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  with  an  appropria- 
tion of  .S300,000  made  in  1894. 

-  Done  for  the  Metropolitan  District  by  the  creation  of  the  Metropol- 
itan Park  Commission  in  1893. 


570  CHAELES   RIVER  — 1891-96  [1893 

The  commission  believes  that  the  amount  appropriated  for 
the  work  of  the  commission  will  be  sufficient  for  the  com- 
pletion of  its  investigations,  provided  that  the  General  Court 
will  assign  quarters  for  its  occupancy. 


SECOND  KEPORT  OF  THE  CHARLES  RIVER  IMPROVEMENT 
COMMIsjSION. 

The  undersigned  commissioners,  appointed  under  chapter 
890  of  the  Acts  of  1891,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  what 
improvement  can  be  made  in  the  Charles  River  between  the 
dam  at  Watertown  and  Charles  River  Bridge  in  Boston,  and 
other  related  purposes  stated  in  the  Act,  respectfully  submit 
the  following  report,  which,  with  the  report  already  submitted, 
covers  their  investigation  to  date  :  — 

The  commission,  believing  that  the  testimony  at  the  many 
hearings  shows  conclusively  that  the  desire  of  the  people  is 
that  the  river  shall  be  improved,  particularly  from  a  sanitary 
point  of  view,  and  that  this  improvement  may  be  best  made 
by  making  the  banks  of  the  river  desirable  for  residential 
purposes,  submit  with  this  report  an  Act  creating  a  commis- 
sion, to  be  known  as  the  Charles  River  Improvement  Com- 
mission, and  recommend  the  passage  of  the  Act. 

The  evidence  before  the  commission  showed  that  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Charles  River  will,  in  the  near  future,^  be  limited 
to  barges  and  mastless  vessels.  The  commission  therefore 
recommends  that  the  railroad  bridges  now  crossing  Charles 
River  be  discontinued,  and  the  different  railroads  required  to 
build  a  single  structure  capable  of  accommodating  all  railroad 
travel. 

The  commission  recommends  that  action  be  taken  by  the 
legislature  by  which  authority  will  be  given  to  the  city  of 
Boston  to  continue  the  Charles  River  embankment  along  the 
whole  of  the  city's  frontage  on  the  river. 

The  commission  recommends  the  immediate  construction  of 
the  embankment  from  West  Boston  Bridge  to  the  Union  Boat 
Club  building. 

^  Permission  to  rebuild  West  Boston  Bridge  without  a  draw  was  ob- 
tained by  the  Act  of  March  23,  1899. 


iET.  33]  THE  JOINT  BOARD   OF  1893  571 

The  commission  also  recommends  that  such  authority  as 
may  be  necessary  shall  be  given  to    the  city  of  Cambridge, 
enabling  it  to  construct  an  embankment  along  the  whole  or 
any  part  of  the  Cambridge  side  of  the  river. 
20  April,  1893. 

The  legislature  of  1893,  instead  of  adopting  the  act  re- 
commended by  the  commission  of  1891-93,  appointed  a  Joint 
Board  on  the  Improvement  of  Charles  River,  consisting  of 
the  Metropolitaii  Park  Commission  which  had  just  been  cre- 
ated, and  the  State  Board  of  Health,  with  insti*uctions  "  to 
prepare  plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  bed,  shores,  and 
waters  of  the  Charles  River  between  Charles  River  Bridge 
and  the  Walthara  line  Charles  River,  and  for  the  removal  of 
any  nuisances  therefrom,  and  to  report  to  the  next  General 
Court."  The  Joint  Board  was  authorized  to  employ  engi- 
neers and  experts  and  to  spend  85000.  They  employed 
Frederic  T.  Stearns  as  engineer,  and  Olmsted,  Olmsted  and 
Eliot  as  landscape  architects. 

The  proposals  made  to  the  Board  by  their  engineer  covered 
the  following  points:  (1)  The  preservation  of  the  traffic  on 
the  river  ;  (2)  the  sanitation  of  the  stream  and  its  banks  ; 
(3)  the  prevention  of  the  periodic  flooding  of  the  marshes 
and  low  lands  near  the  river ;  (4)  an  improvement  in  the 
discharge  of  the  existing  sewers  on  the  Back  Bay ;  (5)  the 
preservation  of  the  present  level  of  the  ground-water  in  filled 
lands  ;  (6)  the  prevention  of  the  soaking  of  the  marshes  near 
the  river  with  salt  water  twice  a  day  by  the  ordinary  high 
tide  ;  (7)  the  draining  of  the  marshes.  Assuming  that  these 
immense  gains  might  be  attained  by  means  of  a  dam  high 
enough  to  exclude  the  tide,  as  proposed  by  the  engineer, 
Charles  wrote  the  following  report  to  the  Joint  Board  to  show 
what  great  landscape  and  park  advantages  would  result  from 
the  adoption  of  the  Board's  plans. 

H.  P.  Walcott,  M.  D.,  Chairman  of  Joint  Board  on  the  Improvement  of 
Charles  River. 

Sir  :  —  We  have  the  honor  to  report  as  follows  upon  the 
improvement  and  best  utilization  of  Charles  RiVer  and  its 
borders  between  Waltham  line  and  Craigie  Bridge.  Where- 
ever  the  words  "  Charles  River  "  or  "  the  river  "  are  used  in 
this  paper,  they  are  to  be  understood  to  refer  only  to  this 
portion  of  the  total  length  of  the  stream. 


572  CHARLES   RIVER  — 1891-96  [1894 

The  problem  presented  by  the  existence  of  the  channel,  flats, 
and  marshes  of  Charles  River  in  the  heart  of  the  metropolitan 
district  of  Boston  has  long  been  the  subject  of  public  discus- 
sion ;  and,  although  this  discussion  has  been  thus  far  almost 
barren  of  results,  it  has  at  least  served  to  familiarize  the 
metropolitan  community  with  the  nature  of  the  river  and  the 
history  of  its  pollution  and  defacement.  This  discussion  has 
also  developed  the  fact  that  public  authority  over  the  river 
and  its  borders  is  unfortunately  divided  between  the  United 
States,  the  State,  three  cities,  and  one  town.  If  absolute 
deference  were  to  be  paid  to  each  and  every  public  authority 
and  private  interest  concerned,  no  satisfactory  solution  of  the 
problem  of  the  river  could  ever  be  reached,  because  these 
authorities  and  interests  are  conflicting  ;  therefore,  in  our 
discussion  of  the  subject  we  make  no  attempt  to  reconcile 
conflicting  interests  or  to  conform  to  the  supposed  or  alleged 
desires  of  any  governing  body  or  interested  person.  We  first 
inquire,  What  is  the  most  important  service  which  Charles 
River  renders,  or  may  be  made  to  render,  to  the  welfare  of 
the  dense  population  of  its  valley  ?  and  after  this  mode  of 
usefulness  has  been  explained,  it  will  be  our  endeavor  to  set 
forth  a  logical  scheme  of  improvement  such  as  will  develop 
the  natural  usefulness  of  the  river  in  the  highest  possible 
degree. 

It  is  not  for  us  to  attempt  to  suggest  the  proper  way  of 
executing  the  improvement  to  be  proposed.  We  are  war- 
ranted in  assuming  that  a  way  can  be  found  to  carry  out  any 
scheme  which  can  be  shown  to  be  conducive  to  the  greatest 
good  of  the  greatest  number. 

The  principal  function  of  every  river  is  the  discharge  of 
surface  waters.  The  channel  of  the  Charles  conveys  to  the 
ocean  the  surface  drainage  of  two  hundred  square  miles.  The 
estuary  of  the  river  is  navigable  by  coasting  vessels,  and  the 
considerable  volume  of  the  fresh-water  river  has  led  to  the 
use  of  the  stream  as  a  convenient  conduit  of  factory  wastes 
and  sewage.  These  modes  of  usefulness,  however,  are  evi- 
dently subsidiary  to  the  primary  or  fundamental  usefulness  of 
the  stream  as  a  common  drain.     The  use  of  the  stream  as  a 


^T.  a4]  THE  RIVER  AS  DRAIN  573 

sewer  may  be  discontinued,  as,  in  fact,  it  soon  will  be,^  and 
the  use  of  the  stream  by  commerce  may  be  abandoned  when 
that  use  shall  be  found  to  conflict  with  more  profitable  uses. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  service  of  the  channel  as  a  drain  will 
inevitably  become  of  ever-increasing  importance  as  population 
thickens  in  the  river  valley.  Every  additional  roof  and  street 
built  within  the  watershed  enhances  the  rapidity  of  the  flow 
of  rain-water  towards  the  watercourses  and  adds  to  the  vol- 
ume of  the  floods  in  the  river.  A  due  regard  for  public 
economy  demands  that  the  channel  of  every  brook  flowing 
through  a  closely  settled  district  should  not  only  be  kept  free 
from  obstruction  but  be  made  capable  of  enlargement.  It 
is  vastly  cheaper  to  acquire  early,  through  public  authority, 
ample  space  for  the  safe  conveyance  of  the  increasing  floods 
of  such  streams,  than  it  is  to  clear  away  obstructions  and 
remove  buildings  after  damaging  overflows  have  demonstrated 
the  necessity  of  so  doing.  The  costly  case  of  Stony  Brook  in 
Roxbury  teaches  the  need  of  prompt  action  in  this  important 
matter.  Meanwhile,  it  is  satisfactory  to  be  assured  that,  how- 
ever inadequate  the  channels  of  the  tributary  brooks  of 
Charles  River  may  be,  or  may  become,  the  open  channel  of 
the  river  itself  will  doubtless  be  sufficiently  capacious  for  all 
time.  This  channel  has  a  width  of  one  hundred  feet  at  the 
Waltham  line,  two  hundred  feet  at  the  head  of  the  tide  in 
Watertown,  and  five  hundred  feet  at  Cottage  Farm,  where 
the  river  expands  into  the  so-called  basin.  The  length  of  the 
channel  from  Waltham  line  to  Cottage  Farm  is  eight  miles, 
and  the  total  area  of  the  open  water-way  between  these  points 
is  about  three  hundred  acres.  This  is  the  considerable  space 
which  must  permanently  be  kept  open  in  order  to  provide  a 
safe  way  of  escape  for  the  floods  of  the  Charles  River  water- 
shed. 

It  is  next  to  be  noted  that  well-distributed  open-air  space 
is  just  what  every  crowded  district  must  possess,  if  the  public 
health  is  to  be  preserved,  and  that  many  cities  have  been  com- 
pelled to  pay  large  sums  of  money  In  order  to  secure  public 

^  The  Metropolitan  Sewerage  System  was  put  into  operation  1892- 
1897.     Extensions  and  improvements  are  continuous. 


B74  CHARLES  RIVER  — 1891-96  [1894 

open  spaces  no  larger  than  that  which  nature  has  freely  given 
to  the  cities  of  the  lower  valley  of  the  Charles.  If  the 
crowded  districts  of  the  valley  care  to  reap  the  advantage  of 
this  free  gift  of  nature,  they  have  only  to  take  possession  of 
the  banks  of  the  river.  Money  sjjent  in  making  the  existing 
natural  open  spaces  accessible  and  enjoyable  will  surely  yield 
a  greater  return,  both  in  public  health  and  pleasure,  and  in 
profits  from  the  increased  assessable  values  of  adjoining  lands, 
than  it  could  yield  if  it  were  spent  in  buying  detached  inland 
tracts.  This  is  an  obvious  truth,  and  already  the  municipali- 
ties of  Boston  and  Cambridge  have  taken  action  accordingly. 
Boston  has  secured  and  constructed  the  very  popular  public 
ground  called  the  Charlesbank,  and  proposes  to  construct, 
eventually,  a  public  promenade  along  the  whole  shore  of  the 
basin.  In  this  part  of  the  river  the  use  of  the  banks  for  com- 
mercial purposes  has  ali-eady  been  abandoned  in  favor  of  the 
more  profitable  use  thereof  for  purposes  of  residence  and 
recreation.  Cambridge  is  engaged  in  acquiring  the  larger 
part  of  her  long  frontage  on  the  narrow  river  ^  as  well  as  the 
border  of  the  basin. 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  acquisition  for  the  public  of  the 
remaining  portions  of  the  river  bank  ought  to  be  accomplished 
at  once,  either  by  the  separate  towns  and  cities  concerned,  or 
by  some  central  authority  empowered  to  act  for  all.  This  is 
not  an  extravagant  proposition ;  it  is  dictated  by  considera- 
tions of  real  economy.  Open  space  is  needed.  Nowhere 
west  of  the  State  House  can  so  much  well-distributed  space 
be  had  for  so  little  money  as  on  the  banks  of  Charles  River. 
Furthermore,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that,  if  the 
proposed  reservation  were  to  be  bounded  by  roads  affording 
building  frontages,  the  private  owners  of  the  adjoining  lands 
and  the  public  treasury  would  alike  be  financially  benefited. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  noted  that  private  capital 
begins  to  perceive  that  the  highest  possible  value  will  be 
obtained  for  the  river  lands  only  when  they  are  made  attrac- 
tive to  the  builders  of  dwellings  and  apartment  houses.  The 
Charles  River  Embankment  Company  is  laying  out  nearly  a 
mile  of  the  Cambridge  shore  of  the  basin  in  a  style  ^  which  is 
1  Accomplished  in  1899.  ^  Accomplished  in  1900. 


acT.  34]        THE  BANKS  A  RESIDENCE  QUARTER  575 

calculated  to  induce  the  building  of  fine  residences ;  and,  in 
order  to  establish  values  beyond  a  doubt,  the  company  has 
presented  to  the  city  of  Cambridge  an  esplanade  upon  the 
river  front,  extending  the  whole  length  of  its  domain  and 
measuring  two  hundred  feet  in  depth.  The  owners  of  large 
tracts  of  land  lying  further  up  the  stream  would  doubtless 
give  their  river  banks  in  a  similar  spirit,  if  by  so  doing  they 
might  secure  the  advantage  of  a  frontage  upon  a  continuous 
river-road  and  reservation.  Not  that  it  is  to  be  expected  or 
desired  that  all  the  banks  of  the  river  should  become  new 
"  Back  Bay  "  districts.  Obnoxious  industries  would  doubt- 
less be  banished  from  the  valley  by  the  enhanced  land  values 
which  may  be  expected  to  result  from  making  the  river  bank 
a  reservation,  but  manufactories  of  the  higher  sort  would 
probably  remain  and  be  established  on  lands  not  remote  from 
the  reservation ;  and  if  the  low  lands  of  the  valley  should 
eventually  become  the  seat  of  a  population  of  well-housed 
working  people,  who  would  find  refreshment  on  the  public 
river-bank  at  the  noon  hour  and  in  summer  evenings,  a  most 
desirable  result  would  be  secured.  Playgrounds  for  children 
would  naturally  be  provided  at  intervals  along  the  banks. 

The  advantage  which  would  be  reaped  by  the  towns  and 
cities  of  the  river  valley  from  the  joint  possession  of  a  thor- 
oughly pleasant  route  of  travel  to  and  from  Boston  is  so 
obvious  that  it  need  only  be  mentioned.  Roads  built  upon 
the  boundaries  of  the  proposed  reservation  would  provide  a 
continuous  parkway  from  Waltham  to  the  heart  of  Boston. 

Upon  the  accompanying  plan  the  heavy  line  indicates  the 
outer  boundary  of  the  lands  proposed  to  be  acquired  for  the 
public  domain,  and  adjacent  lines  indicate  the  existing  and  pro- 
posed boundary  roads.  It  is  professionally  incumbent  upon 
us  to  urge  the  prompt  acquisition  by  public  authority  of 
all  the  land  within  the  heavy  lines.^  The  few  commercial 
and  industrial  establishments  which  now  stand  within  these 
lines  would  not  necessarily  be  required  to  move  away  at  once. 
Whatever  public  authority  shall  undertake,  the  acquiring  of 
the  proposed  reservation  may  well  permit  these  concerns  to 

1  Compare  the  acquisitions  of  public  lands  on  Charles  River  indicated 
on  the  map  in  the  pocket  of  the  right  cover  of  this  volume. 


576  CHARLES  RIVER  — 1891-96  [1894 

occupy  their  present  sites  perhaps  for  years,  at  all  events  until 
money  shall  be  forthcoming  wherewith  to  begin  the  necessary 
woi'k  of  construction.  This  work  may  be  long  postponed,  but 
it  can  never  be  even  begun  unless  the  land  is  acquired,  and 
the  land  can  never  be  obtained  so  cheaply  as  it  may  be  to-day. 

It  is  now  desirable  to  return  to  the  consideration  of  the 
river  as  a  drain,  —  a  topic  which  was  temporarily  abandoned 
in  order  to  point  out  that  because  it  is  a  drain  it  is  also  an 
open  space,  and  an  open  space  of  which  advantage  should  be 
taken  for  the  benefit  of  both  the  public  and  the  land-owners 
most  concerned. 

For  a  large  part  of  the  district  under  consideration,  namely, 
for  all  the  low  lands  along  the  river  east  of  the  United  States 
Arsenal,  the  river  as  it  exists  to-day  is  a  very  inefficient  drain. 
Between  the  arsenal  and  Cottage  Farm  there  border  upon 
the  river  as  many  as  five  hundred  acres  of  unfilled  or  only 
slightly  filled  salt  marsh,  while  back  of  the  salt  marshes  in 
Brighton  and  Cambridge  there  lie  about  as  many  more  acres 
only  very  slightly  raised  above  the  level  of  average  high 
water.  When  the  tide  is  out  there  is  ready  drainage  for  this 
land ;  when  the  tide  is  in  there  is  no  drainage  and  the  lands 
are  drowned. 

Engineers  know  but  two  ways  of  remedying  poor  drainage. 
Either  the  badly  drained  lands  must  be  raised,  or  the  level 
of  the  water  in  the  drainage  channels  must  be  lowered.  To 
raise  the  drowned  lands  in  question  to  a  drainable  elevation 
with  filling  material  costing  fifty  cents  per  cubic  yard  would 
cost  two  million  dollars.  To  build  a  dam  and  a  lock  by 
which  the  high  tide  would  be  kept  out,  and  the  water  in  the 
river  maintained  at  a  constant  level  sufficiently  low  to  make 
all  the  marshes  drainable,  would  cost  perhaps  half  a  million. 
The  important  sanitary  and  financial  advantages  to  be  derived 
from  the  construction  of  such  a  dam  and  lock  are  detailed  in 
the  accompanying  report  of  the  engineer,  and  need  not  be 
repeated  here. 

We  have  already  urged,  and  shall  continue  to  urge,  the 
acquisition  of  a  continuous  river-bank  reservation,  whether 
the  river  is  to  remain  a  tidal  estuary  or  not ;  but  it  is  evident 


^T.  34]  THE  RIVER  PONDED  577 

that  if  the  tide  could  be  excluded,  and  the  resulting  fresh- 
water stream  maintained  at  a  fairly  constant  level,  the  prob- 
lem presented  by  the  shores  of  tlie  stream  would  be  greatly 
simplified.  Thus,  if  the  surface  of  the  water  were  to  be 
maintained  at  Grade  8,  as  is  proposed  by  the  engineer,  not 
only  would  the  marshes  within  the  reservation  become  drain- 
able  at  once,  and  without  filling,  but  the  low  mud  banks 
would,  with  a  little  assistance,  become  quickly  clothed  with 
trees  and  bushes.  The  cost  of  sea  walls  and  ripraps  would  be 
avoided,  and  the  ajjpearance  of  the  stream  would  be  greatly 
improved. 

It  would  be  well  to  make  sure  that  eight  feet  should  be  the 
minimum  depth  of  water  in  the  fresh-water  channel,  because 
a  less  depth  would  encourage  an  undesirable  growth  of  water 
plants.  It  would  also  be  advisable  to  exclude  salt  water  as 
completely  as  possible,  if  only  because  it  would  injure  fresh- 
water plants  growing  upon  the  banks.  If  proper  precautions 
were  taken,  the  effect  of  the  proposed  dam  upon  the  projected 
public  reservation  would  evidently  be  wholly  favorable.  Ac- 
cordingly, while  the  accompanying  plan  has  been  drawn  to 
represent  the  boundaries  of  a  reservation  such  as  must  be 
recommended  whether  the  stream  be  salt  or  fresh,  the  banks 
of  the  stream  are  shown  as  they  might  be  if  the  surface  of  the 
stream  were  to  be  maintained  at  Grade  8  by  a  dam  situated 
as  recommended  by  the  engineer.  Shore  lines,  landings, 
bridges,  paths,  sidewalks,  and  roads  within  the  reservation 
are  not  accurately  defined  upon  the  plan,  both  because  the 
scale  of  the  drawing  is  too  small,  and  because  these  details 
may  more  properly  be  devised  by  whatever  executive  authori- 
ties shall  have  charge  of  the  work  in  the  future. 

In  briefest  form  we  have  outlined  a  scheme  of  improvement 
such  as  will  develop  in  the  highest  possible  degree  the  natural 
usefulness  of  the  river  as  an  open  space  and  as  a  drain.  It 
only  remains  to  describe  the  accompanying  plan  in  greater 
detail,  for  which  purpose  we  divide  the  river  into  three  sec- 
tions, as  follows :  first,  the  fresh-water  section ;  second,  the 
marsh  section  ;  third,  the  basin  section. 


578  CHARLES  RIVER  — 1891-96  [1894 

THE    FRESH-WATER    SECTION  —  WALTHAM    LINE    TO    WATER- 
TOWN   BRIDGE. 

This  is  the  only  fresh-water  section  of  Charles  River  with 
which  the  present  inquiry  is  concerned.  The  stream  here 
meanders  tranquilly  through  a  chain  of  open  meadows  gener- 
ally bordered  by  low  bluffs.  Dams  at  Bemis  and  Watertown 
detain  the  natural  current  and  spread  the  water  surface  in  an 
agreeable  manner.  Neither  the  meadows  nor  the  bluffs  are 
as  yet  much  occupied  by  buildings  except  in  the  near  neigh- 
borhood of  the  two  dams. 

The  public  reservation  outlined  upon  the  accompanying 
plan  begins  arbitrarily  at  the  Waltham  line,  in  accordance 
with  the  terms  of  the  act  of  the  legislature  creating  your 
commission,  and  extends  eastward  between  boundaries  which 
it  is  projjosed  shall  be  formed  by  existing  or  prospective  pub- 
lic roads,  affording  frontage  for  the  adjacent  private  building 
land.  [Here  follow  details  concerning  the  boundary  roads 
on  both  banks  of  the  river.] 

It  should  be  noted  in  passing  that  Cheesecake  Brook  has 
already  been  included  in  a  public  reservation  bounded  by  a 
road  upon  each  bank,  and  that  both  the  adjacent  land-owners 
and  the  public  of  Newton  are  well  pleased  therewith. 

The  mills  at  Bemis  cannot  be  included  in  the  reservation, 
for  obvious  reasons  ;  but  they  are  easily  passed  by  River 
Street  and  California  Street,  and  the  existing  buildings  are 
not  a  serious  blot  upon  the  landscape  of  the  river  valley. 

[Here  follow  more  details  about  boundary  roads.] 

Abreast  of  Watertown  dam  connection  can  easily  be  made 
with  the  public  reservation  which  the  city  of  Newton  proposes 
to  create  along  the  course  of  Laundry  Brook. 

THE    MARSH    SECTION  —  WATERTOWN    BRIDGE    TO    COTTAGE 
FARM. 

This  middle  section  of  the  river  is  characterized  by  exten- 
sive areas  of  salt  marsh  which  border  the  wandering  channel. 
Here  and  there  the  marsh  has  been  filled  and  a  bit  of  sea 
wall  built,  but  more  than  nine  tenths  of  the  total  length  of 
the  river  bank  is  still  in  its  natural  state.  The  marshes  are 
generally  unoccupied. 


;ET.  34]  RIVER  DRIVES  —  SPEEDWAY  579 

The  plan  suggests  that  a  bridge  should  eventually  be  built 
in  continuation  of  California  Street,  and  that  the  public  re- 
servation should  include  the  narrow  strip  of  land  which  lies 
between  Wheeler  Street  and  the  river,  so  that  the  continuity 
of  the  river  drive  may  be  unbroken.  .  .  .  [Details  of  bound- 
aries.] 

On  the  south  side  of  this  section  of  the  river  the  Boston  & 
Albany  Eailroad  is  built  on  an  embankment  not  far  from  the 
river's  edge,  while  several  commercial  establishments  occupy 
the  river  bank  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  village  of  Water- 
town.  It  is  desirable  that  the  land  which  lies  between  the 
Boston  &  Albany  Railroad  and  the  stream  should  be  made 
part  of  the  public  reservation,  but  more  than  this  seems 
impracticable. 

Continuing  eastward,  the  plan  suggests  on  the  north  bank 
a  drive  through  the  grounds  of  the  United  States  Arsenal, 
passing  in  rear  of  the  wharf,  and  a  street  connection  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  by  which  travel  may  pass  in  rear  of 
the  great  buildings  of  the  abattoir.  East  of  the  abattoir  it 
is  again  possible  to  secure  a  river  drive  on  the  south  bank 
as  well  as  on  the  north.  The  plan  proposes  that  this  drive 
should  follow  a  long  curve  from  Western  Avenue  at  the  foot 
of  Market  Street  to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Soldier's 
Field  of  Harvard  College.  On  the  broad  and  level  marshes 
which  will  adjoin  this  section  of  the  river  drive  it  will  be 
possible  to  obtain  a  mile-long  course  for  driving,  unbroken 
by  any  cross  roads.  We  know  of  no  other  so  favorable  an 
opportunity  for  the  making  of  a  "  speedway."  ^ 

From  Soldier's  Field  to  the  works  of  the  Brookline  Gas 
Company,  at  River  Street  Bridge,  the  plan  shows  the  bound- 
ary of  the  reservation  established  upon  a  curved  road,  a 
branch  of  which  may  in  the  future  follow  the  edge  of  the 
river  past  the  Longfellow  Meadow,  and  so  over  a  new  bridge 
to  Mount  Auburn  and  Fresh  Pond.^  Beyond  the  Brookline 
Gas  Company's  works  the  Boston  &  Albany  Railroad  con- 
trols the  river  bank  as  far  as  Cottage  Farm,  so  that  no  new 

1  This  speedway  was  finished  in  1900. 

2  Accomplished  in  1900  except  the  new  bridge.  The  parkway  passes 
throuorb  "  Elmwood." 


580  CHARLES  RIVER  — 1891-96  [1894 

frontage  can  be  developed  by  the  construction  of  a  road. 
Moreover,  people  driving  on  the  river  roads  will  find  their 
shortest  way  to  Boston  by  crossing  the  river  at  Western 
Avenue  bridge  and  recrossing  it  at  Cottage  Farm. 

It  is  proposed  that  the  north  side  road  on  the  boundary  of 
this  section  of  the  reservation  should  be  placed  about  half 
way  between  the  river  and  the  existing  Coolidge  Street,  and 
that  after  passing  Cambridge  Cemetery  and  the  Cambridge 
Hospital  it  should  connect  at  Mt.  Auburn  Street  with  the 
river  road,  the  site  of  which  has  already  been  acquired  by 
the  Park  Commission  of  the  city  of  Cambridge.  This  road 
must  find  its  way  between  the  water  and  the  buildings  of  the 
river-side  wards  of  Cambridge  as  best  it  may.  At  certain 
points,  as,  for  instance,  at  the  Riverside  Press,  space  for  the 
broad  driveway  and  promenade  is  all  that  can  be  had.  At 
other  places,  as,  for  instance,  at  Captain's  Island,  space  valu- 
able for  playgrounds  has  been  secured  between  the  drive  and 
the  stream.  It  is  understood  that  the  Cambridge  Park  Com- 
mission proposes  to  remove,  in  time,  the  few  commercial 
establishments  which  at  present  stand  in  the  way  of  the  con- 
struction of  this  drive  and  park.^ 

THE   BASIN   SECTION  —  COTTAGE    FARM    TO   CRAIGIE    BRIDGE. 

The  existing  bridge  at  Cottage  Farm  is  crossed  at  grade 
by  the  tracks  of  the  freight  branch  of  the  Boston  &  Albany 
Railroad.  There  is  no  need  that  both  this  bridge  and  the 
river  road  should  be  carried  over  these  tracks.  Moreover, 
the  present  bridge  does  not  connect  with  any  highway  leading 
to  the  south.  For  these  reasons  and  others  we  have  deemed 
it  best  to  suggest  the  discontinuance,  of  the  existing  bridge 
and  the  building  of  a  new  structure  a  short  distance  further 
east.  In  the  suggested  position  the  bridge  would  not  only 
connect  Cambridge  and  the  river  roads  more  conveniently 
with  Boston,  but  it  would  also  make  good  connection  by  way 
of  Audubon  Road  with  the  new  parkway  along  Muddy  River, 
and  so  with  all  the  Boston  parks  and  all  the  southern  suburbs. 
This  new  bridge  would  also  mark  the  point  of  entrance  of 
Charles  River  into  the  Basin,  while  the  view  from  the  bridge 
*  Done. 


^T.  34]  THE  REFORMED  RIVER  581 

down  the  whole  length  of  the  Basin  to  the  State  House  would 
be  very  fine. 

Above  this  bridge  the  shores  of  the  reservations  proposed 
by  the  plan  would  be  irregular  and  clothed  with  trees  and 
bushes,  except  where  it  might  be  desirable  that  the  public 
sliould  reach  the  water's  edge  at  beaches  or  boat-landings. 
Below  this  bridge  the  shores  of  the  Basin  would  be  treated 
formally  with  low  walls  or  curbs  of  stone,  broken  by  bastions 
affording  views  over  the  water,  landings  for  use  of  steam  or 
electric  passenger  boats,  docks  for  row-boats  and  the  like. 

The  Cambridge  side  of  the  Basin  is  already  provided  with 
a  broad  public  reservation  which  is  now  almost  continuous. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Boston  side  of  the  Basin,  except  be- 
tween Craigie  Bridge  and  West  Boston  Bridge,  is  bordered 
either  by  the  back  yards  of  private  buildings  or  by  a  narrow 
alley  which  gives  access  to  back  yards  and  stables.  It  has 
seemed  to  us  that  the  open  Basin  is  quite  broad  enough  to 
permit  of  the  insertion  of  one  additional  row  of  buildings 
adjacent  to  the  existing  water-side  alley,  and  the  construction 
of  a  driveway  and  promenade  on  the  water-side  of  this  new 
row.  On  this  plan  it  may  be  exijected  that  buildings  of  an 
agreeable  aspect  will  gradually  be  constructed  fronting  on 
the  Basin,  while  the  money  which  will  be  obtained  from  the 
sale  of  this  building  land  will  certainly  pay  the  whole  cost  of 
filling  and  finishing  the  drive  and  promenade. 

The  dam  which  is  shown  upon  the  plan  as  connecting  the 
completed  Charlesbank  with  the  newly  acquired  reservation 
on  the  Cambridge  side  called  The  Front  is  fully  described  in 
the  engineer's  report.  It  is  proposed  that  a  lock  should  be 
built  in  this  dam,  primarily  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
United  States  Arsenal,  and  secondarily  to  serve  the  purposes 
of  such  industrial  establishments  as  may  linger  on  the  river 
bank  or  be  built  near  it.  Coal  is  now  practically  the  only 
freight  carried  up  the  stream,  and  the  delivery  of  coal  is  not 
incompatible  with  the  enjoyment  of  the  river  bank  by  the 
general  public.  It  is  significant,  however,  that  "  all-rail  " 
coal  is  now  offered  for  sale  in  Brighton  and  Newton  near  the 
river.  The  case  of  the  Charles  is  wholly  different  from  that 
of  Chicago  River,  for  example,  —  a  stream  which  is  the  only 


582  CHARLES   RIVER  — 1891-96  [1891 

harbor  of  a  great  commercial  city.  Boston,  witli  Charles- 
town,  East  Boston,  and  South  Boston,  possesses  ample  harbor 
frontages  below  the  mouths  of  all  her  rivers. 

Charles  River,  freed  from  sewage,  from  defiling  industries, 
from  mud  flats  and  from  mud  banks,  and  dedicated  with  its 
borders  to  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  the  public  as  a  drainage 
channel,  an  open  space,  a  parkway,  a  chain  of  playgrounds 
and  a  boating  course,  will  perform  its  highest  possible  service 
to  the  metropolitan  community,  and  will  return  to  the  com- 
munity profits  both  tangible  and  intangible,  which  will  annu- 
ally increase. 

April  16,  1894. 

On  the  presentation  of  their  report  in  April,  1894,  the  joint 
Board  on  the  Improvement  of  Charles  River  went  out  of  exist- 
ence. The  legislature,  being  properly  careful  about  any  pos- 
sible injury  to  Boston  Harbor,  directed  the  Board  of  Harbor 
and  Land  Commissioners  "  to  inquire  into  the  construction 
of  a  dam  and  lock  in  the  tidal  Basin  of  Charles  River  with 
special  reference  to  interference  with  tide-water  and  its  effect 
on  the  harbor  of  Boston."  That  Board  proceeded  in  the 
following  autumn  to  hold  a  series  of  hearings  at  the  State 
House,  at  which  eminent  legal  counsel,  employed  by  certain 
citizens  of  Boston,  appeared  in  opposition  to  the  high  dam  pro- 
posed by  the  joint  Board,  the  opposition  being  based  chiefly 
on  sanitary  grounds. 

The  hearings  gave  Charles  occasion  to  publish  his  views 
about  the  dam  in  the  following  letter  to  the  "  Transcript." 

THE   PROPOSED    IMPROVEMENT    OF    CHARLES    RIVER. 

The  State  Board  of  Harbor  and  Land  Commissioners  gives 
a  hearing  on  the  proposed  question  of  the  Charles  River  Dam 
on  Thursday,  Oct.  18,  at  10  a.  m.,  and  citizens  of  Boston  who 
desire  to  see  a  stream,  which  is  now  a  health-threatening  nui- 
sance and  a  value-depressing  mud-hole,  converted  into  the 
chief  ornament  and  the  best  lung  of  the  metropolis  ought  to 
attend  and  give  expression  to  their  wish. 

The  argument  for  the  construction  of  the  proposed  dam 
can  be  put  into  a  nutshell.  In  the  first  place  the  dam,  by 
shutting  out  the  high  tide,  will  improve  the  drninage  of  all 
the  lowlands  near  the  river.     The  sewage  of  the  Back  Bay 


^T.  35]  THE   ARGUMENT   IN   A   NUTSHELL  583 

district  will  cease  to  '*  set  back  "  during  storms.  Moreover, 
the  marshes  of  the  river  will  be  freed  from  daily  flooding. 
These  results  will  be  accomplished  without  changing  the 
level  of  the  underlying  ground  water,  so  that  all  the  river 
lands  will  at  once  become  much  more  habitable,  healthy,  and 
valuable  than  they  have  ever  been. 

In  the  second  place  the  dam,  by  maintaining  a  permanent 
instead  of  a  fluctuating  water  level  in  the  river  will  add  much 
to  the  nsefulness,  the  healthfulness,  and  the  beauty  of  the 
stream  itself.  The  channel  will  become  navigable  at  all  times, 
and  vessels  will  not  have  to  lie  aground  at  wharves  and 
landings.  Boating  for  pleasure  will  become  possible  at  all 
hours.     The  flats  and  the  slimy  walls  will  be  covered  forever. 

In  the  third  place,  the  dam  will  save  much  money  in  one 
direction,  and  increase  wealth  in  another.  Six  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  dam  will  make  the  expendi- 
ture of  several  millions  for  sea  walls  and  filling  unnecessary. 
Compared  with  a  tidal  and  walled  river,  a  fresh-water  stream 
secured  by  a  dam  will  be  a  far  better  thing  at  less  cost. 
Moreover,  the  fresh-water  stream  flowing  at  a  constant  level, 
bordered  by  public  roads  and  reservations  already  secui'ed 
or  projected,  and  edged  by  low  walls  about  the  basin  and  by 
low  bushy  banks  above  Cottage  Farm,  will  certainly  enhance 
the  value  of  all  adjacent  lands,  and  soon  return  to  the  public 
treasury  the  whole  cost  of  the  dam. 

Boston  citizens  ought  to  be  aware  that  the  question  which 
troubles  the  residents  of  Beacon  Street  —  namely,  the  question, 
whether,  for  the  sake  of  the  architectural  uniformity  of  the 
Basin,  a  row  of  buildings  ought  eventually  to  be  built  facing 
the  water  in  the  rear  of  the  present  houses  —  is  a  question 
which  is  entirely  separable  from  the  question  of  the  dam. 
The  killing  of  the  dam  project  will  not  kill  the  other  notion. 
Architectural  completeness  will  seem  desirable  to  some  people 
whether  the  water  of  the  basin  remain  salt  or  become  fresh. 
Meanwhile  Boston  possesses  above  the  site  of  the  proposed 
dam  seven  miles  of  frontage  on  the  tidal  estuary  of  Charles 
River  with  hundreds  of  acres  of  lowlands  (including  the  Back 
Bay  itself)  which  would  be  greatly  benefited  by  the  work  the 
State  Board  of  Health  and  its  engineer  have  recommended. 


684  CHARLES   RIVER  — 1891-96  [1896 

The  only  considerable  obstacle  to  the  immediate  procurement 
of  this  benefit  is  the  fact  that  engineers  are  divided  in 
opinion  as  to  whether  the  diminution  of  current  caused  by 
building  the  dam  will  or  will  not  result  in  shoaling  Boston 
Harbor.  The  latest  thoroughly  competent  and  well-studied 
opinion  on  this  subject,  that  of  Engineer  F.  P.  Stearns,  is 
favorable  to  the  view  that  the  dam  can  have  no  ill  effects  in 
this  direction.  Supposing,  however,  that  some  shoaling  should 
take  place,  it  would  obviously  be  cheaper  for  the  metropoli- 
tan district  to  keep  a  dredging  machine  at  work  continually 
than  to  forego  the  sanitary,  recreative,  and  financial  benefits 
which  will  accrue  from  the  construction  of  the  proposed  dam. 
October  17, 1894. 

The  Board  of  Harbor  and  Land  Commissioners  made  no 
inquiry  of  their  own  on  the  subject  referred  to  them  —  indeed 
they  had  not  been  provided  with  the  means  of  making. any 
useful  inquiry  —  and  contented  themselves  with  reporting  to 
the  next  legislature  that  "  This  Board  is  powerless  to  say,  on 
the  imperfect  information  it  has,  what  effect  a  dam  as  pro- 
posed would  have  on  shoaling  in  the  upper  harbor.  We 
must,  however,  record  the  opinion  that  nobody  knows  what 
the  effect  would  be  .  .  .  we  are  unable  to  find  the  conse- 
quences of  building  the  proposed  dam  as  at  all  certain  of 
being  foreseen ;  and  ...  we  are  unable  to  report  in  favor 
of  the  recommendations  of  the  joint  Board."  This  report 
arrested  the  project  for  a  high  dam  near  Craigie's  Bridge. 

The  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  and  the  Cambridge 
Park  Commission,  to  both  of  which  Charles  was  giving  land- 
scape advice,  were  ready  to  improve  the  banks  of  Charles 
River  in  1895  and  1896,  and  wished  to  do  so ;  but  all  work 
of  construction  had  to  be  postponed,  or  injuriously  modified, 
because  the  question  of  excluding  the  tide  had  not  been  set- 
tled. Charles,  therefore,  had  the  defeat  of  the  dam  very  much 
on  his  mind  ;  and  in  August,  1896,  he  wrote  the  following 
paper  and  had  it  put  into  type,  but  refrained  from  publishing 
it,  because  some  of  the  Metropolitan  Commissioners  thought 
its  publication  at  that  time  inexpedient. 

muddy  river  and  charles  river. 
What  the  Damming  of  Charles  River  would  accom- 
plish. —  Only  a  few  years  ago  the  tide  from  the  sea  ebbed 


;et.  36]  MUDDY  RIVER  REFORMED  585 

and  flowed  in  a  narrow  channel  which  wound  through  broad 
or  narrow  salt  marshes  from  the  Back  Bay  to  Brookline. 
At  low  water  twice  each  day  the  muddy  bed  of  this  tidal 
creek  was  exposed  to  the  air  and  to  view,  while  at  extreme 
high  water  the  marshes  were  flooded  so  that  the  salt  tide 
lapped  the  bases  of  the  bluffs  on  either  hand.  Before  the 
Brookline  branch  of  the  Albany  Railroad  was  built  along  the 
foot  of  the  western  bluff,  the  sinuous  creek,  the  sunny 
marshes,  and  the  framing  woods  composed  a  pretty  picture 
of  a  type  characteristic  of  the  Massachusetts  seacoast.  But 
with  the  coming  of  the  railroad  and  the  accompanying  great 
increase  in  the  adjacent  population,  an  ominous  change  took 
place.  The  bluffs  became  the  back  yaixls  of  suburban  houses, 
the  edges  of  the  marshes  were  made  places  for  dumping  rub- 
bish, the  marshes  themselves  began  to  be  occupied  by  shabby 
buildings,  which  rented  cheaply  just  because  they  were  set 
too  low.  The  situation,  indeed,  seemed  hopeless.  The  valley 
of  Muddy  River  was  obviously  destined  to  become  one  of 
those  all  too  numerous  plague  spots  of  the  neighborhood  of 
Boston,  which  are  not  only  ugly  and  dangerous  in  themselves, 
but  also  extremely  damaging  to  all  surrounding  life  and 
property. 

But  how  "  destiny  "  is  sometimes  cheated  of  its  prey  in 
Massachusetts  I  At  this  moment  hundreds  of  bicycles  are 
flying  along  a  smooth  winding  road  which  follows  the  brink 
of  the  eastern  bluff,  and  commands  through  the  trees  charming 
glimpses  of  a  tideless  stream  winding  between  bushy  banks 
and  forming  pond-like  "  broads  "  and  basins.  This  afternoon 
many  boats  and  canoes  have  carried  many  boys  and  girls 
down  between  luxuriant  Elder  bushes,  Button  bushes,  and  Wil- 
lows all  the  way  from  Brookline  to  and  through  the  Back 
Bay  Fens.  Still  other  children  have  been  rambling  along 
the  streamside  paths,  resting  under  the  trees  of  the  eastern 
bluff,  or  gleefully  watching  the  passage  of  the  boats  under 
the  bridges.  Even  the  noisy  railroad  tracks  have  disappeared 
behind  a  bank  of  Sumao. 

"What  has  happened  ?  Simply  this  :  Common  sense,  right 
reason,  and  foresight,  well  known  to  be  profitable  when  ap- 
plied in  the  affairs  of  individuals,  have  here  been  exercised 


586  CHARLES   RIVER  — 1891-96  [1896 

by  the  whole  community  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  com- 
munity. The  City  of  Boston  and  the  Town  of  Brookline 
have  thwarted  "  destiny  "  through  the  cooiierative  action  of 
their  park  commissions.  The  private  owners  of  the  back 
yards,  bluffs,  and  marshes  have  been  bought  out.  The  River- 
way  has  been  built,  affording  not  only  an  agreeable  pleasure 
drive,  but  also  a  desirable  frontage  for  private  and  apart- 
ment houses.  By  means  of  a  dam  the  tide  has  been  com- 
pletely shut  out,  and  prevented  from  alternately  drowning 
and  exposing  the  lowlands.  By  means  of  a  gate  at  Brook- 
line  Avenue,  the  fresh  water,  which  now  fills  the  channel,  is 
kept  permanently  at  about  the  level  of  high  water  in  Boston 
Bay.  By  means  of  suitable  paths  and  bridges  the  completely 
changed  but  pleasing  scenery  of  the  transformed  valley  has 
been  made  accessible  and  enjoyable. 

Most  of  the  readers  of  the  "  Transcript "  have  noticed  the 
flats  and  marshes  of  Charles  River  when  occasionally  cross- 
ing the  several  bridges  which  connect  Brighton  and  Newton 
with  Cambridge  and  Watertown  ;  but  very  few  persons  have 
seriously  studied  the  j^roblem  of  the  river  as  it  presents  itself 
along  the  six  discouraging  miles  between  the  head  of  the 
great  Basin  at  Cottage  Farm  and  the  "  head  of  the  tide  "  in 
Watertown. 

The  tidal  Basin  below  Cottage  Farm  is  surrounded  by  high- 
priced  filled  lands  and  is  already  walled  about.  A  broad 
13arkway  and  promenade  have  been  provided  for  on  the  Cam- 
bridge side,  and  the  Boston  Park  Commission  will  undoubt- 
edly arrange  for  a  handsome  treatment  of  the  Boston  shore 
whenever  its  other  great  works  are  fairly  complete.  Thus, 
so  far  as  the  Basin  is  concerned,  things  might  remain  as  they 
are  for  years  without  serious  detriment  to  any  public  or  pri- 
vate interest.  On  the  other  hand,  all  who  are  well  acquainted 
with  the  narrow,  wall-less,  and  marsh-bordered  river  above 
Cottage  Farm  are  united  in  believing  that  prompt  and  vigor- 
ous action  is  required  for  the  mere  preservation,  not  to  speak 
of  the  enhancement,  of  the  value  of  much  private,  as  well  r.s 
common,  property.  The  river  as  it  exists  to-day  is  simply  an 
unbearable  nuisance.  The  ebb  tide  exposes  130  acres  of  mud 
flats  above  Cottage  Farm,  while  the  flood  tide  occasionally 


JET.  36]  THE  REFORM  DELAYED  587 

overflows  and  drowns  more  than  400  acres  of  land.  Because 
the  river  is  such  an  ungainly  neighbor,  these  marsh  acres, 
although  they  lie  at  the  centre  of  the  metropolitan  district, 
command  to-day  only  very  low  prices  ;  moreover,  where  they 
are  occupied  at  all,  the  streets  and  buildings  are  invariably 
of  tliat  cheap  and  shabby  sort  which  inevitably  reflects  injury 
upon  the  value  of  even  the  best  adjacent  uplands. 

It  is  already  several  years  since  the  need  of  action  was  first 
clearly  perceived ;  and  at  least  two  State  Commissions  have 
made  reports  upon  the  problem.  In  1894  no  less  an  author- 
ity than  the  State  Board  of  Health  emphatically  condemned 
the  river,  and  joined  with  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission 
in  suggesting  the  construction  of  a  dam  which  should  wholly 
exclude  the  tides,  and  permit  the  maintenance  of  a  fresh- 
water stream  at  a  constant  level  Unfortunately  this  Joint 
Commission  went  out  of  existence  on  filing  its  report ;  and 
so  took  no  part  in  the  defense  or  advocacy  of  its  scheme. 
An  Act  was,  however,  passed  by  the  legislature,  empowering 
the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  to  acquire  lands  on  the 
banks  of  the  river ;  while  the  question  of  the  possible  effect 
of  a  dam  upon  Boston  Harbor  was  referred  for  investigation 
to  the  Harbor  Commissioners.  The  Park  Commission  has 
now  secured  the  lands  in  question,  and  the  Harbor  Commis- 
sion has  reported.  The  latter  Commission  took  it  upon  itself 
to  consider,  not  only  the  question  specifically  referred  to  it, 
but,  also,  the  whole  question  previously  reported  on  by  the 
defunct  Joint  Board.  So  far  as  the  harbor  was  concerned, 
the  report  amounted  to  this ;  that  inasmuch  as  nobody  could 
foresee  what  the  effect  of  a  dam  might  be,  it  had  better  not 
be  built.  In  other  words,  the  Commission  did  not  investi- 
gate the  one  subject  which  was  especially  referred  to  it.  Be- 
yond this,  the  many  and  long  public  hearings  given  by  the 
Harbor  Board  were  chiefly  useful  in  bringing  out  the  fact 
tliat,  while  Cambridge,  Watertown,  and  Newton,  the  places 
most  in  need  of  immediate  relief,  were  strongly  in  favor  of 
building  the  suggested  dam,  the  only  opposition  came  from 
one  short  section  of  the  bank  of  the  lower  Basin  ;  in  other 
words,  from  a  district  which  is,  fortunately  for  itself,  so 
placed  (on  land  already  filled  by  the  State)  as  to  escape 


588  CHARLES   RIVER  — 1891-96  [1896 

entirely  all  the  loss,  damage,  and  danger  which  the  postpone- 
ment of  action  inevitably  inflicts  upon  the  districts  adjacent 
to  the  river  above  Cottage  Farm.  The  residents  on  the  water 
side  of  Beacon.  Street  certainly  would  not  have  their  own  very 
natural  contentment  with  the  Basin  as  it  exists  stand  in  the 
way  of  the  safeguarding  of  health  and  property  along  six 
miles  of  the  central  river  of  the  metropolitan  district ;  and 
yet  this  is  exactly  the  position  in  which  they  have  been  placed 
before  the  public  of  the  district.  It  is  plainly  only  charitable 
to  assume  that  the  men  of  Beacon  Street  were  stampeded 
into  a  "  strike,"  as  other  men  often  are,  by  the  cry  that  their 
private  interests  were  assailed,  when  the  fact  was  that  the 
whole  programme  of  the  Joint  Board  was  put  forth  tenta- 
tively (no  draft  of  an  act  was  submitted  with  the  report)  : 
and  the  particular  suggestion  that  the  cost  of  the  dam  might 
be  secured  from  the  sale  of  new  filled  lands  was  equally  evi- 
dently an  entirely  unessential  part  of  the  project,  for  which 
an  increased  bond  issue  or  some  other  method  of  raising 
money  might  readily  have  been  substituted. 

Meanwhile,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  application  of  the  sug- 
gested remedy  is  delayed.  If,  however,  the  people  of  Boston 
and  Cambridge  and  their  neighbors  will  look  upon  Muddy 
Elver  and  review  its  history,  and  then  consider  what  the  much 
larger  Charles  River  would  be  like,  if  similarly  transformed 
by  damming  out  the  tide,  the  waiting  period  will  not  be  long. 
The  flats  put  permanently  out  of  sight  under  water,  and  the 
drowned  marshes  rescued  from  the  recurrent  floods ;  naviga- 
tion freed  entirely  from  dependence  on  the  tides,  public  land- 
ings being  provided,  if  needed,  for  the  discharge  of  stone, 
brick,  lime,  and  other  heavy  water-borne  freight ;  a  water 
parkway  in  the  centre  of  the  metropolis  six  or  eight  miles  in 
length,  according  to  the  position  which  may  be  chosen  for  the 
dam ;  the  ugly  and  muddy,  but  now  public,  shores  of  the 
stream  converted  into  green  slopes,  and  bushy  or  tree-clad 
banks ;  new  driveways  and  footpaths  along  or  near  these 
banks,  leading  pleasantly  to  Boston  from  all  the  western 
suburbs ;  abundant  opportunity  for  pleasure-boating  in  sum- 
mer and  for  skating  and  ice-boating  in  winter ;  electric 
launches  running   regularly  and   calling  at  many  landings 


^T.  36]  WHAT  MUDDt   RIVER  TEACHES  589 

along  the  transformed  river  between  Watertown  and  the  dam 
—  such  are  some  of  the  good  things  which  may  be  substituted 
for  the  existing  offensiveness,  emptiness,  uselessness,  and 
squalor,  by  the  exclusion  of  the  tide. 

Shall,  then,  the  proposed  dam,  so  urgently  needed  for  the 
river  above  Cottage  Farm,  be  built  at  Cottage  Farm  ;  or  shall 
it  be  built  near  Craigie's  Bridge,  to  the  end  that  the  central 
business  district,  the  West  End,  and  the  Back  Bay  may  all 
alike  have  access  to  the  benefits  which  a  dam  will  secure  in 
Charles  River,  precisely  as  a  dam  has  already  secured  the 
same  benefits,  on  a  smaller  scale,  in  Muddy  River  ?  The  dis- 
tricts above  Cottage  Farm  cannot  be  expected  to  wait  long ; 
so  this  is  a  question  which  the  people  of  Boston  generally, 
and  not  the  water-side  of  Beacon  Street  only,  ought  to  discuss 
and  consider  with  care  and  at  once. 
August,  1896. 

If  this  paper  betrays  some  impatience  at  the  delay  of  a 
measure  which  had  been  convincingly  advocated  by  the 
strongest  commission  that  had  ever  studied  the  problem  of 
Charles  River,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  proposals 
of  the  Joint  Board  brought  great  relief  to  Charles's  own 
mind,  freed  him  from  what  had  previously  been  a  conflict  of 
interests  and  duties,  and  seemed  to  him  just,  economical, 
effective,  and  wholly  beneficent.  The  delay  of  two  years, 
which  had  already  taken  place,  was  injurious  to  the  work  of 
all  three  of  the  park  commissions  (Metropolitan,  Boston,  and 
Cambridge)  for  which  the  Olmsted  firm  was  furnishing  de- 
signs ;  and  this  public  injury  was  almost  daily  brought  home 
to  Charles  in  the  natural  course  of  his  professional  labors. 
The  following  letter  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Cambridge  Park 
Commission  well  illustrates  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  :  — 

26th  March,  1896. 
...  In  our  letter  dated  March  13th.  1896,  we  suggested 
the  immediate  completion  of  the  sidewalk  and  first  planting 
strip  of  the  parkway  from  Boylston  Street  to  Mt.  Auburn 
Street,  and  the  postponement  of  further  construction  for  the 
present.  The  building  of  this  broad  sidewalk  would  make 
the  river  bank  accessible  in  a  way  which  would  be  much  en- 
joyed.    The  views  up  stream  from  this  shore  when  the  tide 


690  CHARLES   RIVER  — 1891-96  [1896 

is  fairly  high  are  often  lovely,  particularly  towards  evening. 
It  seems  to  us  that  the  public  would  be  sufficiently  well  served 
by  this  treatment  of  the  problem  for  the  present. 

Our  reason  for  making  this  suggestion  is,  of  course,  our 
extreme  reluctance  to  see  walls  built  where  they  would  not 
be  necessary  if  the  river  should  be  ponded  by  a  dam.  When 
the  people  of  a  crowded  city  visit  a  recreation  ground,  they 
go  to  escape  from  the  straight  and  hard  lines  of  hfick  and 
stone  and  to  find  refreshment  in  green  and  picturesque  sur- 
roundings. Stone  walls  will  not  make  such  agreeable  banks 
to  look  at  from  the  promenades  as  green  banks,  while  from 
boats  on  the  water  the  green  banks  would  be  vastly  prefer- 
able. One  would  about  as  soon  row  a  boat  for  pleasure  down 
Washington  Street  as  row  between  stone  walls  on  the  Charles 
above  Cottage  Earm.  .  .  .  Some  riverbank  walls  will  be 
needed,  even  should  the  river  be  ponded,  but  we  must  hope 
they  may  be  few. 

Suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  only  the  sidewalk  and  plant- 
ing strip  should  be  built  at  present,  as  above  suggested.  For 
the  first  time  a  bit  of  the  shore  of  the  Charles  would  be  made 
accessible  for  recreation.  It  would  be  evident,  however,  to 
every  visitor  that  the  work  was  unfinished,  and  the  question 
would  be,  why?  It  seems  to  us  that  one  object-lesson  of 
this  kind  would  help  towards  the  desired  dam  more  than  any- 
thing else  which  can  be  done  at  this  time.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  Cambridge  abandons  the  projects  of  the  dam  and 
builds  sea  walls  on  the  plea  that  she  cannot  wait,  every  foot 
of  wall  that  is  built  will  make  the  winning  of  the  dam  all  the 
harder.  The  dam  will  save  the  Cambridge  Park  Commission 
and  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  the  cost  of  many  hun- 
dred feet  of  wall,  and  it  will  give  the  metropolitan  district  a 
far  more  valuable,  because  more  beautiful,  river  park  than 
can  be  had  if  the  river  is  walled  and  the  dam  abandoned. 
We  trust  that  your  Commission  will  give  these  facts  and 
suggestions  very  serious  consideration  before  ordering  the 
construction  of  the  wall  shown  on  the  plan  to  which  this  let- 
ter refers. 

We  sincerely  believe  that  as  soon  as  the  Boston  Park  Com- 
mission can  find  time  and  opportunity  to  take  up  the  treat- 


^T.  36]  A  NEW  NORTH  STATION  691 

raeut  of  the  Boston  side  of  the  Basin  below  Cottage  Farm, 
there  will  be  little  difficulty  in  their  satisfying  the  residents 
of  Beacon  Street ;  and  when  these  people  are  quieted  by  the 
removal  of  their  fears  through  the  defining  of  a  scheme,  there 
will  be  still  less  difficulty  in  uniting  the  Boston,  Cambridge, 
and  Metropolitan  Park  Commissions  in  a  demand  for  a  dam 
which  will  overcome  all  remaining  opposition.  Just  when 
the  Boston  Commission  may  have  so  far  completed  its  other 
works  as  to  be  able  to  take  up  consideration  of  the  Basin,  we 
cannot  predict.  It  may  undoubtedly  be  several  years ;  but, 
even  so,  it  seems  to  us  that  in  view  of  the  sanitary,  financial, 
and  aesthetic  arguments  for  ponding  the  river,  Cambridge  can 
hardly  afford  to  build  any  sea  walls. 

It  may  now  be  observed  that  the  preliminary  measures 
which  the  Charles  River  Commission  of  1891-93  recom- 
mended in  its  first  report  have  all  been  taken.  The  banks  of 
the  river  have  become  public  property  ;  the  bridges  above 
Craigie's  Bridge  are  to  be  drawless,  so  that  the  traffic  witliin 
the  basin  and  river  must  be  carried  on  by  bai-ges  and  tow- 
boats  ;  the  sewage  has  been  diverted,  with  insignificant  excep- 
tions ;  a  high  bridge  on  piers  has  been  substituted  for  the 
former  pile  bridge  to  Charlestovvn,  called  Charles  Kiver  Bridge, 
and  another  high  bridge  on  piers  is  now  replacing  the  pile 
bridge  to  Cambridge,  called  AVest  Boston  Bridge. 

It  but  remains  (1902)  for  the  legislature  to  consummate 
all  this  good  work  of  preparation  by  ordering  the  construction 
of  a  dam  near  Craigie's  Bridge,  high  enough  to  keep  out  the 
highest  tides,  and  with  a  lock  for  mastless  vessels. 

During  his  long  studies  of  Charles  River,  Charles  had  re- 
peated occasion  to  consider  the  choking  of  its  mouth  by  the 
railroad  switching  yards  supported  on  thousands  of  piles,  and 
he  found  the  existing  condition  of  the  river  in  that  i-espect  so 
bad,  that  he  could  not  believe  it  would  be  permanent.  The 
reports  of  the  Commission  of  1891-93  had  dwelt  upon  this 
evil,  and  suggested  some  remedies  or  ameliorations.  While 
Charles  was  studying  the  subject  a  second  time  for  the  Joint 
Board  of  1893-94,  he  made  in  February,  1894,  a  plan  for  a 
nortliern  railroad  station,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Charles, 
with  what  he  thought  suitable  approaches,  and  described  his 
plan  in  the  following  passage  from  an  unpublished  letter :  — 

At  the  northern  end  of  the  Basin,  that  part  of  the  river 
which  lies  between  East  Cambridge,  Charlestown,  and  Bos- 


692  CHARLES   RIVER  — 1891-96  [1894 

ton  is  choked  by  innumerable  piles  supporting  railroad 
bridges.  The  cost  of  space  for  a  suitable  union  station  on 
the  mainland  of  Boston  being  very  great,  the  railroads  have 
contrived  to  obtain  permission  to  cover  the  river  with  a  tim- 
ber platform  which  they  use  as  a  rent-free  switching  yard  and 
terminal.  It  is  well  known  that,  in  the  view  of  national  and 
state  legislation,  this  virtual  obliteration  of  the  river  by  the 
railroads  is  only  temporarily  permitted.  When  the  renewal 
of  this  permission  shall  be  at  last  refused,  the  railroads  will 
be  compelled  to  place  their  terminal  station  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Charles  River,  presumably  about  in  the  position 
indicated  upon  the  plan.  By  this  arrangement  the  breadth 
of  the  stream  will  be  restored  and  its  banks  and  bridges  will 
become  susceptible  of  fine  architectural  treatment. 

As  compared  with  the  present  stand,  this  new  station  will 
be  distant  from  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Summer  streets 
about  half  as  far  again ;  from  Copley  Square  it  will  be  no 
farther  distant  than  the  present  station,  and  the  route  to  it 
by  way  of  Dartmouth  Street  and  the  banks  of  Charles  River 
will  be  much  more  agreeable  than  the  route  through  the  city 
which  is  followed  to-day.  In  this  connection  the  plan  sug- 
gests an  impi-oved  position  for  the  future  bridge  to  Charles- 
town  and  a  way  of  entrance  into  the  city,  for  a  boulevard 
leading  from  the  northern  suburbs  by  way  of  Sullivan  Square, 
Chavlestown,  to  both  Lafayette  Square,  Cambridge,  and  the 
Back  Bay. 


THE   RIVER   CONVERTED   INTO  AFRESH    WATER  STREAM  „^  _<^^j 

WITH  BUSHY  OR  BEACHED  SHORES  >*a  >j^ 


THE  TIDAL  BIVCQ  ShOWINO  TEMPORARY  TREATMENT  OF  CAMBRIOCE  SHORE. 


'« 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

POLICY  AND    METHODS    OF   THE    METROPOLITAN    PARK 
COMMISSION,   189G 

The  only  failure  a  man  ought  to  fear,  is  failure  iu  clinging-  to  the 
purpose  he  knows  to  be  best.  —  Geokgk  Eliot. 

A  LARGE  number  of  bills  calling  for  various  park  or  park- 
way appropriations  were  presented  to  the  legislature  of  1896. 
The  presentation  of  these  bills  and  the  reception  accorded  to 
them  seemed  to  Charles  to  prove  that  the  principles  on  which 
metropolitan  money  could  alone  be  equitably  expended  for 
park  and  parkway  purposes  were  but  imperfectly  understood 
by  the  legislature  and  the  public.  He  thereupon  addressed 
to  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  in  February,  the  two 
letters  with  which  this  chapter  opens  ;  and  later  (A]n-il  1st) 
he  read  before  a  meeting  of  the  Commission  with  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  legislature  on  Metropolitan  Affairs  the  convin- 
cing paper  which  follows  the  letters.  Having  thus  defined 
anew  what  he  believed  to  be  the  true  principles  in  selecting 
parks  and  parkways  for  the  metropolitan  population,  Charles 
published  in  the  "  New  England  Magazine  "  for  September, 
1896,  a  descri])tion  of  the  achievements  of  the  Commission 
during  its  first  three  years  (1893,  1894,  and  1895),  and  of 
the  financial  arrangements  and  executive  machinery  wliich 
had  enabled  it  to  achieve  such  remarkable  results  in  so  short 
a  time.  Extracts  from  this  concise  statement  conclude  this 
chapter.  It  appears  in  this  article  that  Charles  thought  that 
the  work  done  by  the  Massachusetts  Metropolitan  Park  Com- 
mission, and  the  methods  of  the  Commission,  offered  an 
example  which  other  American  commuuities  might  follow  to 
their  advantage. 

February  25,  1896. 

In  view  of  the  numerous  special  bills  for  special  park  works 
lately  presented  to  the  General  Court,  and  of  our  professional 
relation  to  the  general  work  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Com- 
mission, it  .seems  to  us  that  we  are  in  duty  bound  to  acquaint 
the  Commission  with  our  impressions  and  opinions  concern- 
ing the  questions  at  issue. 


594  DISTRIBUTION   OF  THE   RESERVATIONS  [1896 

If  the  metropolitan  district  is  viewed  broadly,  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  existing  large  public  reservations  is  found  to  be 
remarkably  equitable.  (1st)  The  Charles  River  Reservation 
already  secured  ensures  the  eventual  completion  of  a  water 
park  seven  miles  long,  extending  westward  from  the  very 
centre  of  the  metropolitan  district.  (2d)  The  Middlesex 
Fells  and  Stony  Brook  Reservations  both  lie  just  within  the 
sweep  of  the  eight  mile  radius  from  the  State  House,  and 
while  the  first-named  reservation  lies  north-northwest  from 
this  central  point,  the  second  lies  correspondingly  south-south- 
west. (3d)  Of  the  smaller  Beaver  Brook  and  Hemlock 
Gorge  Reservations,  the  first  lies  five  miles  southwest  of  the 
Fells  and  the  second  the  same  number  of  miles  northwest  of 
Stony  Brook.  It  is  also  five  miles  from  the  one  to  the  other. 
(4th)  Again,  the  Blue  Hills  and  the  Lynn  Woods  mate 
closely  one  with  the  other,  both  lying  between  the  circles 
swept  by  the  eight  mile  and  eleven  mile  radii  from  the  State 
House.  The  Blue  Hills  Reservation  is  now  topographically 
complete ;  but  this  is  not  the  case  with  the  Lynn  Woods. 
Certain  lands  and  hills  in  Saugus  ought  to  be  added  to  the 
last-named  domain.  (5th)  Lastly,  Revere  Beach  Reserva- 
tion lies  northeast  from  the  State  House,  and  it  is  not  bal- 
anced by  any  similar  reservation  on  the  shore  southeast  of 
the  centre  of  the  district.  On  the  other  hand,  Revere  Beach 
fronts  the  open  sea,  and  is  on  that  account  more  valuable  and 
more  worthy  of  first  attention  than  any  part  of  the  near 
southeast  coast,  since  all  the  latter  possesses  frontage  on  the 
Bay  only. 

Such  being  the  present  distribution  of  the  principal  reser- 
vations, where,  if  at  all,  ought  new  reservations  to  be  ac- 
quired ?  In  the  first  place,  it  seems  to  us  that  Lynn  Woods 
Reservation  ought  to  be  rounded  out  at  the  expense  of  the 
metropolitan  district,  and  the  completed  domain  made  one  of 
the  metropolitan  reservations.  Population  is  yet  sparse  about 
the  outer  borders  of  this  reservation ;  but  so  it  is  about  the 
Blue  Hills.  If  the  Blue  Hills  are  justly  an  object  of  metro- 
politan expenditure,  so  also  are  the  Lynn  Woods.  It  may 
be  supposed  that  the  city  of  Lynn  would  sell  its  Park  Com- 
mission's holdings  in  the  Woods  for  what  they  originally  cost 


^T.  36]  ADDITIONAL  RESERVATIONS  595 

the  city  treasury,  just  as  the  town  of  Stoneham  sokl  its  Bear 
Hill  Park  ;  while  the  Lynn  Water  Board  would  presumably 
transfer  the  care  and  maintenance  of  its  land,  just  as  the 
Winchester  Board  has  done. 

In  the  second  place,  it  seems  to  us  that  when  money  is 
available  or  gifts  can  be  obtained,  the  seashore  reservations 
of  the  Metropolitan  Commission  ought  to  be  greatly  extended. 
If  thi'ee  miles  should  be  added  to  Revere  Beach  Reserva- 
tion so  as  to  extend  its  limits  to  Winthrop  Great  Head,  this 
northern  seashore  reservation  would  then  be  six  miles  long. 
If  then  a  search  be  made  for  a  fairly  equivalent  and  equally 
accessible  stretch  of  southern  shore,  it  can  be  found  only  at 
Quincy  Bay,  Winthrop  Great  Head  is  five  miles  from  the 
State  House  ;  so  also  is  Squaw  Rock,  Squantum.  The  Point 
of  Pines  at  the  end  of  the  six  miles  of  Revere  Beach  is  eight 
miles  from  the  State  House ;  so  also  is  Nut  Island  at  the  far 
end  of  the  six  mile  curve  of  Quincy  Bay.  Revere  Beach  is 
appropriately  made  a  public  reservation  because  its  exposure 
to  the  sea  prevents  its  occupation  for  commercial  purposes. 
The  shores  of  Quincy  Bay  may  as  appropriately  be  dedicated 
to  public  enjoyment,  because  the  shallowness  of  its  waters 
similarly  precludes  commerce.  Deep-water  frontages  of 
ample  length  are  found  in  the  adjacent  estuaries  of  the  Ne- 
ponset  and  Weymouth  Rivers. 

In  the  third  place,  it  seems  to  us  that  metropolitan  money 
may  very  advisably  be  spent  in  acquiring  water  rights  and 
river-bank  lands  along  tlie  boating  course  of  Charles  River 
between  Waltham  and  Newton  Lower  Falls.  This  section  of 
Charles  River,  three  miles  in  length,  with  the  adjacent  Water 
Reserve  of  the  Cambridge  Water  Board,  lies,  like  Lynn 
Woods  and  the  Blue  Hills,  just  within  the  sweep  of  the 
eleven  mile  radius  from  the  State  House,  and  almost  exactly 
west  of  the  centre  of  the  metropolitan  district.  We  have 
lately  reported  on  this  subject  to  the  Joint  Commission,  and 
need  not  repeat  ourselves  here. 

Summarizing  the  foregoing  recommendations,  we  may  say 
that  we  believe  the  most  important  and  the  most  equitable  of 
all  possible  additions  to  the  present  series  of  metropolitan 
reservations  to  be  the  following:   (1)  the  balancing  of  the 


596       PARKWAYS  MERELY   IMPROVED   HIGHWAYS     [1896 

Blue  Hills  Reservation  by  the  acquisition  of  the  Lynn  "Woods"^ 
(2)  the  balancing  of  Revere  Beach  Reservation  extended 
to  Winthrop  Great  Head  by  the  acquisition  of  the  shores  of 
Quincy  Bay;  (3)  the  acquisition  in  the  far  western  sec- 
tion of  the  district  of  the  banks  of  Charles  River  between 
Waltham  and  Newton  Lower  Falls.  [Compare  the  map  of 
December  1,  1901,  in  the  pocket  of  the  right-hand  cover.] 

February  28,  1896. 

We  would  respectfully  call  the  attention  of  the  Commission 
to  the  unfortunate  confusion  of  "  boulevards  "  with  "  reser- 
vations "  exhibited  in  the  draughts  of  bills  lately  referred  to 
the  Legislative  Committee  on  Metropolitan  Affairs.  It  seems 
important  that  the  distinction  should  be  clearly  made,  and 
firmly  held  to. 

Reservations  are  lands  acquired  to  preserve  scenery  or 
landscape,  free  from  buildings,  for  the  enjoyment  and  re- 
freshment of  the  people.  Middlesex  Fells  Reservation  pre- 
serves the  scenery  of  certain  ponds  lying  upon  a  rocky  plateau. 
Revere  Beach  Reservation  preserves  the  long  curve  of  a  beau- 
tiful beach  and  its  accompanying  outlook  over  the  sea.  Park- 
ways or  boulevards,  on  the  other  hand,  are  generally  merely 
improved  highways  designed  to  conduct  travel  in  one  direc- 
tion or  another  as  agreeably  as  may  be  possible.  Beacon 
Street,  Brookline,  is  such  an  improved  highway  ;  and  the  so- 
called  Arbor-way  of  the  Boston  Park  System  is  another. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Commission  on  February  25th, 
we  expressed  certain  views  respecting  metropolitan  reserva- 
tions, and  we  now  beg  leave  to  add  a  few  words  concerning 
metropolitan  parkways.  It  is  obviously  impossible  that  every 
city  and  town  in  the  district  should  be  connected  with  the 
reservations  by  agreeable  parkways,  just  as  it  is  impossible 
that  every  ward  in  each  separate  city  should  be  similarly  con- 
nected with  the  local  parks  or  squares.  Plans  might,  indeed, 
be  drawn  for  such  universal  parkways,  but  it  would,  at  pre- 
sent, be  impracticable  to  raise  money  enough  to  build  them. 
Accordingly,  if  only  a  few  parkways  are  to  be  constructed 
out  of  the  metropolitan  money,  it  is  but  just  that  they  be 
placed,  without  regard  to  local  pressure,  solely  with  a  view  to 


MT.  36]  THE   PARKWAY   PROBLEM  COMPLEX  597 

securing  the  greatest  good  of  tlie  greatest  number.  Now  we 
find  that,  upon  setting  out  to  plan  the  distribution  of  two, 
four,  or  six  metropolitan  parkways,  having  these  ideas  of 
equity  and  symmetry  in  mind,  we  are  at  once  confronted 
by  the  fact  that  the  south  side  of  the  metropolitan  district 
has  already  provided  itself  with  numerous  modern,  broad 
highways  and  parkways,  while  the  north  side  of  the  district 
has  as  yet  provided  itself  with  none.  The  result  is  that  ex- 
penditures made  in  the  southern  section  of  the  district  natu- 
rally produce  more  striking  results  than  can  be  hoped  for  in 
the  northern  section.  For  example,  the  expenditure  already 
made  by  the  Metropolitan  Commission  for  the  West  Roxbury 
Parkway  has  resulted  in  the  connection  of  Stony  Brook  Re- 
servation with  the  Boston  and  Bi-ookline  park  system,  and 
so  with  the  Charles  River  Basin  in  the  centre  of  the  metro- 
politan area.  On  the  other  hand,  no  similar  expenditure 
would  accomplish  the  connection  of  the  corresponding  Mid- 
dlesex Fells  Reservation  with  the  Charles  River  Basin.  Again, 
the  appropriation  already  made  for  the  Blue  Hills  Parkway 
will  connect  the  Blue  Hills  with  the  centre  of  population  of 
the  metropolitan  district,  while  no  similar  expenditure  would 
give  the  no  more  distant  Lynn  Woods  any  such  direct  and 
valuable  approach  to  that  centre. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  the  problem,  which  in  theory  is 
simple,  is  in  fact  extremely  complex ;  and  further,  that  while 
the  expenditures  already  made  by  the  Commission  on  the 
south  side  of  the  city  are  obviously  justifiable  on  the  ground 
that  they  do  secure  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number, 
the  expenditures  for  north-side  parkways  are  by  no  means 
as  clearly  equitable.  It  was  just  now  noted  that  Blue  Hills 
Reservation  has  been  connected  with  Boston.  Not  even  a 
beginning  has  been  made  towards  connecting  Lynn  AYoods 
with  Boston.  It  was  just  now  noted  that  Stony  Brook  has 
been  connected  with  Charles  River  Basin.  Not  even  a  begin- 
ning has  been  made  towards  such  a  connection  for  the  Fells ; 
except  that  Cambridge  has  secured  the  banks  of  the  Charles 
River  and  Fresh  Pond,  which  are  links  in  the  desirable  chain. 
The  metropolitan  appropriations  thus  far  spent  for  park- 
ways in  the  northern  half  of  the  district  have  secured  (1) 


698  ONE  GOOD  NORTH-SIDE  PARKWAY  [1896 

the  eastern  shores  of  Mystic  lakes,  which,  however  lovely  in 
themselves,  in  no  way  assist  in  connecting  the  Fells  with  the 
Basin  as  Stony  Brook  is  connected  ;  and  (2)  two  sections 
of  narrow  parkway  which  unite  the  two  southern  extremities 
of  Middlesex  Fells  Reservation  with  the  main  east  and  west 
highway  of  the  region  north  of  Mystic  River.  These  two 
sections  of  parkway  enable  Maiden  and  the  towns  east  thereof 
to  approach  the  western  Fells,  and  Medford  and  the  towns 
west  thereof  to  approach  the  eastern  Fells  more  easily  and 
pleasantly  than  hitherto  ;  but  as  they  do  not  help  the  central 
body  of  metropolitan  population  to  reach  the  woods,  they  do 
not  (by  themselves)  seem  to  us  to  be  worthy  objects  of  metro- 
politan expenditure. 

In  view  of  this  unfortunate  condition  of  affairs,  it  seems 
desirable  to  make  sure  of  some  one  more  truly  metropolitan 
way  for  the  north  side,  before  undertaking  or  even  discussing 
any  parkways  for  the  other  parts  of  the  district.  The  most 
obvious  remedy  for  the  present  situation  is  the  extension  of 
the  Fells  Parkway  to  Broadway  Park,  Somerville.^  The  Fells 
would  thus  be  provided  with  an  approach  corresponding  to 
the  Blue  Hill  Avenue  approach  to  the  Blue  Hills,  —  not  a 
beautiful  driveway,  but  still  a  valuable  means  of  access  from 
the  heart  of  the  district.  If  the  Commission  is  inclined,  how- 
ever, to  secure  a  more  picturesque  parkway,  corresponding  to 
the  approach  to  Stony  Brook  Reservation  through  West  Rox- 
bury,  we  would  suggest  the  acquisition  of  the  course  of  Meet- 
ing-House  Brook,  and  the  banks  of  the  Mystic  River  as  far  as 
the  Somerville  Pumping  Station  of  the  Boston  Water  Works, 
where  Alewife  Brook  joins  Mystic  River.  By  way  of  this 
route,  Alewife  Brook,  Fresh  Pond,  and  Charles  River,  the 
Fells  Reservation  would  be  seven  miles  distant  from  the  head 
of  the  Charles  River  Basin.  By  way  of  Muddy  River  and 
the  West  Roxbury  Parkway,  Stony  Brook  Reservation  is  six 
miles  distant  from  the  same  point.  The  acquisition  of  one  or 
other  of  these  ways  of  approach  to  the  Fells  from  the  central 
part  of  the  district  seems  to  us  of  much  greater  and  more 
immediate  importance  than  the  acquisition  of  a  Woburn  Park- 
way, a  Dedham  Parkway,  or  any  other  special  connection. 
^  This  parkway  was  compJeted  in  1898. 


JE.T.3G]       ACHIEVEMENTS   OF  THE  COMMISSION  599 

Indeed,  the  immediate  acquisition  of  one  or  other  of  the  sug- 
gested approaches  to  the  Fells  seems  necessary  to  the  main- 
tenance of  the  balance  of  benefit  upon  which  metropolitan,  as 
distinguished  from  local,  expenditures  ought  to  be  based. 

Lastly,  if,  after  securing  at  least  one  good  north-side  park- 
way, any  additional  money  should  be  available  for  parkways, 
we  have  in  mind  two  well-balanced  routes  which  would  lead 
street-cai'S  and  carriages  to  the  seashore  reservations,  just  as 
the  Fells  and  Blue  Hills  Parkways  will  lead  them  to  the 
forests ;  but  these  need  not  be  described  at  this  time. 

GENERAL    PLAN    OF   THE   METROPOLITAN    P,ESERVATIONS. 

1  April,  1896. 

The  Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  created  by  Chapter 
407  of  the  Acts  of  the  General  Court  of  1893,  has  now  been 
at  work  during  two  years  and  a  half.  The  third  annual  re- 
port lately  submitted  to  the  legislature  details  the  remarkable 
results  which  have  been  accomplished,  and  I  shall  not  attempt 
to  recite  the  contents  of  that  volume.  Let  me  rather  endeavor 
to  picture  for  you  the  beneficent  achievements  of  this  Com- 
mission as  they  appear  to  a  professional  practitioner  of  the 
art  of  arranging  land  and  landscape  for  human  use  and  de- 
light, and  then  let  me  add  a  few  suggestions  and  recommen- 
dations such  as  professional  men,  from  physicians  to  artists, 
are  in  duty  bound  to  offer,  regardless  of  the  probability  or 
improbability  of  their  being  accepted  and  followed. 

In  thus  reviewing  the  work  already  accomplished  by  the 
Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  it  is  necessary  at  the  outset  to 
remind  ourselves  that  the  Commission  was  originally  created 
not  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  inter-urban  highways, 
boulevards,  or  parkways,  but  in  order  that  some  of  the  more 
striking  scenery  of  the  district  surrounding  Boston  might  be 
preserved  for  the  enjoyment  of  existing  and  coming  genera- 
tions. The  numerous  and  influential  petitions  which  were 
addressed  to  the  General  Court  of  1892  called  attention  to 
the  fact  "  that  the  seashore,  the  river-banks,  the  hill-tops, 
and  the  other  finest  portions  of  the  scenery  of  the  district 
surrounding  Boston,  to  which  the  people  have  long  been  ac- 
customed to  resort  for  healthful  pleasure,  are  now  being  con- 


600  THE  ENGLISH  DEER-PARK  [1896 

verted  to  the  private  purposes  of  their  owners,  to  the  great 
detriment  of  the  present  population  and  the  irreparable  loss 
of  succeeding  generations." 

The  bill  which  was  enacted  sought  to  remedy  the  unfortu- 
nate condition  thus  described  by  creating  a  commission  en- 
dowed with  power  to  "  acquire,  maintain,  and  make  available 
to  the  inhabitants  of  said  district  open  spaces  for  exercise 
and  recreation."  Let  us,  therefore,  first  consider  the  "  open 
spaces  "  which  have  been,  or  may  most  advisably  be,  acquired 
by  the  Commission  for  the  benefit  of  the  metropolitan  dis- 
trict, and  then,  if  time  permits,  let  us  take  up  the  subject  of 
parkways  or  boulevards,  to  which  the  attention  of  the  Com- 
mission was  directed,  as  will  be  remembered,  by  subsequent 
legislation  (1894)  which  had  its  origin,  not  in  any  general 
demand  for  parkways,  but  in  a  widespread  desire  to  assist 
the  unemployed. 

The  selection  of  lands  for  the  public  open  spaces  of  Ameri- 
can towns  and  cities  has  too  generally,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
been  governed  by  a  certain  inherited  preconception  of  what 
"  parks  "  ought  to  be  like.  In  old  England  the  word  "  park  " 
means  a  stretch  of  grassy  land  dotted  with  great  trees,  the 
home  of  the  deer  and  other  animals  of  the  chase.  Hyde  Park 
and  all  the  older  parks  of  London  were  originally  deer-pai'ks, 
and  it  has  come  about  that  the  type  of  scenery  which  is  cre- 
ated by  the  pasturing  of  smooth  land  with  deer  has  become 
the  scenery  which  is  associated  with  the  words  "  park  "  and 
"  park-like  "  even  here  in  America,  where  we  do  not  care  to 
preserve  deer  for  hunting,  because  we  have  them  so  near  at 
hand  in  the  wild  woods.  The  large  public  open  spaces  of 
American  cities  ought,  it  seems  to  me,  to  be  selected  on  com- 
mon-sense principles  and  without  regard  to  inherited  predilec- 
tions. What  are  some  of  these  common-sense  principles  ? 
First,  the  lands  selected  should  possess,  or  afford  opportunity 
for  the  creation  of,  interesting  or  beautiful  scenery  of  one 
type  or  another;  but  this  scenery  need  not  necessarily  be 
"  park-like."  Secondly,  the  lands  selected  should  generally, 
though  not  always,  be  such  as  are  least  well  adapted  for 
streets  and  buildings.  Thirdly,  the  lands  selected  should  be 
related  to  the  body  of  the  district,  which  is  taxed  to  buy  them 


^T.  36]  MARSHES  —  HILLS  —  WOODS  601 

and  to  maintain  them,  as  symmetrically  as  due  attention  to 
the  foregoing  requirements  will  permit. 

The  central  reservation  acquired  by  the  Metropolitan  Park 
Commission  certainly  fulfills  all  these  demands.  By  buying  ■ 
those  almost  unused  marsh  banks  of  Charles  River  which  had 
not  already  been  acqnired  by  local  park  commissions  or  semi- 
public  institutions,  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  has 
made  it  possible  for  the  district  to  create  for  itself,  at  any 
time  it  may  desire,  a  river  park  extending  more  than  six 
miles  westward  from  the  State  House,  —  the  geographical 
centre  of  the  whole  metropolitan  area.  It  is  true  that  this 
stream  is  not  at  present  attractive  in  appearance ;  but  by 
damming  out  the  salt  tides,  the  pleasing  scenery  of  the  fresh- 
water Charles,  with  its  delightful  opportunities  for  boating 
and  skating,  can  be  extended  all  the  way  down  the  river  to 
the  central  basin  itself. 

Next  to  be  noted  are  a  series  of  reservations  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent character.  Lying  north-northeast  of  the  State  House 
and  between  eight  and  eleven  miles  distant,  the  Lynn  Woods 
Reservation  of  some  2000  acres  had  been  acquired  by  the 
city  of  Lynn  some  years  before  the  establishment  of  the 
Metropolitan  Park  Commission.  Lying  in  the  corresponding- 
southerly  direction  from  the  State  House  and  exactly  the 
same  number  of  miles  distant  are  the  highest  hills  of  the 
whole  neighborhood  of  Boston,  —  hills  whose  broken  sky-line 
is  the  chief  ornament  of  every  prospect  from  the  towers  of 
the  great  city,  from  the  other  hills  about  it,  and  from  the  bay 
and  the  sea.  Among  these  loftiest  hills  of  the  district  there 
is  extremely  little  land  adapted  to  development  as  house-lots, 
but  there  is  abundant  interesting  scenery,  and  opportunity 
for  the  slow  development  of  even  greater  impressiveness  and 
beauty.  Thus  the  Blue  Hills  Reservation  conforms  to  the 
requirements  first  laid  down. 

The  Lynn  Woods  and  the  Blue  Hills,  these  two  large  areas 
of  wild  land,  preserved  until  this  day,  apparently  expressly 
in  order  that  they  may  serve  the  people  of  the  cities  as  forest 
recreation  grounds,  lie  on  the  extreme  edge  of  the  metropoli- 
tan district,  and  between  them  and  the  central  reservation  on 
Charles  River  lie  many  square  miles  of  more  or  less  densely 


602  BROOKS  —  BEACHES  —  OCEAN  [1896 

settled,  but  now  rapidly  growing,  suburbs.  When  the  Metro- 
politan Commission  was  established,  the  southern  section  of 
these  suburbs  already  possessed  many  hundred  acres  of  public 
♦open  space  in  the  Brookline  and  Boston  Parkway,  Jamaica 
Park,  the  Arboretum,  and  Franklin  Park,  while  the  corre- 
sponding northern  suburbs  had  few  public  grounds,  —  indeed 
almost  none.  Accordingly,  the  Metropolitan  Commission  has 
acquired  in  the  southern  region  only  the  comparatively  small 
but  costly  Stony  Brook  Reservation,  while  in  the  north- 
ern region  there  has  been  secured  the  broad  domain  of  the 
Middlesex  Fells.  Bellevue  Hill  and  the  narrow  valley  of 
Stony  Brook  unquestionably  present  the  most  strikingly  pic- 
turesque landscapes  to  be  found  in  the  region  between  Ded- 
ham  and  Boston,  and  the  new  reservation  will  make  a  pleasing 
addition  to  the  long  chain  of  the  Boston  and  Brookline  parks. 
The  Fells,  on  the  other  hand,  include  the  most  interesting 
scenery  to  be  found  between  Woburn,  Wakefield,  and  Bos- 
ton, scenery  well  worthy  of  being  preserved  in  a  single  reser- 
vation to  answer  for  the  northern  suburbs  the  purposes  of 
Jamaica  Park,  Franklin  Park,  the  Arboretum,  and  Bellevue 
Hill  combined  into  one  area. 

Westward  again  two  small  reservations  yet  remain  to  be 
mentioned,  each  of  which  preserves  scenery  of  remarkable 
beauty. 

Beaver  Brook  is  just  five  miles  distant  from  the  nearest 
corner  of  the  Fells,  and  Hemlock  Gorge  is  the  same  number 
of  miles  distant  from  Stony  Brook.  The  distribution  of 
these  inland  reservations  is,  I  submit,  most  remarkably  sym- 
metrical. Indeed,  the  only  reservation  yet  acquired  by  the 
Commission  which  is  not  symmetrically  placed  is  the  ocean 
beach  at  Revere ;  and  no  one  who  has  seen  the  crowds  which 
resort  to  that  beach  in  warm  weather  will  ever  question  for  a 
moment  the  wisdom  of  buying  it  for  the  use,  and  at  the  cost, 
of  the  metropolitan  population. 

Let  us  see  now  if  there  are  any  other  lands  or  places,  the 
acquirement  of  which,  without  too  great  expenditure,  would 
enrich  the  life  of  the  metropolitan  district,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  make  the  distribution  of  the  reservations  even  more 
equitable  and  symmetrical  than  it  is  to-day.   You  will  already 


^T.36]  SIX  MILES  OF  QUINCY  SHORE  G03 

have  anticipated  my  first  remark  under  this  head.  If  the 
Blue  Hills  are  properly  an  object  of  metropolitan  expendi- 
ture, so  also  are  the  no-more  distant  Lynn  Woods.  The  two 
reservations  are  similarly  related  to  the  central  body  of  the 
metropolitan  region,  while  one  is  related  to  Lynn  exactly  as 
the  other  is  to  Quincy.  The  burden  of  the  maintenance  of 
Lynn  Woods,  and  the  cost  of  extending  the  new  arbitrary 
boundaries  to  suitable  topographical  lines,  ought,  in  some 
way,  to  be  transferred  to  the  broad  shoulders  of  the  metro- 
politan district. 

It  cannot  be  questioned  that  the  seashore  of  Boston  Bay 
presents  fresh  air  and  novel  scenery  especially  attractive  to 
the  poiJulations  which  now  crowd  ai-ound  it.  In  this  sea- 
shore Boston  possesses  something  which  every  inland  city 
envies  her.  Accordingly,  I  believe  that,  wherever  the  shore 
is  purchasable  at  reasonable  prices,  and  is  ill-adapted  for 
commercial  uses,  it  ought  to  be  bought,  and  put  to  use  as  a 
place  of  public  recreation. 

The  present  Revere  Beach  Reservation  is  three  miles  long. 
It  fronts  the  open  sea  where  there  is  no  harborage  for  ves- 
sels. If  it  is  extended  southward  to  Winthrop  Great  Head, 
it  will  then  be  six  miles  long,  though  it  will  still  lie  between 
the  lines  swept  by  the  five  mile  and  the  eight  mile  circles 
from  the  State  House.  It  seems  to  me  that  both  the  local 
residents  and  the  general  public  would  be  gi-eatly  benefited 
by  such  an  extension.  On  the  other  hand,  I  would  not 
advocate  it  without  at  the  same  time  reconnnending  a  sea- 
shore reservation  on  the  other  side  of  Boston.  Revere  Beach 
is  too  remote  from  the  suburbs  which  lie  south  of  the  Charles. 
It  so  happens  that  the  same  five  mile  and  eight  mile  circles 
from  the  State  House  mark  the  beginning  and  the  ending  of 
six  miles  of  southern  shore  which,  because  it  borders  upon 
the  extremely  shallow  Quincy  Bay,  is  unavailable  for  com- 
merce. Ample  wharfage  upon  deep  channels  is  found  in  the 
adjacent  estuaries  of  the  Neponset  and  Weymouth  rivers.  I, 
therefore,  believe  that  the  metropolitan  district  would  do  well 
to  secure  the  shore  of  Quincy  Bay  from  the  already  public 
Moon  Island  all  the  way  round  to  Nut  Island.  If  twelve 
miles  of  public  seashore  seems  to  any  one  too  much,  let  him 


604  UPPER  REACHES  OF  CHARLES  RIVER  [1896 

remember  that  these  narrow  strips  of  coast  require  no  garden 
decorations,  and  no  large  expenditure  for  maintenance,  and 
also  that  they  provide  for  townspeople  recreation  and  refresh- 
ment very  different  from  that  which  parks  or  gardens,  how- 
ever lovely,  can  supply. 

Supposing  now  that  Lynn  Woods  Keservation  is  made  a 
metropolitan  domain,  and  that  these  northern  and  southern 
seashores  are  secured  for  public  enjoyment,  what  large  part 
of  the  metropolitan  area  will  then  remain  unfurnished  with 
any  reasonably  accessible  scenic  recreation  ground  ?  A  mere 
glance  at  the  map  suffices  to  make  it  plain  that  the  far  west- 
ern part  alone  will  then  be  unprovided  for.  It  so  happens 
that  in  this  very  region,  and  no  more  distant  from  the  State 
House  than  are  the  Lynn  Woods  and  the  Blue  Hills,  there 
lies  a  reach  of  Charles  River  about  four  miles  long,  which, 
with  its  varied  and  often  beautifully  wooded  banks,  presents 
the  opportunity  for  the  making  of  a  reservation  as  different 
from  the  Blue  Hills  in  its  character  and  in  its  modes  of  use, 
as  the  Blue  Hills  are  different  from  the  shores  of  Revere 
or  Quincy.  Charles  River  between  Waltham  and  Newton 
Lower  Falls  is  already  much  resorted  to  for  pleasure  boating. 
It  is  certainly  more  sensible  to  take  advantage  of  natural 
opportunities  like  these  presented  by  this  river,  by  the  Blue 
Hills,  and  by  Revere  Beach,  than  it  is  to  make  all  recreation 
grounds  of  one  pattern,  and  that  the  typical  "  park  "  pattern, 
as  so  many  American  cities  are  doing.  I  believe  that  this 
section  of  the  Charles  ought  to  be  added  to  the  existing  series 
of  metropolitan  open  spaces. 

Before  speaking  of  parkways  opened,  or  to  be  opened,  at 
the  cost  of  the  metropolitan  district,  it  seems  necessary  to 
point  out  once  more  the  difference  between  parkways  and 
reservations,  a  distinction  which  has  been  lost  sight  of  in 
some  quarters  of  late.  A  reservation  is  a  tract  of  land  kept 
free  from  streets  and  houses  for  the  sake  of  its  scenery.  A 
parkway  is  simply  a  highway  made  as  agreeable  as  may  be 


As  we  have  seen,  the  Metropolitan  Commission  has  exe- 
cuted the  will  of  the  people  so  far  as  reservations  are  con- 


-ET.  36]  TWO  SPECIAL  PARKWAYS  605 

cerned,  and  in  so  doing  has  followed  a  comprehensive  and 
symmetrical  scheme.  For  parkways,  as  distinguished  from 
reservations,  no  such  comprehensive  scheme  has  ever  been 
made.  A  swarm  if  special  bills  calling  for  parkways  here, 
there,  and  elsewhere,  has  been  pressed  upon  the  legislature ; 
but  whether  the  general  public  really  desires  that  parkways 
should  be  opened  at  the  cost  of  the  common  purse  is  by  no 
means  clear.  If  the  people  do  demand  such  parkways,  as 
they  certainly  did  demand  reservations,  let  them  express  their 
wish  in  the  same  forcible  way,  and  then  let  the  legislature 
direct  some  commission  to  work  out  a  comprehensive  and  fair 
scheme.  Complaint  is  sometimes  made  that  the  Metropolitan 
Park  Commission  (which  ought  to  be  called  the  Metropolitan 
Reservations  Commission)  has  refused  to  divulge  its  plans  for 
parkways ;  but  the  fact  is  that  neither  this  Commission  nor 
any  other  has  ever  been  asked  to  make  a  general  scheme  for 
such  ways.  The  only  parkways  attempted  by  the  Metropol- 
itan Commission  have  been  those,  the  expenditure  for  which 
was  authorized  by  an  act  of  1894,  passed,  as  before  re- 
marked, on  the  recommendation  of  the  Committee  on  the  Un- 
employed. This  act  appropriated  a  sum  of  money  obviously 
not  large  enough  to  provide  boulevards  in  all  parts  of  the  dis- 
trict ;  and  so  the  firm  of  which  I  am  a  member  was  asked  by 
the  Commission  to  devise  two  special  parkways  such  as  might 
fairly  be  deemed  to  be  of  first  importance.  Accordingly,  we 
brought  in  plans  for  ways  intended  to  facilitate  access  to  the 
Fells  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Blue  Hills  on  the  other,  by 
means  of  street-cars,  as  well  as  carriages  and  bicycles.  These 
plans  were  outlined  in  the  annual  report  for  1895  and  pub- 
lished in  detail  in  the  report  for  1896,  to  which  reports  I  beg 
leave  to  refer  you.  If  the  cost  of  only  two  parkways  is  to  be 
borne  by  the  metropolitan  district,  I  believe  that  the  con- 
struction of  the  two  which  were  thus  suggested  will  distribute 
the  benefit  as  broadly  and  as  equitably  as  is  practicable. 
One  of  these  suggested  parkways  will  make  it  possible  for 
bicycles,  carriages,  and  electric  cars  to  move  rapidly  and 
pleasantly  from  the  crowded  interior  of  the  district  to  the 
Blue  Hills,  while  the  other  will  make  it  possible  to  reach  sim- 
ilarly the  Fells.     The  value  of  both  these  reservations  will 


606  NO   GENERAL  SCHEME   OF  PARKWAYS  [1896 

be  much  increased  by  the  construction  of  these  agreeable 
approaches.  That  both  parkways  will  develop  building-  lands 
at  present  remote  from  all  means  of  rapid  transit  is  not  to  be 
counted  against  them  ;  since  it  is  from  the  increasing  taxable 
value  of  these  very  lands  that  a  large  share  of  the  cost  of 
constructing  the  new  ways  may  be  derived. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Commission  tells  how  it  hap- 
pened that  only  the  two  northern  sections  of  the  proposed 
Fells  parkway  were  acquired,  while  the  money  which  might 
have  secured  the  route  of  the  important  southern  section 
was  spent  in  ensuring  certain  gifts  of  money  and  of  lands  in 
Winchester  and  West  Medford.  Now  the  Mystic  Lakes  are 
beautiful.  Public  spirit  is  admirable.  I  know,  also,  that  it 
is  wrong  to  look  a  gift  horse  in  the  mouth.  Nevertheless,  I 
cannot  think  that  the  West  Medford  and  Winchester  park- 
way possesses  for  the  metropolitan  district,  considered  as  a 
whole,  one  half  the  pi-esent  value  that  would  attach  to  the 
comparatively  dull  and  ugly  Fells  parkway  the  moment  it 
and  its  electric  railway  should  be  opened.  The  Winchester 
parkway  will  make  a  pleasant  drive  ;  but  it  will  not  help  the 
great  body  of  the  people  to  reach  the  Fells,  a  reservation 
which,  though  it  lies  no  farther  from  the  State  House  than 
the  Arnold  Arboretum,  must  remain  comparatively  unused 
until  some  direct  and  fairly  agreeable  means  of  approach  is 
provided. 

No  broadly  comprehensive  scheme  of  parkways  having 
been  devised  or  even  studied,  there  is  nothing  more  to  be 
said,  save  to  point  out  that  the  devising  of  such  a  scheme  is  a 
much  more  complex  and  difficult  matter  than  was  the  devis- 
ing of  a  scheme  of  reservations.  Upon  what  basis  ought  the 
cost  of  a  system  of  metropolitan  parkways  to  be  apportioned  ? 
Ought  the  present  lack  of  parkways  in  the  region  north  of 
the  Charles,  and  the  abundance  of  them  in  the  region  south 
of  that  stream,  to  affect  the  apportionment?  and  so  on. 
Until  some  one  can  find  time  and  strength  to  solve  some  of 
these  hard  problems,  it  seems  obvious  that  the  community 
had  better  go  slowly.  I  can  testify  that  no  landscape  archi- 
tect cares  to  tackle  a  problem,  the  fundamental  data  of  which 
cannot  be  supplied  to  him.     It  is  easy  enough  to  draw  lines 


-ET.  36]     UNRELATED  PARKWAYS  INEXPEDIENT  607 

on  a  map ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  make  such  lines  mean  a 
practicable,  purposeful,  and  equitable  scheme,  unless  definite 
facts  to  go  upon  are  furnished  the  designer. 

Meanwhile,  it  would  certainly  be  wrong  to  tax  the  metro- 
politan district  for  any  one,  two,  or  three  of  the  scattered 
and  unrelated  parkways  which  have  been  proposed,  most  of 
which  have,  strangely  enough,  been  placed  on  the  remote 
outer  edge  of  the  district,  —  for  instance,  at  Lynn,  Woburn, 
Dedham,  and  Quincy.  It  is  probable  that  tempting  gifts 
will  be  forthcoming  from  time  to  time.  But  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  Commission  in  charge  may  have  strength  to  decline 
them ;  for  it  would  obviously  be  just  as  wrong  to  tax  the 
district  for  the  maintenance  of  ill-balanced  parkways,  as  for 
their  right-of-way,  or  their  construction. 

From  the  New  England  Magazine. 

THE    BOSTON   METROrOLITAN    RESERVATIONS, 

September,  '96. 

A  great  work  has  been  quietly  accomplished  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Boston  during  the  last  two  years,  and  a  sketch 
of  it  may  perhaps  encourage  the  people  of  other  American 
neighborhoods  to  go  and  do  likewise. 

Surrounding  Boston  and  forming  with  Boston  the  so-called 
metropolitan  district  lie  thirty-seven  separate  and  independent 
municipalities,  comprising  twelve  "  cities "  and  twenty-five 
"  towns,"  all  of  which  lie  either  wholly  or  partly  within  the 
sweep  of  a  radius  of  eleven  miles  from  the  State  House.  The 
population  of  this  group  of  towns  and  cities  is  about  one 
million  of  people,  and  the  total  of  taxed  property  about  one 
thousand  millions  of  dollars. 

In  1892  the  central  city  of  Boston  already  possessed  and 
had  in  part  developed  a  costly  series  of  public  squares  and 
parks  within  her  own  boundaries,  sixteen  of  the  surround- 
ing municipalities  had  secured  one  or  more  local  recreation 
grounds,  and  some  of  these  communities  had  acquired  still 
other  lands  for  the  sake  of  preserving  the  purity  of  public 
water  supplies.  Nevertheless,  it  was  evident  to  all  observing 
citizens  that  a  great  body  of  new  population  was  spreading 
throughout  the  district  much  more  rapidly  than  the  local  park 


608  A  GREAT  WORK  ACCOMPLISHED  [1896 

commissions  and  water  commissions  were  acquiring  public  open 
spaces,  and  that  if  any  considerable  islands  of  green  country, 
or  fringes  of  sea  or  river  shore,  were  to  be  saved  from  the 
flood  of  buildings,  and  made  accessible  to  the  people,  it  could 
only  be  by  means  of  some  new  and  central  authority  raised 
above  the  need  of  regarding  local  municipal  boundaries,  and 
endowed  by  the  people  with  the  necessary  powers  and  money. 
Accordingly,  the  whole  problem  was  laid  before  the  legislature 
of  1891  by  a  committee  appointed  at  a  meeting  of  the  local 
park  commissions,  aided  by  representatives  from  the  Trustees 
of  Public  Reservations,  the  Appalachian  Mountain  Club,  and 
other  organizations,  and  by  numerous  and  influential  petitions 
from  all  parts  of  the  district.  A  preliminary  or  inquiring 
Commission  was  the  result.  This  Commission,  headed  by 
Charles  Francis  Adams  as  chairman,  examined  the  district  in 
detail,  discussed  the  problem  with  the  local  authorities,  became 
thoroughly  convinced  of  the  need  of  prompt  cooperative 
action,  and  so  reported  to  the  succeeding  legislature ;  where- 
upon an  act  was  passed  establishing  a  permanent  Metropoli- 
tan Park  Commission,  which  act  was  signed  by  the  governor 
June  3,  1893. 

[Here  follows  a  description  of  the  reservations  and  of  their 
distribution  through  the  District.  The  description  has  been 
anticipated  in  this  chapter.] 

What  is  the  nature  of  the  executive  and  financial  machinery 
by  which  these  remarkable  results  have  been  achieved  in  so 
short  a  time?  The  Commission  consists  of  five  gentlemen 
who  serve  the  community  without  pay.  The  Govei-nor  of  the 
Commonwealth,  acting  for  the  metropolitan  district,  appoints 
one  new  member  every  year,  the  term  of  service  being  five 
years.  The  General  Court  of  the  Commonwealth,  acting  for 
the  metropolitan  district,  authorizes  from  time  to  time  the 
sale  of  bonds  by  the  State  Treasurer,  who  is  directed  to  collect 
annually  the  amount  of  the  interest  and  the  sinking  fund 
charges  from  the  towns  and  cities  of  the  metropolitan  district 
in  accordance  with  an  apportionment  newly  made  every  five 
years  by  a  special  commission  appointed  by  the  Supreme 
Court.  Bonds  running  forty  years  and  bearing  interest  at 
the  rate  of  3|  per  cent,  have  thus  far  been  authorized  to  the 


^T.  36]  THE  FINANCIAL  MACHINERY  609 

amount  of  ^2,300,000,  and  the  total  sum  to  be  collected  from 
the  district  annually  is  found  to  be  $111,253.99.  The  first 
quinquennial  apportionment  requires  Boston  to  pay  50  per 
cent,  of  this  annual  requirement,  or  $55,627  per  year,  while 
the  other  thirty-six  cities  and  towns  are  called  upon  for 
varying  amounts  ranging  from  Cambridge's  6^^^^  per  cent. 
($7,600.50  per  year)  to  Dover's  four  thousandths  of  1  per 
cent.  ($48.92  per  year).  The  validity  and  constitutionality  of 
this  ingenious  financial  system  has  recently  been  affirmed  by 
the  Supreme  Court  on  appeal.  It  should  be  added  that  the 
law  provides  for  the  annual  collection  from  the  cooperating 
towns  and  cities  of  the  cost  of  maintenance  of  the  several 
reservations,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  total  sum  required 
for  this  purpose  will  soon  equal  that  required  to  meet  the 
charges  on  the  bonds.  Whatever  the  total  amount  may  be, 
it  is  to  be  assessed  in  accordance  with  the  quinquennial  ap- 
portionment ;  but  down  to  the  present  time  the  Commonwealth 
has  itself  paid  the  general  and  maintenance  expenses  of  the 
Commission,  the  legislature  having  approi)riated  $10,000, 
$20,000,  and  $38,943  in  the  years  1893,  1894,  and  1895 
respectively. 

The  following  condensed  statements  concerning  the  work 
of  the  Commission  have  been  compiled  from  the  three  succes- 
sive annual  reports  of  the  Board  :  — 

Tlic  Commission  was  originally  composed  as  follows:  — 

Charles  Francis  Adams,  Chairman,  Quincy ;  William  B. 
de  las  Casas,  Maiden  ;  Philip  A.  Chase,  Ljmn  ;  Abraham  L. 
Richards,  Watertown ;  James  Jeffery  Roche,  Boston.  Wil- 
liam L.  Chase  of  Brookline  succeeded  James  Jeffery  Roche 
resigned,  but  died  in  July,  1895,  and  was  succeeded  by  Edwin 
B.  Haskell  of  Newton.  Augustus  Hemenway  of  Canton  has 
also  been  appointed  in  place  of  Charles  Francis  Adams  re- 
signed. William  B.  de  las  Casas  is  Chairman  of  the  present 
Board.  The  Commission  meets  every  week  and  sits  from  two 
until  six  o'clock ;  its  members  also  make  frequent  excursions 
to  the  scenes  of  their  labors. 

Execiitive  Department.  —  Secretary,  II.  S.  Carruth,  July, 
1893,  to  January  1,  1896.  John  Woodbury,  January  1, 
1896,  to  date.  —  The  secretary  is  the  salaried  executive  offi- 


610  THE  PROFESSIONAL  EXPERTS  [1896 

cer  of  the  Commission,  and  all  departments  report  through 
him.  He  is  the  general  manager  of  the  work  of  the  Commis- 
sion, and  arranges  for  the  financial  settlements  with  the  owners 
of  the  lands  acquired.  The  total  number  of  acres  thus  far 
taken  for  reservations  is  6822,  embracing  lands  belonging  to 
603  claimants  for  damages.  At  the  date  of  the  last  report 
367  of  these  claims,  representing  5156  acres,  had  been  ad- 
justed at  prices  ranging  all  the  way  from  forty  dollars  an 
acre  to  one  dollar  per  square  foot.  So  far  there  have  been 
very  few  cases  of  litigation.  It  is  pleasant  to  note  that  six 
persons  have  presented  lands  to  the  Commission.  The  sum 
of  the  tliree  annual  appropriations  of  the  General  Court 
(168,943)  has  been  expended  by  the  executive  department 
for  office  rent,  salaries,  travelling,  repairs,  tools,  etc.,  and  for 
the  pay  of  the  keepers  or  police  of  the  reservations  (about 
120,000  to  date). 

Law  Department.  —  Messrs.  Balch  &  Rackemann,  attor- 
neys and  conveyancers,  have  from  the  first  draughted  the  legal 
papers  required  for  the  taking  of  lands  by  eminent  domain 
and  for  other  purposes.  They  have  represented  the  Commis- 
sion in  such  suits  as  have  been  brought  by  land-owners  who 
have  been  imable  to  come  to  terms  with  the  secretary  or  the 
Commission.  They  have  also  prosecuted  a  few  violators  of 
the  ordinances  governing  the  reservations.  The  principal 
work  of  this  department  has,  however,  been  the  searching  of 
the  titles  to  the  lands  of  the  reservations  in  order  to  make 
sure  that  only  rightful  claims  are  paid.  This  tedious  task 
has  been  accomplished  by  employing  a  large  force  of  skilled 
assistants. 

Landscape  Architects'  Department.  —  Messrs.  Olmsted, 
Olmsted  &  Eliot  have  from  the  first  advised  the  Commission 
as  to  the  choice  of  lands  for  the  reservations,  as  to  the  bound- 
aries of  each  reservation,  and  as  to  all  questions  relating  to 
the  appearance  or  scenery  of  the  lands  acquired.  More  than 
thirty  miles  of  boundaries  have  been  studied  and  re-studied 
in  detail. 

Engineering  Department.  —  Engineer,  William  T.  Pierce. 
—  With  a  varying  number  of  assistants  the  engineer  prepares 
the  plans  of  "  takings,"  land  maps  to  accompany  filed  deeds, 


^T.  36]  CONSTRUCTION  —  PAY^IENTS  611 

projects  for  necessary  works  here  and  there  in  the  reserva- 
tions, and  so  on.  During  the  first  year  or  two  different  engi- 
neers were  engaged  in  different  places  for  special  works. 
Topographical  surveys  of  the  Fells  and  Blue  Hills  Reserva- 
tions have  been  executed  for  the  Commission  by  surveyors 
employed  under  a  contract.  The  engineering  department  is 
at  present  principally  occupied  in  supervising  the  construction 
of  certain  "  parkways  "  not  previously  mentioned,  money  for 
which  to  the  amount  of  $500,000  was  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  by  an  Act  of  1894, 
which  in  this  case  divided  the  financial  burden  evenlybetween 
the  Commonwealth  and  the  metropolitan  district. 

Construction  Department.  —  Wilfred  Rackemann,  General 
Superintendent.  —  About  twenty  miles  of  old  wood-roads  in 
the  forest  reservations  have  been  made  usable  by  pleasure 
carriages,  and  many  additional  miles  have  been  made  prac- 
ticable for  horseback  riders.  The  whole  area  of  the  inland 
reservations  has  been  cleared  of  the  wood-choppers'  slashings, 
the  fire-killed  trees,  and  all  the  dangerous,  because  dead  and 
dry,  tinder  with  which  the  lands  were  found  heaped.  About 
one  hundred  men  have  been  employed  during  three  winters  in 
this  last-mentioned  safeguarding  work.  Several  buildings 
have  also  been  torn  down,  fences  built,  and  odd  jobs  of  all 
sorts  done. 

The  draughts  on  the  sum  of  the  loans  ($2,300,000)  may, 
accordingly,  be  classified  thus  :  — 

Payments  for  lands  (to  date  of  last  report)      .     .  $940,739.77 
Counsel  and  conveyancers'  fees  and  expenses  .     .  52,199.79 
Landscape  architects'  fees  and  expenses      .     .     .  7,147.78 
Engineering  expenses  (including  cost  of  topo- 
graphical surveys,  $17,012.90) 31,857.57 

Labor  and  supervision  thereof 146,402.60 

Miscellaneous  expenditures        10,303.90 

Total 81,194,651.41 

It  is  estimated  that  the  whole  of  the  balance  of  the  loans 
(11,105,348.59),  and  possibly  more,  will  be  required  to  meet 
the  remaining  claims  of  land-owners,  the  cost  of  removing 
the  Revere  Beach  Railroad,  and  a  few  other  minor  but  neces- 
sary works. 


612  COOPERATION  AND  FORESIGHT  [1896 

Every  rural,  as  well  as  every  crowded,  district  of  the  United 
States  possesses  at  least  a  few  exceptionally  interesting  scenes, 
the  enclosure  or  destruction  of  which  for  private  pleasure  or 
gain  would  impoverish  the  life  of  the  people.  Very  often 
these  strongly  characterized  scenes  are  framed  by  lands  or 
strips  of  land  which,  like  the  Blue  Hills,  or  the  banks  of  the 
Charles,  and  Revere  Beach,  are  either  almost  unproductive, 
or  else  are  put  by  their  private  owners  to  by  no  means  their 
highest  use.  In  many  districts  now  is  the  time  when  these 
financially  profitless  summits,  caiions,  crags,  ravines,  and 
strips  of  ground  along  the  seashores,  lake  shores,  rivers,  and 
brooks  ought  to  be  preserved  as  natural  pictures,  and  put  to 
use  as  public  recreation  grounds.  To  enable  benevolent  citi- 
zens or  bodies  of  voluntary  subscribers  to  achieve  the  perma- 
nent preservation  of  such  scenes,  Massachusetts  has  ci-eated  a 
board  of  trustees,  known  as  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reserva- 
tions, who  are  empowered  to  hold  free  of  all  taxes  such  lands 
and  money  as  may  be  given  into  their  keeping  —  an  institu- 
tion which  ought  to  be  found  in  every  State.  In  special 
regions,  however,  where  the  establishment  of  such  a  board  of 
trustees  would  be  ineffectual,  either  because  large  sums  of 
money  are  required  promptly,  or  because  the  power  of  eminent 
domain  must  be  invoked,  the  methods  of  the  Massachusetts 
Metropolitan  Park  Commission  may  be  profitably  followed 
on  either  a  humbler  or  a  grander  scale.  The  establishment 
and  the  successful  working  of  this  Commission  pi-oves'  that  at 
least  one  great  and  complex  American  democracy  is  alive  to 
the  usefulness  of  the  beautiful,  and  the  value  of  public  open 
space ;  also  that  this  democracy  is  capable  of  cooperation  and 
of  foresight,  ready  to  tax  itself  severely  for  an  end  which  it 
believes  in,  and  able  to  secure  as  executors  of  its  expressed 
but  undefined  desires  commissioners  capable  of  realizing 
these  desires  in  a  remarkably  comprehensive  and  equitable 
manner. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

SELECTED   LETTERS   OF  1896 

Art  when  reallj'  cultivated,  and  not  practised  empirically,  maintains,  * 
what  it  first  gave  the  conception  of,  an  ideal  beauty  to  be  eternally 
aimed  at,  though  surpassing  what  can  be  actually  attained  ;  and  by 
this  idea  it  trains  us  never  to  be  completely  satisfied  with  imperfection 
in  what  we  ourselves  do  and  are  ;  to  idealize  as  much  as  possible  every 
work  we  do,  and  most  of  all  our  own  characters  and  lives.  —  John 
Stuart  Mill. 

The  letters  selected  for  this  chapter  are  all  of  the  year 
189G,  and  they  relate  not  to  routine  business,  but  to  special 
subjects  which  were  brought  to  Charles's  notice  either  by  the 
public  bodies  which  he  was  advising,  or  by  private  persons. 
Some  of  them  were  written  to  resist,  or  to  help  the  Commis- 
sion to  resist,  injuries  to  the  reservations  ;  one  to  suggest 
a  handsome  framing  for  the  western  end  of  Charles  Kiver 
Basin,  and  to  advocate  forethought  and  cooperation  on  the 
part  of  all  the  parties  interested,  to  the  end  of  securing  a  well- 
considered  plan  for  this  aesthetically  important  h)cality  ;  one 
to  urge  the  importance  of  providing  a  body  of  good  keepers, 
and  to  describe  the  quality  and  functions  of  good  keepers ; 
one  to  propose  an  appropriate  monument  to  Elizur  Wright  in 
Middlesex  Fells  ;  and  one  to  define  the  natui'al  associations 
of  instruction  in  Landscape  Architecture  in  a  nniver.sity. 

Throughout  the  year  Charles  attended  the  numerous  meet- 
ings of  the  Metro]>olitan  Park  Commission,  kept  many  ap- 
pointments in  the  field  with  its  members,  officers,  and  agents, 
and  made  for  it  many  designs  ;  but  he  also  studied  on  the 
spot  playgrounds,  parks,  or  parkways  for  Cambridge,  Fall 
Kiver,  Westport,  Brookline,  Reading,  and  Quincy  in  Massa- 
chu.setts,  for  Providence  and  Newport  in  Rhode  Island,  for 
Portland  in  Maine,  for  Hartford,  Conn.,  for  Brooklyn,  and 
Louisville,  and  made  designs  for  the  grounds  of  the  Ameri- 
can University  at  Washington,  the  Rhode  Island  College  of 
Agriculture  at  Kingston,  the  Missouri  Botanic  Garden  at  St. 
Louis,  and  the  Victoria  Hospital  at  Montreal,  and  for  more 
than  a  dozen  private  places  besides.  Occasionally  he  felt 
overburdened,  but  generally  he  rejoiced  in  his  work.     How 


614  SELECTED  LETTERS   OF   1896  [1896 

he  felt  in  busy  midsummer  clays  may  be  inferred  from  these 
three  hasty  notes  to  his  wife  at  New  Hartford.  Peach's  Point 
is  at  Marblehead,  where  his  uncle  Robert  S.  Peabody  had  a 
summer  place.  The  plans  referred  to  in  the  fii'st  note  were 
general  designs  covering  the  whole  of  the  large  reservations. 

July  16,  '96.    Thursday  Morning. 

.  .  .  Some  days  this  world  seems  almost  terribly  interest- 
ing, and  my  own  part  in  its  drama  most  strangely  imj)ortant ! 
Yesterday  a  new  plan  for  the  Fells  Parkway  went  through 
the  Board  with  a  rush.  Next  Wednesday  the  Metropolitan, 
Boston,  and  Cambridge  Boards  visit  Charles  River  together, 
and  big  things  will  follow  for  the  district !  Revere  Beach 
was  visited  by  45,000  people  last  Sunday !  and  the  Commis- 
sion has  ordered  construction  plans,  so  that  the  crowd  can  be 
taken  care  of  next  summer. 

Aug.  6,  '96.  Office,  Thursday  A.  m. 
Tuesday  I  lunched  with  Miss  O.  and  F.  L.  O.,  Jr.,  and 
dined  at  the  park  restaurant,  Dan  driving  me  over.  Wednes- 
day, lunch  in  Boston  and  dinner  at  Peach's  Point,  going  down 
with  R.  S.  P.  after  Metropolitan  meeting.  Chairman  now 
says  our  engagement  for  plans  is  in  "  abeyance  "  !  To-day 
I  am  to  lunch  at  park  with  commissioners,  and  spend  the 
afternoon  with  them.  I  mean  to  spend  this  night  also  at 
Marblehead !  and  to-morrow  night  in  Hartford  ;  so  as  to  go 
out  to  you  some  time  on  Saturday.  Probably  I  shall  have 
to  go  to  Bridgeman's  at  Norfolk,  and  so  reach  New  Hartford 
from  there  at  5.11  P.  M.  .  .  . 

'96,  Brookline,  Wednes.  a.  m. 
...  I  am  O.  K.  and  very  busy,  J.  C.  O.  having  fled  to 
Deer  Isle  last  Sunday  and  not  having  returned  as  yet.     Posi- 
tively I  am  swamped. 

The  first  letter  given  below  mentions,  in  answer  to  an  in- 
quiry, some  of  the  beauties  which  Boston  has  missed  through 
lack  of  foresight  and  of  careful  planning  in  laying  out  thor- 
oughfares and  preserving  vistas.  The  worst  of  these  misfor- 
tunes is  the  last  mentioned.  For  all  most  Bostonians  see  of 
their  beautiful  harbor  during  their  daily  pursuits,  the  city 
might  as  well  be  ten  miles  inland.     The  sight  of  blue  water 


JET.  36]  CHANCES   WHICH   BOSTON  HAS  LOST  615 

is  cut  off  from  State  Street  by  the  elevated  railroad  and  some 
insignificant  buildings  across  the  lower  end  of  the  street. 

January  16,  1896. 

Dear  Madam,  —  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  1  cannot  tell  you 
where  to  find  the  old  Back  Bay  and  Commonwealth  Avenue 
plans.  I  thought  I  had  a  note  of  them  somewhere  ;  but  1  do 
not  find  it. 

Of  the  fine  chances  which  have  been  missed,  a  few  may 
be  noted  as  follows :  A  noble  terminus  at  Massachusetts 
Avenue  for  the  long  straight  of  Commonwealth  Avenue.  A 
dignified  plaza  such  as  might  have  been  secured  at  the  part- 
ing of  the  old  Brookline,  Newton,  and  Brighton  roads.  A 
vista  avenue  across  the  Back  Bay,  so  placed  as  to  have  a 
monument  on  Parker  Hill  at  the  far  end  of  it.  A  glimpse 
of  the  Harbor  from  the  heart  of  the  town  —  say  from  the  Old 
State  House  —  such  as  might  have  been  secured  after  the 
Great  Fire.  At  present  it  is  noticeable  that  the  seaport  is 
invisible  save  from  the  wharves  themselves. 

As  to  the  Common,  our  plans  were  by  no  means  radical, 
and  the  present  plan  seems  to  me  not  bad  —  only  colorless. 

The  next  seven  letters  were  all  addressed  to  the  Chairman 
of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission. 

January  31,  1896. 
With  respect  to  the  proposed  abandonment  of  lands   to 
Mr. of  Maiden  and  to  the  Boston  Rubber  Shoe  Com- 
pany, we  beg  leave  to  report  that  we  had  sujiposed  that  the 

omission    from    the    original    taking  of  one  of  Mr.    's 

conspicuous  "  summer  houses  "  and  all  the  used  portions  of 

his  estate  had  secured  Mr. 's  friendly  consent  to  this 

"taking  line."  "NVe  regretted  the  original  omission  of  the 
western  summer-house  rock  extremely,  because  of  the  danger 
of  some  very  ugly  thing  being  set  up  there  eventually,  to  the 
injury  of  many  important  and  fine  prospects.    We  now  regret 

extremely  the  return  to  Mr. of  his  southernmost  rocks 

and  cliff.  .  .  .  Our  reasons  for  regretting  the  abandonment 
of  the  cliff  are  (1)  the  loss  of  a  fine  view-point  on  the  edge 
of  the  settled  area ;  (2)  the  loss  of  a  fine  foreground  which 
the  Pines  on  the  cliff  supply  to  many  views  from   rocks  in 


616  SELECTED   LETTERS  OF  1896  [1896 

the  interior  of  the  reservation ;  (3)  the  danger  that  ugly 
buildings  may  hereafter  be  substituted  for  the  Pines  ;  (4) 
the  loss  of  the  fine  appearance  of  the  edge  of  the  reservation 
from  outside  points  in  Maiden. 

The  abandonment  to  the  Shoe  Company  which  is  involved 

in  this   abandonment  to  Mr. throws  out  many  ledges, 

but  they  are  not  to  be  compared  in  public  value  to  the  rocks 

surrendered  to  Mr. . 

February  1,  1896. 

With  resjJect  to  a  proposed  abandonment  of  a  part  of  the 

property,  Middlesex  Fells  Reservation,  we  beg  leave  to 

report  as  follows  :  — 

This  estate  lies  between  Washington  Street  and  the  famous 
Cascade  on  the  eastern  verge  of  the  Fells.  The  half  circle  of 
high  bluffs  is  very  fine,  and  it  will  be  lamentable  if  all  the 
buildings  between  the  street  and  the  bluff  cannot  be  removed. 
This  cove  in  the  wall  of  ledges  is  one  of  the  most  attractive 
spots  on  the  Reservation. 

If  financial  considerations  compel  an  abandonment,  we 
would  suggest  that  sucii  abandonment  be  limited  to  the  north- 
east part,  of  the  estate  in  question,  the  site  of  the  southern- 
most of  the  buildings  being  retained  within  the  re- 
servation. Both  banks  of  the  Cascade  Brook  will  thus  be 
preserved  to  the  public,  as  well  as  a  fair  chance  to  approach 
and  view  the  cascade  itself.  We  would  draw  the  new  line  as 
close  to  the  remaining  buildings  as  may  be  possible,  so  that 
space  may  be  obtained  for  "  planting  out  "  their  objectionable 
back  yards  and  out-buildings. 

It  should  be  noted  that  this  proposed  abandonment  seems 
dangerous  in  much  the  same  way  as  the  proposed  abandon- 
ment of  the  —  property  on  Forest  Street,  though  by 

no  means  in  the  same  degree.  Both  estates,  if  abandoned, 
will  offer,  in  time,  very  favorable  situations  for  road-houses 
or  beer-gardens,  which  places  will  appear  to  lie  within  the 
reservation.  Such  places  may  indeed  be  established  on  the 
private  or  opposite  side  of  any  of  the  boundary  roads,  but  in 
this  position  drinking-houses  will  be  found  to  be  far  less 
objectionable  than  when  placed  so  that  their  rear  fences  pro- 
ject into  the  reservation  itself. 


JET.  36]       THE   EDGES  OF  CHARLES   RIVER  BASIN  617 

February  3,  1896. 

We  beg  leave  to  report  with  respect  to  the  proposed  aban- 
donment to  the  Langwood  Hotel  Park  and  Trust  Company. 

This  company  owns  a  large  island  of  private  land  in  the 
midst  of  the  eastern  Fells.  If  this  land  should  be  occupied 
by  large  or  numerous  buildings,  it  would,  of  course,  be  an 
eyesore  ;  but  the  high  price  of  the  property  compelled  the 
Commission  to  refrain  from  taking  it.  Since  this  private 
island  already  exists,  there  is  no  objection  to  increasing  its 
area  for  the  sake  of  economizing,  provided  that  such  aban- 
donments as  may  be  made  do  not  surrender  any  particularly 
charming  spots,  and  do  not  extend  so  far  as  to  bring  future 
buildings  into  view  from  parts  of  the  Fells  which  are  now 
safe  from  such  intrusion.  .  .  . 

February  7,  1896. 

In  obedience  to  the  request  of  the  Commission,  we  herewith 
submit  alternative  plans  suggesting  possible  approaches  to  a 
bridge  over  Chai-les  River  at  the  western  end  of  the  so-called 
Basin.  The  Commission  is  aware  that  the  outline  of  the 
Basin  has  been  from  time  to  time  determined  by  the  State 
Board  of  Harbor  Commissioners  with  little  regard  to  public 
convenience,  and  with  no  regard  for  appearance,  or  the  mak- 
ing of  a  handsomely  framed  urban  sheet  of  water.  Between 
Craigie  and  West  Boston  bridges  the  cities  of  Boston  and 
Cambridge  have  each  secured  straight-walled  public  banks. 
On  the  northern  side  west  of  West  Boston  bridge,  the  so- 
called  Embankment  Company  has  built  and  deeded  to  the 
city  of  Cambridge  another  long  section  of  straight  roadway 
and  promenade,  and  the  Cambridge  Park  Commission  owns 
the  remainder  of  this  shore. 

Unfortunately,  the  Boston  shore  of  the  Basin  west  of  West 
Boston  bridge  possesses  two  awkward  angles,  and  it  has  more- 
over been  so  laid  out  as  to  compel  the  backing  of  buildings 
towards  the  water.  If  parks  on  land  need  boundary  roads 
and  fronting  buildings,  water  parks,  the  edges  of  which  can- 
not be  planted  out,  need  them  much  more.  The  first  Boston 
Park  Commission  suggest%tl  a  public  driveway  and  prome- 
nade along  the  Boston  shore,  and  it  may  be  assumed  that 
this  work  will  be  accomplished  some  day. 


618  SELECTED   LETTERS   OF   1896  [1896 

The  accompanying  plans  are  based  on  alternative  sugges- 
tions for  eventually  securing  a  fine  frontage  on  the  Boston 
shore  of  the  Basin  ;  and  they  demonstrate  the  fact  that  a 
handsome  terminus  is  still  obtainable  at  the  western  end  of 
the  Basin,  if  forethought  can  be  exercised,  and  cooperation 
secured.  Such  forethought  and  cooperation  have  hitherto 
been  lacking  in  all  matters  connected  with  the  development 
of  the  great  Basin.  If  the  city  authorities  of  Boston  and 
Cambridge,  the  Harbor  Commissioners,  and  the  owners  of 
the  flats  and  filled  lands  can  now  be  induced  to  agree  upon 
some  harmonious  plan,  the  work  of  construction  may  be  post- 
poned for  years  without  danger  to  the  ultimate  fine  result. 
It  is  in  the  hope  that  such  co(5peration  can  be  brought  about 
that  the  accompanying  plans  are  submitted. 

The  plans  referred  to  in  this  letter,  with  full  descriptive 
notes  accompanying  them,  are  in  possession  of  the  Metropol- 
itan Park  Commission ;  but  thus  far  (1902)  no  attempt  has 
been  made  to  bring  about  the  execution  of  this  important 
improvement.  Meantime  the  ultimate  carrying  out  of  any 
handsome  design  for  the  head  of  the  basin  has  been  made 
much  more  difficult  and  expensive  than  it  was  in  1896  by 
the  rapid  erection  of  many  buildings  on  the  Boston  side  of  the 
basin. 

February  25,  1896. 

We  beg  leave  to  report  that  Mr.  Eliot  attended  the  con- 
ference called  by  the  Commission  for  February  20th,  on  the 
subject  of  the  proposed  Charlesmouth  Bridge.  The  sugges- 
tion seemed  to  meet  with  general  approval.  It  was  noted 
that  the  only  obstacle  to  the  eventual  selection  of  the  pro- 
posed site  for  a  bridge  is  the  inadequate  width  of  St.  Mary's 
Street  and  the  other  approaches  on  the  Boston  side.  If  suit- 
ably broad  approaches  can  be  secured,  the  bridge  wiU  doubt- 
less be  eventually  built.  The  Boston  Street  Commissioners 
and  the  City  Government  of  Boston  have  it  in  their  power  to 
make  the  desired  widenings,  and  in  order  to  induce  them  to 
take  action,  we  would  suggest  that  the  Park  Commissions 
concerned  address  a  joint  petition  to  the  proper  Boston 
authorities.  We  have  furnished  the  several  Boards  with 
8un-prints  of  the  general  plan  for  the  bridge,  and  we  would 


ET.  36]  THE   DUTIES   OF  PARK  KEEPERS  619 

suggest  that  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  head  a  suita- 
ble petition  and  circulate  it  at  an  early  date. 

Some  discussion  was  had  at  the  aforesaid  conference  as  to 
the  advisability  of  a  dam  instead  of  a  bridge  at  Charlesmouth, 
and  the  opinion  of  the  majority  of  those  present  seemed  to 
be  that  while  a  dam  at  the  pi-oposed  bridge  site  would  effect 
the  desired  economy  in  river-bank  park  construction,  it  would 
interrupt  pleasure  boating,  and  would  not  benefit  the  Back 
Bay  and  Cambridgeport  filled  lands  as  a  dam  at  Charles- 
bank  would.  We  have  written  Dr.  Walcott  since  the  con- 
ference, urging  a  public  restatement  of  the  sanitary  benefits 
to  be  derived  from  a  dam  at  Charlesbank  as  distinguished 
from  a  dam  at  Charlesmouth,  feeling  that  unless  the  residents 
of  the  Back  Bay  can  be  led  to  see  clearly  these  benefits,  there 
can  be  but  small  hope  of  obtaining  the  favorable  action  of  the 
National  and  State  authorities.  We  indulge  the  hope  that 
Dr.  Walcott,  Mr.  Mills,  or  Engineer  Stearns  may  yet  make 
this  clearer  statement  which  is  so  much  needed. 

April  29,  1896. 

It  is  perhaps  unfashionable  "to  go  on  record"  in  these 
days ;  nevertheless,  we  shall  ask  leave  to  file  with  the  Secre- 
tary the  following  expression  of  opinion  on  two  points  which 
seem  to  us  of  grave  importance. 

The  first  work  of  a  new  park  commission  is  the  acquisi- 
tion of  lands  possessing  interesting  scenery  or  adaptability  to 
some  special  public  purpose  ;  but  a  much  more  difficidt  work 
is  the  development  and  management  of  the  lands  so  acquired. 
In  our  annual  reports  and  in  special  letters  we  have  set  forth 
the  need  of  planning  in  advance  the  woik  which  must  be 
gradually  done,  if  the  new  open  spaces  are  to  benefit  the 
community  in  a  degree  which  will  justify  their  removal  from 
the  tax  lists.  When  topographical  maps  have  once  been  pro- 
vided, expenditure  for  planless  road  or  forest  work  in  public 
lands  cannot  be  justified.  We  submit  this  simply  as  a  fact 
which  is  generally  recognized. 

In  addition  to  the  v/ork  of  acquiring  and  the  work  of  de- 
veloping public  open  spaces,  every  park  commission  is  further 
charged  with  the  duty  of  caring  for  the  lands  acquired,  and 


620  SELECTED   LETTERS   OF   1896  [1896 

of  regulating  their  use  by  the  public.  Public  reservations 
are  worse  than  useless,  if  they  are  not  as  carefully  controlled 
as  they  are  wisely  developed.  It  is  very  easy  for  a  public 
forest  to  acquire  an  evil  reputation,  in  which  event  it  becomes 
an  injury  instead  of  a  benefit  to  adjacent  property.  Thus 
the  right  keeping  of  a  public  open  space  is  a  matter  of  pri- 
mary importance. 

For  the  prevention  of  crime  in  a  public  domain,  it  is  im- 
portant that  the  keei3ers  should  be  active  men,  both  in  fact 
and  in  appearance.  Since  it  is  impossible  to  really  patrol 
every  acre,  it  is  necessary  that  the  patrolmen  should  exercise 
a  moral  influence  by  their  bright,  wide-awake,  and  active  ap- 
pearance. They  must  at  all  times  avoid  even  the  appearance 
of  loafing.  They  should  change  their  routes  every  day,  and 
the  time  of  their  appearance  at  any  one  place  should  vary. 
They  should  give  little  of  their  time  to  the  main  roads  ; 
for  people  in  carriages  are  neither  likely  to  commit  crime 
nor  to  misuse  the  reservations.  They  should  be  careful  to 
avoid  the  bullying  tone  which  is  so  common  among  ordinary 
policemen  ;  and  they  should  continually  bear  themselves  as  the 
courteous  guides  and  helpers  of  the  public,  whose  servants 
they  are,  cautioning  rather  than  threatening  those  who  may 
seem  inclined  to  break  the  necessary  regulations,  and  explain- 
ing to  the  children  and  the  ignorant  the  reasonable  grounds 
of  such  rules  as  may  seem  hard  to  them.  To  induce  both  the 
public  and  the  officers  themselves  to  take  this  view  of  the 
keeping  of  the  reservations,  it  seems  to  us  very  necessary  that 
the  difference  between  a  keeper  and  a  police  officer  should  be 
plainly  marked  by  a  difference  in  uniform.  If  the  regulation 
police  uniform,  or  anything  like  it,  is  adopted  for  the  reser- 
vations patrol,  the  patrolmen  will  soon  be  aping  the  manners 
of  the  city  police,  while  the  mischievous  or  vicious  persons 
who  may  resort  to  the  public  forests  will  take  to  outwitting 
and  circumventing  the  "  cop  "  as  they  do  in  town. 

It  is  customary  to  divide  a  force  of  keepers  into  three 
classes ;  and  we  would  recommend  that  this  practice  be  adopted 
by  your  Board.  "  Patrol-keepers  "  receive  the  highest  pay 
and  are  on  duty  daily.  "  Post-keepers  "  receive  less  pay,  and 
are  stationed  either  daily,  or  when  occasion  may  require,  at 


^T.  36]  A  MEMORIAL  TO  ELIZUR  WRIGHT  621 

special  points  —  as  at  entrances,  ponds,  or  hill-tops.  "  Extra 
keepers "  are  usually  selected  laborers,  who  may  be  called 
upon  to  serve  as  keepers  on  special  occasions.  [See  Appen- 
dix IV,  for  papers  accompanying  this  letter.] 

We  would  respectfully  suggest  that  the  whole  system  of 
keeping  the  new  reservations  be  reorganized  at  the  earliest 
convenient  opportunity. 

November  4,  1896. 

As  requested  by  the  Commission,  we  hand  you  herewith  a 
preliminary  sketch  for  a  lookout  bastion  or  terrace  on  Pine 
Hill,  such  as  might,  we  think,  carry  an  inscription  phrased 
to  suitably  commemorate  the  work  of  Mr.  Elizur  Wright  in 
starting  the  public  movement  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Fells. 

The  ridge  of  Pine  Hill  is  a  long  and  narrow  ridge  ;  and  it 
is  so  wooded  that  views  from  it  are  obtained  only  by  stepping 
out  upon  such  ledges  as  here  and  there  project  a  little  out- 
ward from  the  main  body  of  the  hill.  AVe  find  that  Miss 
Wright  has  had  in  mind  as  the  most  appropriate  memorial  to 
her  father  a  stone  tower,  to  be  placed  on  the  southernmost  of 
the  projecting  ledges  of  the  hill.  This  is  the  ledge  which  is 
in  view  from  a  large  part  of  Medford,  and,  indeed,  all  the 
country  to  the  southward.  While  a  tower  on  this  ledge  would 
certainly  be  a  conspicuous  monument,  it  is  quite  unneces- 
sary so  far  as  obtaining  the  view  is  concerned,  because  the 
ledge  is  so  abrupt  that  the  southern  view  is  obtained  in  all 
its  fulness  from  the  rock  itself.  It  seems  to  us  that  a  narrow 
and  somewhat  lofty  tower  at  this  point  would,  in  a  measure, 
dwarf  the  apparent  height  of  the  hill,  and  would  disfigure  it. 

A  tower  built  in  the  rear  of  the  ledge  above  mentioned,  and 
upon  a  point  near  the  highest  of  all  the  ledges  on  the  hill, 
would  be  free  from  these  objections,  because  the  trees  around 
it  would  conceal  it,  though  the  siunmit  of  it  might  rise  above 
the  trees  so  as  to  command  a  view  in  all  directions.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  suppose  such  a  tower  would  hardly  be  con- 
spicuous enough  to  fulfil  the  idea  of  a  memorial;  and  then 
again,  we  think  that  hollow,  stone  towers  are  very  objection- 
able in  public  grounds,  unless  a  guardian  can  give  his  whole 
time  to  the  care  of  the  place,  and  that,  we  suppose,  would  not 
be  possible  in  this  instance. 


622  SELECTED   LETTERS  OF  1896  [1896 

It  so  happens  that  there  is  found  adjacent  to  the  ledge 
which  Miss  Wright  has  had  in  mind  another,  and  even  bolder 
ledge,  separated  from  the  first  ledge  by  a  narrow  hollow,  by 
way  of  which  the  shortest  path  from  the  direction  of  Medford 
finds  its  way  to  the  summit.  After  climbing  up  this  hollow, 
we  find  it  will  be  possible  to  turn  the  path  out  on  to  the 
western  ledge,  where  a  wall  of  stones  may  be  built  up  in  such 
a  way  as  to  provide  a  level  standing-place  or  terrace,  from 
which  to  look  over  to  the  westward ;  and  then,  if  a  stone  arch 
can  be  thrown  across  the  gully,  the  eastern  ledge,  which  Miss 
Wright  has  had  in  mind,  can  be  easily  reached ;  and  here  the 
walls  of  stones  may  be  raised  to  the  same  grade  as  that  of  the 
western  terrace,  in  which  case  this  eastern  terrace  will  be 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  above  the  present  surface  of  the 
rock.  Thus  from  this  eastern  terrace  the  view  to  the  south- 
ward will  be  obtained  in  all  its  breadth,  while  in  looking  at 
the  hill  from  the  south,  a  horizontal  line  of  stones  rather  than 
a  vertical  line  will  attract  attention.  The  proposed  stone 
walls  will  be,  in  effect,  backed  by  the  trees  on  the  hill-top. 
An  inscription  dedicating  the  hill,  or  this  stone  structure,  to 
the  memory  of  Mr.  Wright  can,  of  course,  be  placed  either 
on  the  arch  over  the  hollow,  or  on  any  part  of  the  parapet  of 
the  terraces.  The  old  stone  walls  which  still  are  found  on 
Pine  Hill  may  be  used  to  supply  the  stone  for  the  proposed 
work,  and  we  would  suggest  that  the  work  be  done  under  the 
direction  of  some  foreman  especially  skilled  and  experienced 
in  such  rovigh  stone  construction. 

The  next  three  letters  were  written  to  the  chairman  of  the 
Boston  Park  Commission.  All  three  dealt  with  important 
matters  concerning  which  discussion  was  rife  at  the  time,  and 
all  three  opposed  the  action  desired  and  warmly  advocated  in 
each  case  by  a  section  of  the  public.  In  each  case  Charles's 
argument  prevailed. 

May  19,  1896. 

Looking  into  or  over  a  Park,  and  looking  out  op 
IT. — We  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  considerations 
respecting  the  bank  now  building  along  Blue  Hill  Avenue. 

The  mound  in  question  is  on  the  border  of  that  part  of 
Franklin  Park  designated  the  Country  Park,  to  distinguish 


£T.  30]         THE   BORDERING  SCREENS   OF  A  PARK         623 

it  from  the  more  open  areas  known  as  the  Playstead,  the 
Greeting,  etc.  Tlie  Country  Park  is  a  tract  of  land  acquired 
and  arranged  at  large  expense  for  a  particular  purpose,  a 
purpose  distinct  from  that  which  the  Common,  the  Fens,  the 
Parkway,  and  the  Greeting  are  designed  to  serve.  The 
Country  Park  is  intentled  to  provide  the  people  of  Boston 
with  a  broad  (or  seemingly  broad)  stretch  of  rural  landscape 
well  screened  from  city  sights  and  sounds.  Exi)erience  has 
proved  that  the  enjoyment  of  scenery  thus  separated  from 
and  strikingly  contrasting  with  brick  walls  and  stony  pave- 
ments is  extremely  refreshing  to  dwellers  in  cities.  It  was 
in  order  to  provide  opportunity  for  securing  such  completely 
green  scenery  that  the  large  area  of  Franklin  Park  was 
bought*  while  one  of  the  principal  reasons  for  preferring  the 
present  site  of  the  park  to  other  sites  which  were  suggested 
was  the  fact  that  much  of  the  chosen  site  was  already  bordered 
or  framed  by  rocks,  hills,  and  woods  which  shut  out  the  city. 
Beginning  at  Glen  Road,  Jamaica  Plain,  the  rocks  and  woods 
of  the  Wilderness,  Juniper  Hill,  Waitt-Wood,  Rock  Milton, 
and  Rock  Morton  effectually  enclose  three  fifths  of  the  street 
frontage  of  the  Country  Park.  It  is  only  from  Canterbury 
Hill  to  Refectory  Hill  that  nature  has  provided  no  bordering 
screen,  and  here  the  published  plans  have  always  indicated 
that  the  border  was  to  be  thickly  planted  with  an  impenetra- 
ble plantation  of  trees. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  boundary  plantations  were  actu- 
ally formed  a  few  years  ago  of  small  trees  and  without  much 
previous  filling  of  tlie  border  lands,  simply  because  of  the 
difficulty  and  cost  of  obtaining  either  large  trees  or  filling 
material.  When  the  Street  Commission  notified  the  Park 
Commission  of  its  desire  to  widen  Blue  Hill  Avenue  on  the 
park  land,  we  were  constrained  to  object  strenuously  on  the 
ground  that  this  already  too  low  and  too  narrow  border  plan- 
tation would  be  practically  destroyed,  to  the  great  injury  of 
the  whole  interior  of  the  park.  It  then  appeared  that  the 
Street  Commission  desired  not  only  to  widen,  but  also  to 
lower,  the  grade  of  the  avenue,  and  that  considerable  filling 
material  would  be  obtained  from  the  necessary  excavations. 
A  means  of  compromising  the  difficulty  was  thus  presented  j 


624  SELECTED  LETTERS   OF   1896  [1896 

and  tlie  Park  Commission  finally  permitted  the  Street  Com- 
mission to  use  park  land  for  widening  the  avenue,  on  condi- 
tion that  the  damage  to  the  border  plantation,  and  the  dimin- 
ished distance  between  the  avenue  and  the  park  drive,  should 
be  counterbalanced  by  the  raising  of  a  bank  betw^een  the 
drive  and  the  avenue,  upon  which  a  new  and  effective  border 
plantation  might  be  growai. 

The  finished  bank  at  its  highest  point,  south  of  Refectory 
Hill  and  the  entrance  to  the  yard  of  the  refectory,  wdll  rise 
only  seven  feet  above  the  grade  of  the  sidewalk  of  the  avenue ; 
and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  important  circuit  drive  of  the 
park  is  only  160  feet  distant  from  the  avenue,  we  cannot 
recommend  that  the  bank  be  lowered.  Whoever  will  look 
towards  this  weak  spot  in  the  border  from  distant  points 
within  the  park  will  certainly  wish  that  the  bank  might  be 
higher  rather  than  lower.  Without  it  and  its  future  crown 
of  trees,  a  whole  district  of  houses  and  streets  will  rise  into 
full  view  from  the  very  heart  of  the  park,  where  it  ought  to 
be  possible  to  completely  forget  the  town  in  the  feeling  that 
the  park  has  undiscoverable  limits.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Commission  may  rest  assured  that  the  appearance  of  the  edge 
of  the  avenue  will  be  fully  as  agreeable  as  the  edges  of  the 
other  streets  which  bound  the  country  park. 

It  should  be  noted  in  passing  that  the  abutters  upon  a  rural 
or  country  park  are  not  assessed  betterments  because  of  views 
over  the  park,  but  chiefly  because  of  their  proximity  to  that 
which  other  people  are  remote  from.  Such  adjacent  land- 
owners cannot  be  granted  special  favors  in  the  way  of  view- 
commanding  openings  without  injury  to  that  which  chiefly 
makes  the  park  valuable.  It  is  impossible  to  have  one's  cake, 
and  eat  it  too.  To  ask  to  have  the  bordering  screens  torn 
down  is  to  ask  for  the  destruction  of  that  which  the  abutters' 
and  all  other  tax-payers'  money  has  been  expended  to  secure 
and  preserve. 

Lastly,  will  the  bordering  wood  on  the  new  bank  be  really 
or  permanently  damaging  to  adjacent  private  property? 
Probably  no  more  so  than  the  natural  woods  along  the  pre- 
viously wooded  borders  of  the  park  —  certainly  not  if  the 
experience  of  other  cities  is  in  the  least  indicative.     Central 


^T.  30]  MANY   ENTRANCES   UNDESIRABLE  625 

Park,  New  York,  and  Prospect  Park,  Brooklyn,  both  have 
thick  border  woods,  which  in  many  pLaces  are  growing  on 
artificially  built  ridges.  The  adjacent  buildings  in  both  cases 
are  generally  of  the  highest  class.  Only  lately  the  Commis- 
sioners in  charge  of  Jackson  Park,  Chicago,  have  felt  com- 
pelled, owing  to  the  flatness  of  the  ground,  to  raise  screening 
mounds  along  the  whole  inland  border  of  that  park,  some  two 
and  three  quarter  miles  long,  and  on  these  mounds  they  have 
planted  shrubbery  and  trees  of  large  size :  so  important  have 
they  thought  it  to  shut  out  the  view  of  the  city,  from  the 
streets  of  which  the  people  fly  for  refreshuient  to  the  park. 

We  beg  leave  to  call  your  attention  to  Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted's 
original  Notes  on  tlie  Plan  of  Franklin  Park,  which  were  sub- 
mitted to  the  Park  Commission  with  the  plan  ten  years  ago 
—  particularly  to  pages  61  and  62. 

Concerning  entrances  to  the  park  from  Blue  Hill  Avenue 
south  of  the  footpath  to  the  refeetoi-y,  we  desire  to  point  out 
that  it  is  extremely  easy  to  multiply  entrances  to  the  great 
injury  of  the  scenery  of  the  parks.  Moreover,  additional 
entrances  involve  additional  policing,  additional  branching 
paths,  and  additional  difficulties  at  points  where  carriage- 
traffic  crosses  on  crowded  days.  We  are,  however,  already- 
engaged  on  plans  for  one  or  two  new  footpath  entrances,  and 
we  shall  give  the  question  of  the  advisabilit}^  of  a  road  en- 
trance at  the  corner  of  the  avenue  and  Canterbury  Street 
very  careful  consideration. 

May  21,  189G. 

Bicycle  Paths  in  Parks.  —  We  ask  that  the  following 
account  of  our  views  respecting  bicycling  in  the  parks  and 
parkways  be  placed  on  file  :  — 

I^^irst.  A  rural  or  country  park  is,  of  course,  designed  to 
serve  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number.  Such  a  park 
is,  however,  designed  to  benefit  this  greatest  number  not  in  all 
possible  ways,  but  especially  in  one  particular  way,  —  namely, 
by  providing  scenery  in  striking  contrast  to  the  ordinary 
scenery  of  city  streets.  The  removal  of  large  spaces  from  the 
taxable  area  of  a  city  is  not  justifiable,  if  the  lands  so  removed 
are  used  for  purposes  which  sjualler  or  less  costly  spaces  would 
serve  as  well  or  better.     Large  parks  are  not  created  in  order 


626  SELECTED  LETTERS  OF  1896  [1896 

to  provide  flower  gardens,  zoological  gardens,  eating-houses, 
race-courses,  football  fields,  or  any  other  such  things  or  con- 
veniences ;  but  primarily  in  order  that  the  public  may  have 
access  to  interesting  scenery.  The  general  landscape  is  of 
first  importance.  No  structures,  games,  or  practices  tending 
to  injure  the  landscape,  or  incommode  the  public  in  its  enjoy- 
ment of  the  landscape,  ought  to  be  permitted.  To  allow  any 
such  things  or  practices  to  grow  up  in  a  country  park  is  to 
defeat  its  primary  and  only  justifying  purpose. 

Secondly.  Of  all  the  people  who  resort  to  the  landscape  of 
a  park,  much  the  largest  number  enter  on  foot.  This,  indeed, 
is  as  it  should  be  ;  since  it  is  really  impossible  to  thoroughly 
enjoy  scenery  except  when  moving  slowly,  as  in  walking. 
Moreover,  the  most  charming  scenes  are  accessible  only  to 
walkers.  It  is  proper,  therefore,  that  parks  should  be  planned 
with  special  reference  to  the  convenience  and  enjoyment  of 
foot  passengers.  So  many  people  desire  to  drive  through 
parks  that  roads  are  necessarily  opened  ;  but  thronged  roads 
injure  parks  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  people  on  foot,  and 
crossings  of  footpaths  at  grade  are,  therefore,  made  as  few 
as  possible,  or  else  the  grades  are  separated,  as  at  Ellicott 
Arch  in  Franklin  Park,  and  throughout  Central  Park,  New 
York.  For  the  use  of  the  comparatively  few  people  who  wish 
to  visit  parks  on  horseback,  bridle-paths  are  sometimes  con- 
structed, but  such  paths  in  parks  are  even  more  objectionable 
than  carriage  roads,  unless  grade  crossings  can  be  avoided 
entirely,  as  in  Central  Park.  It  is  on  this  account  that  only 
one  short  stretch  of  bridle-path  has  been  built  in  Franklin 
Park.  The  bridle-path  from  the  Fens  to  the  Park,  along  the 
parkway,  involves  comparatively  few  crossings  not  otherwise 
occasioned  ;  it  injures  comparatively  little  scenery ;  and  it  is 
justifiable  on  the  ground  that  without  this  one  soft  path  from 
town  to  country,  horseback  riding  out  of  the  heart  of  Boston 
would  be  practically  impossible,  owing  to  the  extreme  hard- 
ness of  the  modern  carriage  roads. 

Thirdly.  If,  as  seems  obvious,  both  carriage  roads  and 
bridle-paths  are  objectionable  in  parks,  it  is  plain  that  special 
bicycle  paths  would  be  still  more  so.  The  bicycle  is  a  silent 
steed,   and   one   which   moves  with  much    more   dangerous 


^T.  30]  BICYCLE  PATHS  UNFIT  FOR  PARKS  627 

rapidity  than  either  the  driving  or  the  saddle  horse.  For 
bicycle  paths  a  separation  of  grades  would  be  even  more 
necessary  than  for  bridle-paths.  A  sepai'ate  path  would 
enable  bicycles  to  traverse  the  park  much  more  swiftly  than 
is  possible  while  they  must  keep  to  the  road  used  by  slower 
vehicles  ;  but  these  slower  carriages  are  already  moving  quite 
as  fast  as  it  is  possible  for  their  occupants  to  move  and  still 
enjoy  the  scenery,  so  that  if  their  motion  is  accelerated,  park 
ground  will  be  put  to  a  use  quite  inconsistent  with  its  main 
purpose.  In  other  words,  a  park  is  a  preserve  of  scenery  ; 
and  as  such  it  is  no  place  for  the  driver's  speedway,  the 
rider's  race-course,  or  the  bicycler's  scorching-track.  Just  at 
present  the  new  Boston  and  Brookline  Parkway  is  thronged 
on  Sunday  with  carriages  and  bicycles  ;  and  while  the  fever 
to  be  seen  on  this  particular  road  lasts,  some  difficulty  will 
doubtless  be  encountered  in  regulating  the  traffic.  That  the 
use  of  the  way  ought  to  be  better  regulated  than  it  is  seems 
plain.  Large  bodies  of  boys  running  with  close  ranks 
through  the  midst  of  the  strollers  and  the  baby  carriages 
of  a  footpath  would  not  be  tolerated.  Speeding  horses  on 
the  park  roads  would  not  be  allowed.  The  so-called  Club- 
runs  of  bicyclers  at  high  speed  along  the  parkway  ought  to 
be  likewise  forbidden  for  similar  reasons.  If  the  bicyclers 
are  not  content  to  limit  themselves  to  a  reasonable  speed, 
and  to  observe  the  rules  of  the  road,  they  may  properly  be 
asked  to  ride  elsewhere  than  on  the  parkway.  To  deprive 
the  horseback  riders  of  the  bridle-path  would  inflict  a  death- 
blow upon  riding ;  but  the  mileage  of  roads  near  Boston  fit  for 
bicycling  is  enormous,  and  however  it  may  be  in  other  cities, 
no  hardship  will  be.  worked  either  by  denying  the  petitions 
for  separate  bicycle  paths,  or  by  regulating  the  use  of  the 
existing  road  of  the  Boston  parkway. 

November  12, 1896. 

A  Playground  selected  by  the  Common  Council.  — 
Concerning  the  proposed  playground  at  Neponset,  we  will 
ask  you  to  glance,  for  a  moment,  at  the  accompanying  small 
scale  diagrams,  which  will  serve  to  explain  why  we  think  it 
bad  policy  to  acquire  the  playground  in  question  without  im- 
proving the  boundaries  suggested  by  the  vote  of  the  Common 


628  SELECTED   LETTERS   OF  1S96  [1896 

Council.  .  .  .  Certainly  it  seems  to  us  very  plain  tliat  the 
jagged  boundaries  which  the  playground  will  possess  if  the 
land  is  acquired  in  accordance  with  the  Council's  vote  will 
bring  the  Park  Commission  into  ridicule,  while  they  will  also 
involve  expensive  additional  purchases  and  readjustments. 
It  may,  of  course,  be  j^ossible  to  obtain  legal  permission  to 
sell  portions  not  essential  to  a  well-shaped  playground,  but 
the  prices  obtainable  from  such  sales  will  not  be  worth  while, 
and  there  will  be  danger  of  trouble  with  such  persons  as  own 
lands  adjacent  to  those  parts  which  may  be  sold.  They  will 
be  able  to  say :  "  By  act  of  the  Park  Commission  we  had  a 
park  adjacent  to  our  land  and  we  benefitted  thereby ;  now  we 
find  that  the  backs  of  lots  and  houses  are  to  come  against 
our  land,  and  we  certainly  are  entitled  to  damages."  From 
every  point  of  view  that  we  can  think  of,  the  taking  of  this 
playground  in  exact  accordance  with  the  Council's  vote  seems 
to  us  unwise,  and  full  of  danger,  both  with  respect  to  the 
unnecessary  expense  which  will  be  involved,  and  with  respect 
to  the  establishment  of  the  precedent. 

Questions  having  arisen  as  to  the  uses  to  which  Cambridge 
Field,  a  playground  in  which  Charles  had  a  strong  interest, 
might  best  be  put,  Charles  wrote  as  follows  to  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Cambridge  parks. 

October  13,  1896. 

The  Best  Use  of  a  City  Playgeound.  —  We  are  glad 
to  hear  that  the  proposed  track  on  Cambridge  Field  will  not 
be  used  for  cycling,  though  we  fear  that  if  you  provide  a 
track,  it  will  be  difficult  to  maintain  in  force  such  prohib- 
itive regulations.  We  regard  the  proposed  diamond,  also,  in 
exactly  the  same  way.  It  will  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  prevent  its  use  for  daily  ball-matches  arranged  beforehand. 
If  such  matches  ai-e  thus  encouraged,  it  will  mean  that  the 
field  will  be  monopolized  by  semi-professional  players,  while 
tlio  boys  who  should  be  using  it  will  become  merely  specta- 
tors. The  field  ought  to  be  so  managed  as  to  provide  games 
and  exercise  for  hundreds  of  boys  rather  than  for  eighteen 
boys  or  men. 

How  can  these  dangers  of  misuse  attending  the  provision 
of  tracks,  diamond,  and  the  like  be  avoided?     Can  they  not 


fiT.36]         THE  BEST  USE  OF  A  PLAYGROUND  629 

be  most  easily  avoided  by  omitting  the  construction  of  all 
such  special  arrangements?  Tracks  for  running  races  can 
be  improvised  any  afternoon  in  various  parts  of  the  field  by 
clubs  or  groups  of  boys  or  men.  Diamonds  for  boys'  games 
of  ball  can  also  be  improvised,  the  bags  to  mark  the  bases 
being  issued  from  the  field  office,  but  only  in  safe  numbers ; 
and  so  with  many  other  games  and  exercises,  the  pursuit  of 
which  ought  to  be  encouraged  by  employing,  if  necessary,  a 
teacher,  as  was  suggested  in  our  last  note.  Competition  makes 
the  zest  of  all  games,  of  course  ;  and,  with  a  little  direction,  it 
can  be  counted  on  to  fill  the  field  with  boys  engaged  in  a 
great  variety  of  exercises,  from  running,  jumping,  leap-frog, 
and  the  like,  to  putting  the  shot  and  parallel  bars.  Baseball 
is  one  of  the  least  desirable  games  for  such  a  field,  because  so 
few  persons  monopolize  so  much  space.  Every  effort  should 
be  made  to  introduce  other  desirable  sports.  If  competitive 
baseball  is  to  possess  the  ground,  the  field  will  not  be  as  use- 
ful as  it  ought  to  be.  You  surely  do  not  want  to  do  anything 
that  will  tend  to  make  it  a  Coliseum  or  a  Madison  Square 
Garden,  —  a  place  for  exciting  shows.  Of  course,  if  the  city 
really  wants  to  provide  such  a  place,  the  present  plan  of  the 
field  is  radically  wrong.  The  present  design  does  not  con- 
template exhibition  games  of  any  kind. 

The  following  letter,  addressed  to  Mr.  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  a  member  of  the  Harvard  Board  of  Overseers,  fore- 
tells the  policy  which  Harvard  University  adopted  three  years 
later.  In  1899-1900,  a  four  years'  course  in  Landscape  Ar- 
chitecture was  announced  in  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School 
in  close  association  with  the  course  in  Architecture  which 
had  only  recently  been  fully  developed  in  that  school.  The 
instructors  in  landscape  design  ai-e  (1902)  Frederick  Law 
Olmsted,  Jr.,  and  Arthur  Asahel  Shurtleff,  both  of  whom 
were  employed  in  the  Olmsted  office  while  Charles  was  a 
member  of  the  firm.  The  distinction  made  in  the  letter 
between  landscape  architecture  on  the  one  hand,  and  forestry, 
gardening,  and  engineering  on  the  other,  is  fundamental,  and 
must  be  established  and  recognized  before  the  profession  can 
obtain  a  firm  footing.  It  is  a  distinction  which  Frederick 
Law  Olmsted  has  taught  all  his  life  by  precept  and  example, 
and  by  the  quality  of  his  professional  work.  Incidentally, 
another  useful  distinction  is  clearly  brought  out  in  the  letter 


630  SELECTED  LETTERS  OF  1896  [1896 

by  the  use  of  the  word  "  crop-growing  "  —  the  distinction 
between  economic  forestry  and  arboriculture.  Now  that  for- 
estry has  begun  to  interest  intelligent  Americans,  this  distinc- 
tion needs  to  be  observed. 

December  12,  1896. 

Economic  forestry  might  well  be  taught  at  the  Bussey :  it 
is  a  kind  of  crop-growing.  But  the  present  Arnold  Professor 
has,  so  far  as  I  know,  never  taught  even  his  own  subject  — 
Arboriculture  —  and  I  don't  suppose  he  could  be  induced  to 
offer  a  course  in  Forestry. 

As  to  Landscape  Architecture,  I  believe  that  such  instruc- 
tion as  might  be  formally  offered  by  the  University  ought  by 
rights  to  be  associated  with  the  courses  in  Architecture  given 
at  the  Lawrence  School,  rather  than  with  the  courses  in 
Agriculture,  Horticulture  (and  Forestry)  given  at  the  Bussey. 
The  popular  notion  that  my  profession  is  chiefly  concerned 
with  gardens  and  gardening  is  utterly  mistaken.  Landscape 
Architecture  is  an  art  of  design,  and  in  a  very  true  sense 
covers  agriculture,  forestry,  gardening,  engineering,  and  even 
architecture  (as  ordinarily  defined)  itself.  Hear  William 
Morris  on  this  subject:  "Architecture,  a  great  subject  truly, 
for  it  embraces  the  consideration  of  the  whole  of  the  external 
surroundings  of  the  life  of  men  ;  we  cannot  escape  from  it  if 
we  would,  for  it  means  the  moulding  and  altering  to  human 
needs  of  the  very  face  of  the  earth  itself." 

Since  the  word  "  architecture,"  as  commonly  used,  does  not 
convey  this  broad  meaning,  we  have  to  put  "  landscape " 
before  it  to  designate  the  broad  architecture  which  we  prac- 
tise, meaning  by  landscape  "  the  visible  material  world ;  all 
that  can  be  seen  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  by  a  man  who  is 
himself  upon  that  surface."  (Hamerton.)  If  you  will  recall 
our  metropolitan  park  reports  (to  mention  none  of  Mr.  Olm- 
sted's), I  think  you  will  perceive  how  far  my  profession  has 
advanced  beyond  landscape  gardening ;  and  why  I  think  it 
would  be  best  to  give  the  proposed  instruction  in  a  School  of 
Design  rather  than  in  a  School  of  Horticulture. 

In  the  following  February  Charles  wrote  to  the  same  effect 
in  reply  to  some  questions  about  improving  and  strengthen- 
ing the  Bussey  Institution  (a  department  of  Harvard  Uni- 


jer.  37]    LANDSCAPE  ART  A  PART  OF  ARCHITECTURE    631 

versity)  from  Mr.  Ernest  W.  Bowdltch,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  Overseers'  committee  to  visit  the  Institution :  — 

...  As  for  myself,  I  had  a  year  at  the  Bussey,  and  I  set 
a  high  value  on  the  instruction  given  there  by  Mr.  Watson, 
with  respect  to  plants  and  planting.  If  there  is  now  a  greater 
demand  for  instruction  in  Watson's  important  subject,  I  have 
no  doubt  we  can  meet  it  satisfactorily. 

For  the  equally  important  instruction  in  surveying,  grad- 
ing, and  road  engineering,  students  of  the  Bussey  who  want 
to  become  "  landscape  architects  "  have  to  go  to  the  Lawrence 
Scientific  School.  I  myself  lived  in  Boston,  and  went  out  to 
the  Lawrence  and  the  Bussey  alternately.  I  see  no  great  loss 
in  this  arrangement.  There  is  hardly  a  sufficient  demand  to 
warrant  the  University  in  duplicating  the  Lawrence  School's 
engineering  instruction  at  the  Bussey,  or  the  Bussey's  plant 
instruction  at  the  Lawrence. 

It  is  true  that  neither  school  offers  instruction  in  the  art  of 
landscape  design  —  the  art  which  Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted  called 
"landscape  architecture"  away  back  in  1856  —  the  art  which 
guides  and  coordinates  the  work  of  (landscape)  gardeners, 
foresters,  and  engineers.  If  it  is  time  that  the  University 
should  formally  offer  instruction  in  this  art,  I,  for  one,  think 
it  ought  to  be  offered  in  close  connection  with  instruction  in 
the  other  arts,  and  particularly  in  connection  with  Architec- 
ture, of  which  great  subject  our  art,  as  I  look  at  it,  is  an  im- 
portant part.  It  is  in  Cambridge,  rather  than  at  the  Bussey, 
that  I  think  landscape  architecture  should  be  taught.  .  .  . 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

MAKING  GOOD   USE  OF  THE   SKILL  AND   EXPERIENCE 
OF  A  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECT 

Having'  already  expressed  my  opinion  that  it  is  essential  that  a  pro- 
fessor should  explain  the  principles  upon  which  he  suggests  any  im- 
provement, I  would  now  warn  the  proprietor  not  hastily  to  adopt  any 
plan  which  cannot  be  thus  explained.  A  professor  destitute  of  true 
principles  will  overlook  those  little  circumstances  upon  which  real 
improvement  frequently  rests,  and  will  proceed  to  a  total  subversion 
of  the  scene  which  he  knows  not  how  to  adorn.  —  Gllpin. 

January  16,  1896. 

Advice  concerning  the  House  Site  on  a  Large  Es- 
tate. —  We  send  you  under  separate  cover  three  sun-prints 
embodying  the  results   of  studies  made  of  your  place  near 

.     Many  other  studies  have  been  made  during  the  past 

weeks,  but  the  two  which  we  send  you  to-day  (Nos.  1  and  5) 
we  think  are  decidedly  the  most  promising.  The  largest  of 
the  three  sheets  is  a  sun-print  of  the  general  topographical 
map  of  your  estate,  upon  which  schemes  Nos.  1  and  5  have 
been  sketched  —  the  first  by  green  lines  and  the  second  by 
red.  The  scale  of  this  largest  sheet  is  200  feet  to  the  inch. 
The  two  small  sheets  represent  the  same  schemes  at  the  larger 
scale  of  60  feet  to  the  inch. 

The  two  schemes  may  be  distinguished  by  calling  No.  1  the 
Notch  Scheme  and  No.  5  the  Hill-top  Scheme.  The  Notch 
Scheme  places  the  house  in  a  position  straddling  a  certain 
hollow  of  the  land  which  lies  next  west  of  the  highest  summit 
of  the  estate.  The  floor  of  the  house,  in  this  case,  would  be 
at. or  about  grade  312;  in  other  words,  amply  high  enough 
to  command  a  great  prospect  to  the  southward,  while  a  beau- 
tiful glimpse  of  the  northern  view  will,  by  this  scheme,  be 
obtained  down  a  straight  vista  to  be  cut  through  the  woods  to 
the  brink  of  a  certain  deep  hole  in  the  ground,  which  you  will 
discover  both  on  the  general  map  and  on  the  cross  sectiont 


^T.  36]  ALTERNATIVE   HOUSE  SITES  633 

In  scheme  No.  1  the  south  front  of  the  house  would  naturally- 
become  the  living  front,  where  a  terrace  will  offer  fine  views 
toward  the  south.  The  western  end  of  the  house  would  natu- 
rally become  the  garden  front,  and  the  ground  lies  in  such  a 
form  that  a  circular  garden,  such  as  is  shown  on  the  sketch, 
would  fit  most  perfectly.  The  eastern  end  of  the  house 
woidd  then  become  the  service  wing,  where  would  be  found 
the  necessary  service  yards  and  other  appurtenances.  Lastly, 
the  northern  side  of  the  building  would  make  the  entrance 
front,  and  here  a  peculiarly  fine  effect  might  be  produced  by 
taking  advantage  of  the  peculiar  formation  of  the  ground, 
whereby  a  green  lawn  may  slope  gently  away  from  the  house, 
bordered  by  the  two  lines  of  appi-oach-road,  and  flanked  on 
either  hand  by  the  existing  woods,  banked  down  with  Rhodo- 
dendrons or  other  suitable  fringing  growths.  At  the  end  of 
this  formal  entrance  court  and  on  the  brink  of  the  deep  hole 
in  the  ground  previously  mentioned,  a  little  architectural  work 
in  the  form  of  walls,  and  possibly  columns,  would  doubtless 
enhance  the  beauty  of  the  view  of  the  blue  distance,  which 
will  be  had  down  and  over  the  entrance  court  from  the  door- 
way and  hall  of  the  house  itself. 

As  a  whole  this  scheme  is  distinguished  from  the  alterna- 
tive, or  Hill-top,  scheme  by  the  possession  of  better  shelter 
from  winds  and  the  more  comfortable  appearance  of  the 
building,  placed  (as  it  would  be)  in  close  relation  to  the  ex- 
isting levels  of  the  land  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  hollow 
which  the  house  will  bridge  over.  We  are  convinced  that 
ample  views  will  be  obtained  from  this  site,  while  there  will 
be  no  sense  and  no  appearance  of  being  perched  up  in  the 
air.  The  highest  hill-top  of  the  estate  will  be  found  at  but  a 
short  distance,  and  on  this  hill-top  may  be  placed  the  neces- 
sary water  tower  to  which  it  will  be  pleasant  to  resort  from 
time  to  time  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  the  complete  panoramic 
view  of  the  whole  horizon.  East  of  the  house  and  south  of 
the  water  tower,  there  lies  a  very  agreeable  natural  terrace  or 
approximate  level  where  a  ramble  or  shrub  garden  can  easily 
be  made,  at  the  further  end  of  which  views  slightly  different 
from  those  obtained  at  the  house  will  be  had  in  agreeable 
ways.     This  pleasure  ground  (as  the  English  would  call  it) 


634  A  HILL-TOP  PANORAMA  [1896 

is  not  sketched  upon  our  drawing,  but  you  can  doubtless  dis- 
cover its  situation  upon  the  ground.  The  southern  views 
from  the  terrace  of  the  house  would  be  obtained  by  clearing 
away  the  forest  from  its  present  edges  back  to  the  position  of 
the  terrace,  so  that  when  one  looks  from  the  house,  the  view 
will  be  over  a  descending  lawn,  which,  in  turn,  will  be  framed 
on  either  hand  by  woods  to  be  faced  by  flowering  Dogwoods, 
Sassafras,  and  others  of  the  smaller  trees.  For  ourselves  we 
are  quite  clear  that  such  a  view  is  preferable  as  a  daily  and 
hourly  companion  to  any  view  of  the  panoramic  order. 

Scheme  No.  5  is  sketched  to  represent  a  house  of  somewhat 
larger  proportions  than  is  sketched  in  scheme  No.  1,  but  no 
account  should  be  taken  of  this,  as  the  shape  of  the  house  is 
in  both  cases  merely  a  preliminary  assumption.  The  house 
floor  in  this  scheme  is  placed  at  grade  334,  or  almost  as  high 
as  the  very  highest  point  of  the  existing  hill.  It  is  difficult, 
of  course,  to  reach  this  grade  by  a  road  suitable  for  pleasure 
driving ;  but  it  can  be  done  on  the  lines  shown,  though  at 
considerably  greater  expense  than  would  be  called  for  by  the 
lines  of  roads  shown  on  sketch  No.  1.  The  northern  side  of 
this  No.  5  house  would  serve  as  the  entrance  front,  where 
would  be  found  a  walled  court,  approached  by  a  climbing 
road,  as  is  indicated  by  the  grades  marked  thereon.  The 
western  end  of  the  building  becomes  the  service  department 
in  this  case,  a  yard  being  provided  for  the  wagons  of  the 
butcher  and  baker,  and  a  laundry  yard  outside  thereof.  The 
eastern  end  of  the  house  may,  in  this  scheme,  be  considered 
either  the  children's  or  the  bachelors'  wing,  and  a  terrace  or 
piazza  might  be  attached  thereto  at  grade  332,  as  indicated 
on  the  sketch.  The  southern  front  would  here  again  present 
terraces  from  which  stairways  would  descend  into  a  flower 
garden  built  about  10  feet  below  the  level  of  the  terrace.  To 
right  and  left  of  this  central  flower  garden  level  grass  terraces 
might  well  be  provided  for  tennis  courts  or  children's  play- 
grounds, as  is  also  indicated.  These  various  lawns  on  the 
south  side  would  necessarily  be  supported  by  retaining-walls, 
which  would,  however,  at  no  point  exceed  10  feet  in  height, 
and  for  much  of  their  length  would  not  exceed  5  feet. 

In  all  directions  from  a  house  situated  as  is  suggested  by 


^T.  36]  OR  VIEWS  FRAMED  BY  WOODS  635 

this  scheme  (No.  5),  the  surface  of  the  ground  would  fall  away 
quite  rapidly,  so  that  the  building  would  necessarily  appear  to 
crown  the  hill  in  a  manner  which  seldom  appears  well  to  our 
eyes.  It  is,  at  all  events,  extremely  difficult  for  architects  to 
succeed  in  adapting  structures  to  such  positions.  To  obtain 
views  from  this  summit  it  will  be  necessary  to  cut  away  the 
trees  for  considerable  distances  down  the  slopes ;  and  there 
are  no  natural  hollows  here  such  as  suggest  the  outlines  of 
the  north  and  south  lawns  or  clearings  of  scheme  No.  1.  We 
should  imagine  that  if  the  site  suggested  by  scheme  No.  1 
were  to  be  chosen,  the  house  ought  to  be  designed  in,  at  least, 
a  semi-formal  or  classic  style  of  architecture,  while  the  house 
which  might  be  designed  to  fit  the  site  suggested  by  scheme 
No.  5  ought,  we  suppose,  to  take  on  a  broader  or  more  pic- 
turesque and  broken  form  and  mass. 

Of  course,  we  submit  both  these  schemes  as  tentative 
efforts  at  a  solution  of  your  problem,  and  intended  rather 
to  provoke  discussion  than  anything  else.     We  have  asked 

Mr. to  have  a  skeleton  tower  built  on  the  axial  line  of 

each  of  these  schemes  ;  by  carrying  the  general  map  up  each 
of  these  towers,  and  noting  where  the  red  and  green  vista 
lines  cut  across  the  fields  to  the  south  of  the  wooded  ridge, 
you  may  be  able  to  get  a  fair  idea  of  the  views  which  will  be 
had  from  the  two  sites.  We  have  found  the  problem  much 
more  difficult  and  complicated  than  we  had  imagined  it 
would  be,  chiefly  because  of  the  complications  arising  from 
the  steep  grades  of  the  ground,  —  grades  which  must  be  over- 
come by  the  approach-roads  leading  to  whatever  site  may  be 
chosen.  .  .  . 

February  6,  1896, 
ADVICE    ON    IMPROVING    THE    GROUNDS    OF   AN    INSTITUTION. 

To  THE  President  of  the  Board  of  Governors,  Royal  Victoria 
Hospital,  Montreal. 
The  problem  which  is  presented  to  us  is  a  most  difficult 
one,  since  from  our  standpoint  the  present  arrangement  is 
about  as  unsatisfactory  as  it  well  could  be.  The  steep  formal 
banks  and  certain  roads  and  plantings  destroy  all  ojiportu- 
nity  for  breadth  in  the  grounds.  The  banks  bear  no  relation 
to  the  lines  of  the  buildings,  and  are  so  steep  that  it  is  very 


636       IMPROVING  THE  GROUNDS  OF  A  HOSPITAL    [1896 

difficult  and  expensive  to  maintain  tbem  in  good  condition. 
Such  banks  tend  to  give  the  buildings  which  they  surround  a 
perched-up  appearance,  which  in  this  particular  case  is  exceed- 
ingly undesirable.  The  buildings  are  so  very  tall  and  narrow 
that  the  grading  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  make  them 
appear  to  sit  lower  rather  than  higher  than  they  do.  This 
can  be  accomplished  by  making  long,  gradual  slopes,  rather 
than  a  series  of  sharp,  steep  banks,  and  such  slopes  can  be 
kept  in  order  much  more  easily  than  the  steeper  ones.  With 
a  view  to  securing  such  slopes,  we  have  prepared  and  show  in 
our  study  two  cross  sections  on  which  is  indicated  the  present 
surface  and  the  surface  that  we  would  propose.  You  will 
observe  that  what  we  propose  will  require  the  removal  of  the 
edges  of  the  sharp  banks  and  a  filling  at  the  base,  and  that 
little  additional  soil  will  be  required.  Probably  this  will 
necessitate  some  blasting  at  certain  points  to  secure  a  suffi- 
cient depth  of  surface  soil,  but  we  do  not  think  it  will  be  a 
very  difficult  operation  to  carry  out  such  a  plan.  Before  a 
final  plan  is  made,  it  will  be  desirable  to  determine  by  sound- 
ings (with  a  bar)  the  depth  of  rock  at  the  places  where  the 
changes  are  to  be  made.  It  would  also  be  desirable  to  have 
a  much  more  complete  topographical  map.  With  such  infor- 
mation, we  should  be  able  to  prepare  a  contoured  grading 
plan  and  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of  carrying  it  out,  and  thus 
place  the  matter  before  you  in  such  a  way  that  your  Board 
could  come  to  an  intelligent  decision  as  to  the  changes  recom- 
mended. 

You  will  observe  that  we  have  changed  the  upper  and 
lower  front  entrance  roads  to  paths.  It  was  noticed,  when 
our  representative  was  last  on  the  ground,  that  the  ambulance 
service  passed  in  at  the  front  gate  to  a  back  door,  thus  pass- 
ing by  the  windows  of  the  wards  and  the  point  where  visitors 
enter.  It  seems  as  though  this  service  could  be  better  per- 
formed by  having  the  ambulance  pass  through  University 
Street  and  up  the  back  road  to  the  entrance  to  the  accident 
room.  This  entrance  would  also  be  used  by  all  tradesmen 
and  for  other  transportation  connected  with  the  hospital 
service,  thus  shutting  off  these  unpleasant  features  from  the 
view  of  patients  in  the  wards  and  visitors  in  the  main  office. 


JET.  36]     FLOWERS   SHOULD  HAVE  A  SPECIAL  PLACE     637 

Another  important  iadvantage  in  reducing  these  roads  to 
walks  is  that  room  will  be  provided  for  the  more  gradual 
slopes  that  we  propose.  The  roads  as  now  located  at  the 
back  of  the  building  will  have  to  be  modified  ultimately  to 
carry  out  the  proposed  addition.  We  have  arranged  the  road 
to  provide  for  such  an  addition.  You  will  observe  that  by  the 
use  of  retaining-walls  we  have  provided  more  room,  which  is 
much  needed,  both  in  the  upper  and  lower  levels,  at  the  points 
back  of  the  buildings  where  teams  take  away  ashes  and  other 
refuse.  We  have  also  reduced  a  part  of  the  road  on  the  west 
side  of  the  buildings  to  a  path  and  struck  out  the  balance 
of  it.  We  believe  this  also  to  be  a  very  important  improve- 
ment. At  present,  the  only  opportunity  which  you  have  on 
the  ground  for  a  broad  stretch  of  lawn  is  on  the  tract  of  land 
between  Pine  Avenue  and  the  base  of  the  bluffs  to  the  west 
of  the  buildings.  That  part  of  the  road  which  we  have 
stricken  out  cuts  across  this  stretch  of  lawn  in  a  disagreeable 
manner,  and  it  does  not  seem  to  be  essential. 

There  is  also  a  plantation  of  fruit  trees  on  this  tract  which 
we  advise  you  to  have  removed  to  the  back  part  of  the 
grounds  where  there  are  already  trees  of  this  kind.  We 
should  also  advise  you  to  have  the  flower  beds  and  pools 
which  are  spotted  about  over  this  surface  removed,  as  we  are 
satisfied  that  you  do  not  gain  enough  from  this  style  of  gar- 
dening to  warrant  its  continuance.  If  you  desire  flower 
gardening  of  this  kind,  space  should  be  provided  for  it  out- 
side this  broad  stretch  of  lawn  in  a  formal  or  show  garden, 
where  special  provision  could  be  made  for  such  features  as 
aquatic  pools,  formal  flower  beds,  rose  gardens,  etc.  This 
would  be  a  special  place  to  which  all  this  class  of  gardening 
would  be  restricted,  and  in  which  it  might  be  maintained 
more  economically,  and  with  much  more  satisfactory  results 
than  appear  possible  at  present.  Such  a  garden  would  be  a 
place  to  be  visited  by  the  patients,  employees,  and  friends  of 
the  institution.  It  would  not  be  a  place  where  many  flow- 
ers could  be  cut  for  the  hospital.  The  best  way  to  secure 
flowers  for  the  wards  is  the  way  they  are  already  provided  : 
they  come,  we  understand,  from  a  garden  where  the  flower- 
ing plants  are  grown  in  rows  as  you  would  grow  vegetables^ 


638  PLANTING  STEEP  BANKS  [1896 

simply  for  the  sake  of  cut  flowers.  We  are  not  prepared  to 
recommend  the  formal  garden  that  we  are  suggesting,  be- 
cause we  do  not  believe  the  result  would  justify  the  necessary 
cost  of  maintenance.  In  place  of  this  we  would  recommend 
the  liberal  use  of  hardy  perennial  flowering  plants  (especially 
the  finer  natives)  in  the  borders  of  the  existing  and  proposed 
plantations. 

Our  purpose  in  the  proposed  planting  is  to  give  more 
seclusion  to  the  grounds  by  providing  a  border  plantation 
along  the  fence  to  hide  the  steep  bank  and  cover  the  thin  soil 
along  Pine  Avenue  above  Carleton  Road,  and  to  cover  steep 
banks  where  the  soil  is  so  thin  that  grass  will  not  do  well. 
We  should  expect  that  the  nicely  kept  ground  would  be 
limited  to  the  front  of  the  buildings.  The  steep  banks  back 
of  the  house  will  be  covered  in  such  a  way  that  they  will 
ultimately  take  care  of  themselves.  We  have  prepared  a 
preliminary  estimate  of  the  cost  of  plants  to  carry  out  the 
proposed  planting,  and  find  that  they  would  cost  not  over 
three  hundred  dollars.  A  part  of  these  plants  would  be 
secured  abroad  and  a  part  in  American  nurseries.  We  have 
made  careful  inquiries  of  Canadian  nurseries  and  have  visited 
a  number  of  them,  and  we  find  that  better  plants  can  be 
secured  at  less  cost  from  American  nurseries,  with  duty  and 
freight  added.  We  should  recommend  considerable  planting 
in  any  event,  and  would  advise  you  to  give  us  authority  to 
place  orders  for  plants  to  the  amount  stated,  so  that  they  can 
be  delivered  on  the  ground  in  time  for  spring  planting.  In 
some  parts  of  the  grounds  they  can  be  planted  at  once. 
Where  it  is  advisable  to  make  changes  in  the  present  sur- 
faces, the  planting  can  be  omitted  and  the  plants  placed  in 
nursery  rows,  where  they  can  stay  for  a  year  or  two  and  then 
be  in  the  best  condition  for  transplanting  when  the  ground  is 
finally  prepared. 

It  was  observed  to  be  the  practice  to  mow  off  the  under- 
growth on  the  steep,  wild,  rocky  banks  back  of  the  building. 
This  practice  should  be  absolutely  prohibited ;  for  it  not  only 
results  in  the  destruction  of  great  numbers  of  very  attractive 
native  flowering  plants  and  herbs,  but  it  will  ultimately  re- 
sult in  the  banks  being  denuded  of  all  attractive  vegetation 
and  becoming  raw  and  unsightly. 


^T.  36]      SKETCHES  FOR  A  SEA-SIDE  HOUSE  SITE        639 

You  will  observe  that  we  have  also  suggested  a  line  of  road 
leading  with  a  reasonable  grade  to  the  back  part  of  the 
grounds.  To  locate  such  a  road  accurately  a  contoured  survey 
would  be  necessary. 

March  5,  1896. 
ADVICE  CONCERNING  THE  HOUSE  SITE  ON  A  SEA-SIDE  ESTATE. 
To  Messrs.  Shepley,  Rutan  &  Coolidge,  Chicago,  111. 

We  send  you  to-night  a  sun-j^rint  of  two  preliminary  sketches 

for  the  placing  of  the  house  on  Mr. 's  hill  at .     If 

the  house  is  to  be  placed  on  the  ledge  where  the  wooden  tower 
now  stands,  we  find  that  it  must  almost  necessarily  take  a 
picturesque  and  irregular  form.  We  would  suggest  that  a 
house  on  this  site  be  built,  so  far  as  possible,  to  fit  the  ledges, 
that  the  ledges  be  used  as  the  visible  base  of  stone  walls,  and 
that  the  style  of  architecture  above  these  walls  be  made  corre- 
spondingly picturesque.  The  sketch  which  we  submit  for  the 
general  shape  of  such  a  house  and  the  approaches  to  it  is 
tentative,  of  course,  but  the  limitations  of  the  site  with  respect 
to  steep  grades,  knobs  of  rock,  and  the  like  are  so  very  sharply 
marked,  that  no  great  variation  can  be  made  from  the  sug- 
gested outlines  without  greatly  increasing  the  cost  for  retain- 
ing-walls,  for  blasting,  and  the  like.  You  will  notice  that  the 
dining-room  is  placed  by  this  plan  so  that  it  will  receive  the 
morning  sun,  and  obtain  the  view  which  is  now  obtained  from 
the  ledge  on  which  the  wooden  tower  stands. 

The  alternative  sketch  which  we  submit  is  an  attempt  to 
find  a  site  for  a  house  of  symmetrical  and  formal  style.  Such 
a  site  we  find  immediately  adjacent  to  the  western  side  of  the 
ledge  on  which  the  wooden  tower  stands,  which  ledge  will  be- 
come in  fact  an  eastern  prolongation  of  the  south  terrace  of 
the  house.  Like  the  house  suggested  by  the  first  sketch,  this 
second  house  calls  for  terrace  walls  of  varying  height  up  to  a 
maximuu)  of  12  feet.  The  axis  of  the  symmetrical  building 
is  placed  by  this  sketch  on  a  line  which,  if  extended  north- 
ward, will  be  also  the  axis  of  the  approach-road  ;  and  this 
road  will  lie  in  a  hollow  of  the  land,  which  is  capable  of  being 
smoothed  so  as  to  become  a  grassy  glade  bordered  by  woods 
and  ledges,  and  by  occasional  thickets  of  shrubbery.    Such  an 


CIO  ALTERNATIVE  SEA-SIDE  HOUSE  SITES  [1896 

approach  would,  we  tliink,  be  decidedly  effective.  For  tlie 
picturesque  house  such  an  approach  would  be  unsuitable,  but 
for  a  house  in  the  formal  style,  it  is  very  much  to  be  desired. 

We  will  ask  you  to  notice  the  grade  figures  suggested  for 
the  floors  and  for  the  ground  adjacent  to  the  base  of  the  walls 
of  the  building,  as  they  vary  considerably ;  for  instance,  the 
forecourt  of  the  formal  plan  would  require  to  be  filled,  and 
other  parts  of  both  designs  would  require  to  be  excavated,  all 
as  indicated  by  the  figures  and  the  contours  of  the  sun-prints. 

We  will  ask  you  to  explain  and  discuss  these  preliminary 

studies  with  Mr.  at  your  earliest  convenience,  and  we 

suppose  you  will  be  able  to  bring  him  to  a  decision  as  to  which 
style  of  house  and  which  site  he  would,  on  the  whole,  prefer. 
You  will  notice  that  the  dining-room  in  the  formal  house  is 
again  placed  at  the  southeast  corner,  and  that  the  floor  grade 
is  such  as  to  give  the  room  much  the  same  view  as  will  be 
obtained  by  the  dining-room  of  the  picturesque  house,  al- 
though the  view  will  be  cut  off  a  little  by  the  profile  of  the 
upper  ledge  which  rises  just  north  of  the  ledge  on  which  the 
tower  stands. 

We  shall  be  obliged  to  you  if  you  will  kindly  say  to  Mr. 

that  we  shall,  of  course,  be  glad  to  revise  and  change 

the  plans,  as  may  be  best ;  that  the  drawings  which  we  send 
are  intended  only  to  promote  discussion,  and  help  to  a  deci- 
sion of  a  problem  which  we  must  say  we  find  extremely  com- 
plicated. 

December  24,  1896. 
ADVICE   CONCERNING  THE  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE   BUILDINGS 
ON   THE   LANDS   OF   A   COLLEGE. 

To  THE  President  of  the  R.  I.  Agricultural  College,  Kingston, 
R.  I. 

Mr.  Eliot  of  our  firm  having  made  another  visit  to  the  Col- 
lege, at  your  request,  the  following  suggestions  are  respect- 
fully submitted :  — 

Viewed  broadly,  the  college  lands  fall  into  three  divisions 
—  the  cultivated  plain,  the  steep  hillside,  and  the  plateau. 
The  college  buildings  occupy  the  plateau.  They  are  con- 
spicuous from  a  distance  and  conversely  they  command  broad 
views.     A  plan  has  been  considered  for  placing  subsequent 


iET.  37]  A   COLLEGE   ESTATE  641 

buildings  on  the  plateau  in  a  manner  to  ultimately  form  a 
rectangular  enclosui*e.  The  slope  of  the  surface  is  unsymmet- 
rical  and  a  little  steep,  but  we  nevertheless  think  well  of  the 
proposed  arrangement,  which,  indeed,  we  suggested  some  years 
ago.  The  building  next  to  be  erected  will,  we  understand, 
occupy  the  middle  of  the  northern  end  of  the  proposed  quad- 
rangle. Just  north  of  it  will  be  the  public  way  leading  from 
the  plain  to  Kingston  village.  Here  also  is  a  roughish  hollow 
which  divides  the  plateau.  North  of  this  hollow  there  is  to-day 
an  orchard  and  an  experimental  garden,  and  then  more  open 
plateau  land  entirely  suitable  for  the  dairy,  barns,  and  other 
farm  buildings  of  the  College  which  are  still  to  be  built.  It 
is  true  that  an  existing  building  in  this  part  of  the  plateau  is 
at  present  used  in  part  by  students  of  art,  but  we  presume 
they  can  be  even  better  provided  for  in  the  future  in  some 
part  of  the  main  quadrangle,  near  the  library  and  the  other 
departments  with  which  they  are  naturally  allied.  The  agri- 
cultural department  buildings  can  doubtless  be  arranged  on 
this  northern  part  of  the  plateau  in  a  manner  which  will  make 
them  pleasing  objects  from  all  points  of  view.  One  building, 
it  will,  however,  be  difficult  to  make  agreeable ;  namely,  the 
central  boiler  or  heating  house,  which  will  most  conveniently 
find  place  between  the  college  buildings  and  the  farm  build- 
ings in  the  hollow  above  mentioned.  It  ought,  if  possible,  to 
be  kept  so  low  as  to  be  inconspicuous. 

Along  the  length  of  the  western  front  of  the  range  of  build- 
ings the  view  over  the  plain  is  strikingly  broad  and  fine.  A 
few  high-branched  trees  planted  not  far  from  the  buildings 
will  not  obstruct  the  view,  but  trees  a  little  further  down  the 
slope  would  do  so  seriously.  Much  of  this  slope  has,  accord- 
ingly, been  converted  into  grass-land  or  lawn,  and  we  would 
recommend  that  the  process  be  continued  as  opportunity  offers, 
the  remaining  hollows  and  rocky  places  being  gradually  filled 
or  graded  down  to  an  irregular  or  waving  line  which  may  be  ap- 
proximately defined  as  the  upper  limit  of  the  rough,  untamed, 
or  steep  slope  ot  the  hill.  On  the  upper  parts  of  this  slope 
care  should  be  taken  to  encourage  or  plant  small-growing 
trees  only,  such  as  Sassafras,  flowering  Dogwood,  and  the 
various  Cornels,  while  the  lower  part  of  the  slope  should  be  a 


642      WHICH  OF  TWO  TRACTS  FOR  A  TOWN  PARK      [1897 

continuous  wood  of  forest  trees,  like  those  which  grow  now 
on  the  slope  in  some  places.  They  should  eventually  occupy 
the  whole  breadth  of  the  college  property.  The  most  pleasing 
species  of  the  existing  undergrowth  should  be  cai-ef  ully  pre- 
served and  encouraged  throughout  this  belt,  and  no  attempt 
should  here  be  made  to  smooth  the  surface.  Not  only  will 
the  view  from  the  buildings  be  greatly  helped  by  a  continuous 
belt  of  foliage  in  what  a  painter  would  call  the  middle  dis- 
tance, but  the  view  of  the  college  buildings  from  the  public 
roads  on  the  plain  will  be  greatly  improved  by  such  encour- 
agement or  planting  of  trees  near  the  foot  of  the  slope.  To 
carry  out  this  plan  the  straight  rows  of  evergreens  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  chicken  farm,  as  well  as  the  chicken  farm 
itself,  will  need  to  be  eventually  removed.  It  will  doubtless 
be  quite  possible  to  find  fully  as  good  a  place  for  the  hens 
and  turkeys ;  and  the  removal  of  their  inexpensive  quarters 
will  make  it  possible  to  begin  upon  the  work  of  continuing 
the  now  broken  belt  of  forest. 

Other  questions,  such  as  the  form  and  position  of  the  road 
to  be  built  just  east  of  the  main  building,  the  position  to  be 
chosen  for  a  house  for  pot  experiments,  etc.,  were  discussed 
with  you  by  Mr.  Eliot ;  but  if  we  have  omitted  to  remind  you 
of  any  of  the  more  important  matters  touched  upon,  we  trust 
that  you  will  call  them  to  our  attention. 

January  7, 1897. 
ADVICE   ON    THE    COMPARATIVE   VALUE    OF   TWO   TRACTS    OF 

LAND    FOR   A   TOWN   PARK. 
To  Messrs.  Parker,  Hunt  &  Temple,  Committee,  Reading,  Mass. 

You  have  asked  for  our  professional  judgment  as  to  the 
comparative  availability  and  value  for  "  park  purposes "  of 
two  tracts  of  land  in  Reading.  Having,  accordingly,  visited 
the  town,  and  examined  the  lands  in  question,  we  beg  to 
report  as  follows :  — 

Location. — The  northern  tract  lies  northwest  from  the  old 
Meeting-house  Green.  The  nearest  point  of  this  tract  —  the 
Water  Tower  Hill  —  is  half  a  mile  from  the  green,  while 
the  further  edge  is  something  more  than  a  mile  distant.  The 
southern  tract  lies  southwest  from  the  green  and  between  half 


^T.  37]    ADVANTAGEOUS  SURFACE  AND  VEGETATION    643 

and  three  quarters  of  a  mile  distant.  It  seems  to  us  that 
both  tracts  are  sufficiently  close  to  the  body  of  population. 

Surface.  —  The  northern  tract  consists  essentially  of  the 
valley  of  a  brook  which  flows  southwestward  through  level 
meadows  of  irregular  outline,  bordered  by  uplands  neither 
high  nor  steep,  excepting  where,  in  the  southeast  corner, 
they  rise  perhaps  a  hundred  feet  above  the  meadows  to  form 
the  Water  Tower  Hill.  So  level  are  the  meadows  that  the 
closing  of  a  gate  in  a  low  dam  floods  them  for  half  a  mile 
or  more,  while  the  lowering  of  the  gate  drains  them,  or  might 
drain  them. 

The  southern  tract,  also,  consists  of  the  valley  of  a  small 
brook  which,  in  this  case,  flows  southeastward  towards  Quan- 
napomitt  Lake.  The  land  bordering  the  brook  is  generally 
soggy  ;  but  it  is  not  meadow  land.  We  were  informed  that 
this  land,  though  so  far  from  the  lake,  is  so  nearly  at  its 
level  that  it  might  prove  impossible  to  thoroughly  drain  it ; 
a  fact  which  ought  to  prevent  the  occupation  of  the  land  by 
buildings.  Adjacent  to  the  wet  land  is  a  considerable  area 
of  remarkably  level  and  smooth  land,  and  beyond  this  a  little 
rough  and  steeper  pasture  ground,  but  no  continuous  border 
of  high  land  and  no  high  hill  at  all. 

Vegetation.  —  Excepting-  for  the  meadows,  which  are  clothed 
with  meadow  grass.  Cranberry,  and  numerous  sorts  of  low- 
growing  meadow  plants,  the  northern  tract  is  almost  entirely 
wooded.  These  woods  consist  of  high  Pines,  high  mixed 
woods,  pasture  growths  of  Cedar  and  Birch,  old  sprout 
growth,  and  sprout  growth  following  recent  clearings,  accord- 
ing as  the  owners  have  treated  their  several  wood-lots.  Con- 
sidering the  proximity  of  the  town  and  of  great  cities,  a  re- 
markably large  part  of  the  total  area  of  woodland  is  clothed 
with  high  timber,  or  with  the  even  more  beautiful  growths 
which  in  our  land  and  climate  spontaneously  appear  in  aban- 
doned or  partly  disused  pastures. 

The  southern  tract  possesses  no  vegetation  comparable  in 
interest  or  beauty  with  that  just  described.  There  are  thick- 
ets of  shrubs  in  the  wet  land,  smooth  fields  on  the  plains, 
several  groves  of  mixed  trees  or  Pines,  and  a  few  fine  single 
trees   on   the   higher  pastured  slopes.     It  would,  however, 


644  PREFERABLE  SCENERY  [1897 

require  fifty  years  or  more  to  give  this  tract  tlie  wooded 
borders  which  so  effectively  seclude  the  northern  tract. 

Scenery.  —  If  in  purchasing  a  public  domain  Reading 
desires  to  possess  herself  of  an  interesting  and  beautiful  land- 
scape or  piece  of  scenery,  we  believe  the  foregoing  account  is 
sufficient  to  make  it  evident  that  the  northern  tract  is  to  be 
preferred  to  the  southern.  The  peculiar  forms  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  the  central  meadow,  the  framing  slopes  of 
woods,  the  crowning  hill-top,  with  the  water  tower,  all  com- 
bine to  make  a  piece  of  scenery  of  quite  remarkable  interest 
and  charm.  It  is,  moreover,  a  landscape,  the  quiet  loveliness 
of  which  cannot  be  marred,  as  park  landscapes  too  often  are, 
by  the  erection  of  buildings  on  the  borders.  Existing  woods 
make  this  particular  landscape  practically  complete  in  itself. 
The  town  may  be  built  solidly  up  to  the  border,  but  the  seclu- 
sion of  the  meadow  scenery  will  remain  perfect.  As  public 
reservations  are  desired  for  the  express  purpose  of  affording 
relief  from  the  scenery  of  the  town,  this  point  is  an  important 
one. 

Availability.  —  It  is  to  be  noted  that  while  the  northern 
tract  excels  the  southern  as  respects  its  scenery,  it  is  not, 
therefore,  any  the  less  available  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of 
public  grounds.  The  southern  tract  affords  excellent  fields 
for  baseball  and  other  sports,  but  when  the  northern  tract  is 
fully  explored,  areas  suited  to  these  purposes  can  doubtless  be 
selected.  The  southern  tract  can  be  flooded  for  skating,  but 
so  can  the  meadow  of  the  northern  tract,  while  the  intricate 
and  wooded  shore  lines  of  the  resulting  pond  will  furnish  a 
feast  of  landscape  beauty  which  the  southern  tract  cannot 
supply.  And  so  on  throughout  the  list  of  pastimes  for  the 
enjoyment  of  which  it  is  desirable  that  public  grounds  should 
furnish  opportunities.  We  are  convinced  that  the  northern 
tract  can  be  so  arranged  as  to  meet  all  these  requirements 
and  to  furnish  uncommonly  enjoyable  scenery  in  addition. 

Cost.  —  Respecting  the  probable  comparative  cost  of  the 
two  tracts,  we  are  not  informed  ;  but  we  do  not  believe  that 
the  cost  of  both  would  exceed  what  would  be  a  reasonable 
expenditure  for  the  town  of  Reading,  particularly  if  the 
future  can  be  called  upon  to  share  the  first  cost  with  the 


^T.  37]  COST  AND  MANAGEMENT  &t5 

present.  It  is  not  probable  that  either  tract  will  ever  be 
any  cheaper. 

Management.  —  Supposing  the  northern  tract  to  be  ac- 
quired, it  would  be  desirable  to  adopt  as  soon  as  possible  a 
plan  or  programme  of  procedure  for  its  gradual  development, 
and  this  plan  should  then  be  followed  steadily,  systematically, 
and  continuously  during  many  years,  even  if  only  two  men 
are  employed  as  keepers,  jjolice,  and  fire-guards.  Two  men 
working  to  a  well-studied  plan  will  accomplish  much  for  the 
scenery  in  the  course  of  five  or  ten  years,  while  a  large  gang, 
working  without  well-considered  direction,  may  easily  greatly 
harm  the  landscape  in  one  season.  That  such  domains  can 
be  properly  cared  for  economically  has  been  proved  by  the 
experience  of  Lynn  and  other  cities  possessing  wild  or  nat- 
uralistic parks. 

Lastly,  we  may  be  permitted  to  remind  you  that  we  have 
not  reviewed  the  whole  township  of  Beading,  but  only  the 
two  tracts  specially  called  to  our  attention ;  and  respecting 
these,  it  is  our  conclusion  that  the  northern  tract  is  by  far 
the  better  worth  purchasing. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

GENERAL  PLANS.     1894-97 

A  mountain  range  should  be  viewed  in  sections,  and  only  once  in 
its  entirety :  a  city  should  be  divided  in  like  manner,  and  we  should 
avoid  getting  the  same  view  repeatedly.  To  break  up  a  wide  prospect 
effectively  is,  however,  a  much  more  difficult  matter  than  to  expose  it 
completely. 

When  you  come  u_pon  a  particularly  fine  prospect,  and  remaik  on 
it :  "  What  a  pity  that  great  tree  is  there,  —  how  much  finer  this  would 
be  if  it  could  be  removed  1  "you  would  be  very  much  surprised  to  find, 
upon  the  tree  being  cut  down,  that  you  no  longer  had  a  picture  before 
you.  The  highest  type  of  garden  is  like  a  picture  gallery  ;  and  pic- 
tures require  frames.  —  Puckler-Mdskau. 

The  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  had  hardly  been  at 
work  a  year  when  Charles  felt  bound  to  protest  against  the 
amount  of  labor  expended  on  paths  and  roads,  in  advance  of 
the  preparation  of  any  general  plans  for  the  development  of  the 
scenery  of  the  forest  reservations,  and  indeed  before  accurate 
topographical  surveys  had  been  ordered.  This  chapter  con- 
tains a  series  of  letters  arguing  against  premature  and  plan- 
less work  on  roads  and  paths,  urging  the  early  preparation  of 
landscape  and  road  designs  based  on  accurate  topographical 
maps,  and  explaining  the  wastefulness  of  both  inaction  and 
planless  action.  Through  two  years  and  a  half  Charles  never 
lost  a  fair  opportunity  of  pressing  these  views  on  the  Com- 
mission, sometimes  orally  and  sometimes  in  writing,  in  the 
Board  meetings,  or  in  conversation  with  individual  members 
of  the  Board ;  but  so  far  as  the  Blue  Hills,  Middlesex  Fells, 
and  Stony  Brook  Reservations  were  concerned,  all  his  efforts 
were  in  vain.  Unless  it  is  otherwise  stated,  the  letters  of 
this  chapter  were  addressed  to  the  chairman  of  the  Commis- 
sion ;  and  with  the  single  exception  which  will  be  observed, 
they  were  signed  Olmsted,  Olmsted  &  Eliot.  An  extract 
from  a  paper  Charles  read  before  the  American  Forestry 
Association  in  September,  1895,  and  two  letters  he  sent  to 
"  Garden  and  Forest "  on  the  same  general  subject  are  placed 
in  chronological  order  with  the  letters  to  the  Commission.  All 
the  time  that  this  discussion  was  going  on,  Charles  was  mak- 
ing numerous  investigations  and  designs  for  the  Commission 
in  other  regions. 


£.T.U]      EARLY  WORK  IN  THE  RESERVATIONS  647 

Aug.  30,  1894. 

In  order  that  the  Cointuission  may  thoroughly  understand 
the  work  now  being  done  within  the  new  forest  reservations, 
we  beg  leave  to  make  the  following  statement :  — 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  accordance  with  our  recom- 
mendation considerable  labor  was  devoted  last  winter  to  clear- 
ing dead  wood  from  certain  strips  of  the  forest,  selected  as 
presenting  the  most  advantageous  preliminary  fire  lines.  This 
work  was  carried  on  in  accordance  with  the  following  memo- 
randum of  an  understanding  arrived  at  by  Mr.  Eliot  in  consul- 
tation with  Secretary  Carruth  and  Overseer  Rackemann  :  — 

Memorandum  of  understanding  between  Messrs.  Carruth  and 
Rackemann  with  respect  to  forest  fire  lines  in  Blue  Hills  Reserva- 
tion, 8th  January,  1894. 

Lines  to  be  worked  along  designated  wood-roads. 

Roadway  to  be  cleared  of  worst  rocks  and  stumps,  and  trees  and 
bouglis  to  be  cut  away  sufficiently  to  make  road  traversable  by  two 
horsemen  riding  abreast. 

Fifteen  feet  each  side  of  road  to  be  cleared  of  high  shrubbery, 
and  these  two  strips,  together  with  the  road,  to  be  cleared  of  dry 
leaves,  except  where  swamp  or  rock  is  reached  short  of  fifteen  feet. 

One  hundred  feet  each  side  of  road  to  be  cleared  of  all  dead 
trees  and  bushes,  fallen  or  standing. 

Although  a  good  deal  of  live  wood  was  unnecessarily  cut  in 
several  places,  this  work,  we  believe,  was  in  general  well  and 
cheaply  done. 

When  the  coming  of  dry  spring  weather  prevented  a 
further  prosecution  of  the  work  of  clearing  away  and  burning 
the  dangerous  dead  material,  the  foremen  employed  by  Overseer 
Rackemann  were  turned  by  him  to  the  work  of  improving 
the  old  wood-roads,  and  particularly  the  entrances  of  the 
reservations.  In  the  western  section  of  the  Fells  Reservation, 
the  entrances  from  Mt.  Vernon  Street,  Winchester,  from  Mr. 
Dyke's  lane,  Stoneham,  And  from  Main  Street,  Stonehara, 
were  soon  made  usable.  In  the  eastern  section  of  the  Fells, 
similar  work  was  done  at  Woodland  Road,  Stoneham,  Moun- 
tain Road,  Melrose,  and  Bear's  Den  Path,  Maiden.  In  the 
Blue  Hills  Reservation,  Babel  Rock  entrance  at  the  eastern 
end  was  the  first  to  be  opened,  and  Blue  Hill  entrance  at  the 


648  GENERAL  PLANS.    18M-97  [1894 

west  end  was  the  last.  Generally  Mr.  Rackemann  lias  sought 
our  advice  as  to  the  paths  to  be  selected  for  imi^roveuient, 
but  on  Bear  Hill  ili  the  Fells  and  in  the  west  middle  section 
of  the  Blue  Hills  considerable  labor  has  been  spent  upon  lines 
which  were  not  designated  by  us,  in  the  one  case  on  account 
of  the  expressed  desires  of  the  local  Stoneham  Park  Com- 
mission, and  in  the  other  case  presumably  by  reason  of  some 
misunderstanding.  Speaking  generally,  we  believe  this  work 
upon  the  paths  has  been  done  upon  lines  well  chosen  to  afford 
temporary  but  easy  access  to  the  reservations. 

With  respect  to  the  amount  of  labor  to  be  expended  on  the 
improved  paths,  and  the  degree  in  which  they  ought  at  this 
time  to  be  made  permanent  or  finished,  we  must  confess  that 
our  ideas  have  from  the  first  been  quite  different  from  those, 
of  your  executive  officers,  Messrs.  Carruth  and  Rackemann. 
Mr.  Eliot,  when  visiting  the  Reservations,  has  always  spoken 
for  simplicity  and  cheapness  of  construction.  To  make  many 
paths  accessible  to  walkers  or  to  "  tv/o  horsemen  riding  abreast " 
(we  quote  our  memorandum  previously  cited)  has  from  the 
first  seemed  to  us  to  be  more  desirable  at  the  present  time 
than  to  open  any  carriage  drives.  It  has  been  our  frequently 
expressed  desire  that  no  work  should  be  done  upon  the  old 
paths  which  might  not  be  readily  abandoned  after  the  making 
of  a  complete  topographical  survey  should  provide  us  with  the 
means  of  determining  the  best  locations  for  permanent  and 
finished  roads.  We  admire  the  zeal  of  your  executive  offi- 
cers ;  but  we  must  say  that  we  fear  they  have  too  frequently 
forgotten  these  primary  considerations  when  engaged  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  work.  It  seems  to  us  that  it  would  be 
advisable  to  place  some  limit  upon  the  expenditure  to  be 
incurred  in  this  work  of  improving  paths,  either  in  the  form 
of  a  maximum  average  cost  per  rod  or  per  mile,  or  else  in  the 
form  of  an  appropriation  which  should  not  be  exceeded  in 
the  course  of  a  season.  In  fact,  we  have  seldom  or  never 
heard  of  work  of  this  kind  being  done  under  no  limitations 
as  regards  expense,  excepting  the  one  limitation  on  the  number 
of  men  to  be  employed. 

In  conclusion,  permit  us  to  remind  the  Commission  that  in 
our  view  of  the  case  the  work  of  relieving  the  forests  of  the 


«T.  34]  MAPS  BEFORE  ROAD-BUILDING   •  649 

vast  accumulations  of  dead  and  inflammable  wood  is  of  much 
greater  present  importance  than  the  opening  of  either  foot- 
paths or  carriage  roads.  Until  this  material  is  removed,  the 
forests  are  in  danger  of  destruction  by  fire.  Fires  which  run 
over  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  woodlands  containing  no 
material  to  feed  a  fierce  flame  do  little  damage ;  but  fires 
which  are  fed  by  dead,  dry,  and  fallen  trees  are  capable  of 
working  great,  and  on  steep  slopes,  irreparable  injury.  We 
are  therefore  impelled  to  suggest  that  if  economy  is  to  be 
regarded  at  all,  it  be  exercised  with  respect"  to  this  summer's 
work  on  the  paths  rather  than  in  next  winter's  work  in  the 
woods. 

In  case  the  Commission  should  conclude  to  proceed  to 
obtaining  detailed  topographical  maps  of  the  reservations,  we 
append  to  this  letter  revised  specifications  for  surveys  such  as 
we  deem  necessary,  suggesting  that  the  Secretary  be  author- 
ized to  obtain  bids  from  engineers  for  work  to  be  done  accord- 
ingly. 

October  25,  1894. 

We  are  informed  that  the  Board  has  voted  to  build  several 
miles  of  road  within,  or  on  the  borders  of,  the  several  forest 
reservations,  the  cost  of  the  same  to  be  charged  to  the  "  bou- 
levard fund,"  so  called.  We  ask  to  be  permitted  to  suggest 
that  this  work  ought  not  to  be  begun  until  after  topographical 
surveys  have  been  made  and  the  maps  have  been  duly  studied. 

It  is  true  that  for  the  sake  of  making  the  Fells  and  Blue 
Hills  Reservations  accessible  to  your  employees,  your  fire 
patrol,  and  your  police,  we  have,  during  the  past  summer, 
assisted  Overseer  Rackemann  in  determining  how  a  few  of 
the  old  pathways  should  be  made  usable  by  wagons  and  car- 
riages ;  but  we  have  done  this  only  because  circumstances 
have  compelled  us  to  this  course.  We  think  it  desirable  that 
many  of  the  remaining  wood-roads  should  be  made  more  easily 
traversable  than  they  are  to-day ;  but  we  must  hope  that  no 
more  sixteen-foot  roads,  such  as  Mr.  Rackemann  has  built 
in  Blue  Hills  Reservation,  may  be  opened  until  after  we 
have  opportunity  to  determine  from  study  of  a  topographical 
survey  the  best  routes,  lines,  and  grades.  We  feel  similarly 
with  respect  to  the  proposed  marginal  roads.     Mr.  Racke- 


650  GENERAL  PLANS.     1894-97  [1894 

mann  can  build  roads  of  fair  grades  "  by  the  eye  "  along  or 
near  most  of  the  boundaries  of  the  reservations ;  and  perhaps 
it  is  advisable  that  temporary  roads  of  this  sort  should  be 
built  and  opened  soon.  If  this  course  is  to  be  adopted,  we 
hope  the  Board  will  instruct  both  Mr.  Rackemann  and  our- 
selves as  to  the  proper  division  of  responsibility  for  the  work 
to  be  done.  If,  however,  permanent  boundary  roads  are  to 
be  built,  topographical  surveys  and  definitive  plans  should  be 
obtained  before  work  is  begun. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  American  Forestry  Association  held  at 
Springfield,  Mass.,  in  September,  1895,  Charles  read  a  paper 
on  the  new  public  forests  near  Boston,  in  which  he  gave  an 
account  of  their  origin  and  character,  and  described  the  pre- 
cautions taken  against  fire,  and  the  topographical,  botanical, 
and  forestal  surveys  which  were  in  progress.  He  then  took 
up  the  subject  of  general  plans,  and  dealt  with  it  in  three 
paragraphs,  as  follows  :  — 

That  the  new  reservations  may  return  to  the  metropolitan 
community  such  dividends  of  refreshing  enjoyment  as  will 
justify  their  cost,  it  has  been  understood  from  the  first  that 
the  beauty  of  the  forest  scenery  must  be  not  only  safe- 
guarded, but  also  restored,  developed,  and  enhanced,  and  at 
the  same  time  made  accessible  by  roads  which  shall  not  be 
grossly  disfiguring.  In  order  to  make  the  most  of  every 
scenic  opportunity,  ensure  harmonious  results,  and  secure  the 
attainment  of  the  ends  in  view  with  all  possible  economy,  it 
was  obvious  from  the  start  that  well-considered  and  compre- 
hensive general  plans  would  need  to  be  prepared,  adopted, 
and  adhered  to.  Such  plans  should  be  in  hand  before  the 
living  growth  is  touched,  or  the  building  of  permanent  roads 
begun.  On  the  other  hand,  such  plans  cannot  be  well  devised 
without  thorough  preliminary  study  of  both  the  forestal  and 
the  topographical  conditions,  and  the  Commission  has,  accord- 
ingly, made  liberal  provision  for  the  collection  of  the  present 
facts  in  both  departments. 

The  general  plans  to  be  thus  devised  upon  the  basis  of  the 
present  facts  will  doubtless  be  drawn  with  reference  to  that 
more  or  less  distant  time  when  thousands  of  people  will  resort 
to  the  public  domain  every  day  or  week.     On  the  other  hand, 


>ET.  35]  PLANS  BEFORE  WOODLAND   WORK  651 

the  progress  to  be  made  in  the  execution  of  the  plans  from 
year  to  year  may  be  as  slow  or  rapid  as  seems  best.  The 
plans  will  place  the  roads  so  as  to  exhibit  the  scenery  of  the 
reservations  to  the  best  advantage,  and  the  forest  scenery 
will,  in  time,  need  to  be  planned  in  detail,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  roads  as  points  of  view.  The  nice  work  of  open- 
ing vistas,  inducing  screens  or  thickets,  strengthening  the 
planting  of  foregrounds  and  the  like,  will  necessarily  be  post- 
poned until  the  permanent  roads  are  built,  or,  at  least, 
roughed  out.  In  the  forester's  department  only  general  work 
will  be  in  order  at  first.  The  purpose  of  the  plans  for  this 
general  work  will  be  to  restore  destroyed  beauty,  rescue 
jeopardized  beauty,  ensure  more  lasting  beauty,  increase  the 
variety  of  beauty,  and  emphasize  the  more  remarkable  types 
of  beauty  exhibited  by  the  various  sections  of  the  woods. 
Thus,  for  some  rocky  summit  the  plans  may  suggest  the 
encouragement  of  the  characteristic  pitch  Pine,  scrub  Oak, 
and  Bearberry,  and  the  removal  of  incongruous  Maples  and 
the  like.  For  the  sake  of  variety,  it  may  be  planned  that 
some  of  the  existing  openings  should  be  preserved  by  pas- 
turing with  sheep,  or  that  from  other  fields  hay  should  be 
taken  annually  for  feeding  the  sheep  in  winter.  Where  on 
smooth  land,  which  once  was  pasture,  seedling  trees  are  now 
jostling  each  other  too  closely,  the  plan  may  read :  "  Sell 
standing  the  trees  which  are  crowding  the  spreading  Oaks, 
leaving  enough  of  the  younger  trees  to  take  the  place  of  the 
veterans  fifty  odd  years  hence."  Again,  in  those  many  places 
where  scenery  is  now  smothered  by  monotonous  thickets  of 
sprouts  from  chopped  or  burnt  stumps,  the  general  plan  may 
perhaps  read  thus:  "  When  first  marketable,  sell  standing 
two  thirds  of  these  sprouts,  killing  the  stumps.  Sell  the  re- 
maining sprouts  after  seedling  trees  shall  have  become  well 
established."  Further  illustration  of  the  nature  of  the  general 
plan  is  unnecessary.  With  such  a  plan  guiding  both  the 
woodland  work  and  the  construction  work,  effective  coijpera- 
tive  and  harmonious  results  can  be  economically  secured. 
Without  a  plan,  both  kinds  of  work  will  become  mere  tem- 
porizing, and  no  consistent  and  effective  final  result  can  be 
expected. 


652  GENERAL   PLANS.     1894-97  [1896 

For  the  effective  execution  of  the  work  to  be  done  in  the 
reservations  in  accordance  with  the  general  plans,  it  is  to  be 
expected  that  the  Commission  will  secure  as  head  keeper  of 
each  public  forest  a  man  acquainted  with  the  flora  and  fauna 
of  the  woods,  a  good  manager,  competent  to  devise  economies 
and  to  discover  sources  of  income,  skilled  to  direct  road  re- 
pairs, as  well  as  woodland  work,  fitted  also  to  serve  as  the 
captain  of  the  necessary  patrol,  and  as  paymaster  of  the 
patrolmen,  the  road  laborers,  and  the  woodsmen.  Under  each 
head  keeper  there  will  naturally  be  needed  a  foreman  or  fore- 
men in  charge  of  road  maintenance,  and  a  foreman  or  foremen 
of  woodcraft.  The  keepers  and  some  of  their  assistants  will 
presumably  be  provided  with  houses  situated  within  the  reser- 
vations, and  to  these  forest  lodges  the  public  will  be  invited 
to  resort  when  in  need  of  shelter  or  supplies  for  picnicking. 
Over  the  head  keepers,  and  in  general  command  during  the 
period  of  active  work,  there  will  naturally  be  placed  two 
executive  officers,  reporting  directly  to  the  Commission,  a 
forester,  and  an  engineer,  each  of  whom  should  be  willing 
and  eager  to  cooperate  with  the  other  and  with  the  devisers 
of  the  general  plans,  to  the  end  that  the  scenery  planned  to 
be  preserved,  restored,  or  created,  may  be  eventually  and 
surely  secured.  If  consistent  and  fine  results  are  to  be  at- 
tained, the  engineer  must  be  ever  ready  to  subordinate  his 
special  works  for  the  sake  of  the  general  effect  or  "land- 
scape," and  the  forester  must  likewise  be  willing  to  work  in 
the  same  spirit.  Administered  in  these  ways  by  sufficiently 
active  men,  the  forest  scenery  may,  in  a  few  years,  be  restored 
to  that  fortunate  state  the  beauty  of  which,  barring  fires  and 
other  accidents,  is  inevitably  increased  by  the  passage  of 
time. 

February  4,  1896. 

A  committee  having  been  appointed  by  the  Commission  to 
consider  possible  changes  in  the  organization  of  the  working 
forces  employed  by  the  Board,  we  ask  leave  to  take  this  op- 
portunity to  speak  of  our  own  relations  to  the  work  the  Com- 
mission has  in  hand.  Up  to  the  present  time  we  have  been 
engaged,  without  mentioning  particulars,  in  advising  concern- 
ing the  choice  of  sites  for  the  reservations,  concerning  the 


.ET.  36]  GUIDING  PLANS   NEEDED   AT   ONCE  653 

boundaries  of  the  lauds  to  be  acquired,  coucerning  the  pre- 
liminary botanical,  forestal,  and  topographical  surveys,  and 
the  preliminary  works  of  wood-road  improvement  and  dead- 
wood  burning. 

We  have  also  reported  and  advised  concerning  the  choice 
of  routes  and  the  general  plans  for  the  proposed  metropolitan 
parkways.  With  resj^ect  to  these  parkways,  we  suppose  it 
will  be  advisable  that  we  should  oversee  the  making  of  the  con- 
struction drawings  and  specifications  as  they  may  be  ordered 
from  time  to  time,  so  as  to  make  sure  that  our  carefully  made 
designs  are  not  botched  in  execution.  Such  supervision  is 
not  likely  to  cost  the  Commission  more  than  live  hundred 
dollars  in  any  one  year.  As  to  possible  new  parkways  or 
new  reservations,  we  may  say  that  we  shall  always  be  glad  to 
furnish  the  Commission  with  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of 
our  probable  charges  upon  request. 

With  respect  to  the  seven  existing  reservations  at  Revere 
Beach,  Charles  River,  Middlesex  Fells,  Blue  Hills,  Stony 
Brook,  Beaver  Brook,  and  Hemlock  Gorge,  we  desire  to  be 
instructed  as  to  what  our  course  shall  be.  The  boundaries  of 
these  reserves  are  now  generally  fixed,  their  temporary  roads 
and  paths  are  practically  complete,  the  necessary  clearing 
away  of  dead  wood  is  almost  finished.  In  other  words,  the 
several  purposes  heretofore  in  view  have  been  accomplished. 
The  question,  therefore,  rises.  What,  if  anything,  is  next  to 
be  done  ?  and  What  service,  if  any,  does  the  Commission 
desire  of  us  ? 

The  service  which  is  usually  asked  of  us  by  park  commis- 
sions is  the  devising  of  so-called  "  general  plans."  Such 
plans  are  based  on  topographical  surveys,  and  on  close  study 
of  the  local  scenery  and  of  the  prospective  uses  of  the  land. 
Basing  our  planning  on  such  surveys,  we  are  accustomed  to 
charge  for  the  ultimate  plan  an  agreed  lump  sum,  the  pay- 
ment of  which  is  commonly  distributed  over  a  term  of  years 
varying  from  three  to  five,  during  which  period  we  are  open 
to  consultation  on  all  related  questions. 

That  your  Commission  has  had  in  view  the  preparation  of 
general  plans  at  an  early  day  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
topographical,  botanical,  and  forestal  surveys  have  been  or- 


654  GENERAL  PLANS.     1894-97  [1896 

dered  and  obtained.  .  .  .  The  expenditure  for  these  surveys 
can  hardly  be  justified,  unless  they  are  promptly  put  to  use 
in  the  making  of  plans  which  shall  guide  all  work  to  be  done 
in  the  reservations  for  many  years  to  come.  Our  studies  of 
park  work,  and  our  experience  in  it  as  well,  have  taught  us 
that  such  guiding  plans  cannot  be  made  too  soon  after  public 
reservations  are  acquired.  If,  however,  the  Commission  is  of 
the  opinion  that  the  time  is  not  yet  ripe  for  the  beginning  of 
devising  of  plans,  we  shall  want  to  ask  to  be  allowed  to  dis- 
claim responsibility  for  the  work  which  may  be  done  in  the 
reservations.  On  the  other  hand,  should  the  Commission 
desire  to  secure  plans,  we  shall  be  happy  to  confer  with  your 
Committee  as  to  the  terms  of  a  contract  or  agreement. 

In  explanation  of  the  purpose  and  the  nature  of  general 
plans  and  of  the  usual  organization  for  the  execution  of  such 
plans,  we  append  to  this  letter  (1)  an  article  in  the  "  Engi- 
neering Magazine  "  of  November  last,  written  by  Mr.  Eliot, 
but  based  on  teaching  of  Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted,  (2)  an  address 
before  the  American  Forestry  Association  made  by  Mr.  Eliot 
in  August  last,  and  (8)  a  specimen  copy  of  an  agreement  be- 
tween a  park  commission  ^  and  our  firm.    (See  Appendix  V.) 

June  22,  1896. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the 
Commission  are  now  comparatively  new  to  the  work  of  the 
Board,  we  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  fresh  and,  we 
hope,  clear  expression  of  opinion  that  all  work  in  the  reser- 
vations should  be  guided  by  well-considered,  comprehensive, 
and  officially  adopted  plans. 

Whenever  a  piece  of  ground,  public  or  private,  has  been 
set  apart  for  a  defined  purpose,  careful  planning  for  the  eco- 
nomical and  thorough  accomplishment  of  that  purpose  be- 
comes logically  necessary.  If  the  purpose  of  the  metropolitan 
reservations  was  the  production  of  crops  of  fruit  or  vegetables 
for  profit,  it  is  certain  that  skilled  market  gardeners  would 
be  called  upon  to  make  careful  plans  for  securing  the  largest 
possible  return  fix)ra  the  various  soils  and  exposures.  But 
because  the  dividend  which  is  looked  for  from  the  new  reser- 
^  The  Keney  Park  Trustees  of  Hartford,  Coon. 


^T  36]  GENERAL  PLANS  ARE  PROGRAMMES  OF  WORK  655 

vations  is  intangible,  consisting  in  refreshment  to  be  derived 
from  variety  and  beauty  of  scenery,  careful  planning  for 
securing  a  good  dividend,  and  for  increasing  it,  is  not  one  whit 
less  necessary.  Indeed,  it  is  more  necessai-y  by  so  much  as 
the  purpose  in  view  is  loftier.  If  even  mean  or  ordinary  pur- 
poses are  to  be  successfully  accomplished  only  through  fore- 
sight and  good  planning,  is  it  likely  that  higher  purposes  can 
be  achieved  without  taking  thought  ?  Reservations  of  scenery 
are  the  cathedrals  of  the  modern  world.  The  comparatively 
rural  people  of  the  middle  ages  found  spiritual  help  in  archi- 
tectural beauty  and  grandeur.  The  more  and  more  crowded 
populations  of  to-day  seek  similar  inspiration  from  the  open 
world  of  hills  and  valleys,  streams  and  lakes.  Thus  the 
responsibility  which  rests  upon  the  trustees  of  our  open-air 
cathedrals  is  as  grave  as  it  is  new.  Successive  generations 
of  tax-payers  will  be  deprived  of  benefits  rightfully  theirs, 
if  the  reservations  are  not  cared  for,  and  comprehensively 
developed  in  ways  wisely  devised  to  produce  the  most  inter- 
esting, the  most  varied,  and  the  most  delightful  scenery  the 
open  spaces  in  question  are  capable  of  presenting. 

A  scheme  for  working  towards  these  ends  is  what  we  mean 
by  a  "  general  plan."  The  word  "  plan  "  need  not  alarm  any 
one.  It  means  simply  a  consistent  programme  of  work,  or 
plan  of  campaign,  to  be  directed  to  the  attainment  of  well- 
defined  purposes,  and  the  word  is  therefore  just  as  applicable, 
and  the  thing  itself  just  as  necessary  in  the  case  of  reserva- 
tions of  scenery,  as  it  is  in  the  case  of  public  squares  or  build- 
ings. Desultorj',  makeshift,  or  fragmentary  management  is 
as  uneconomical  and  ineffective,  and  therefore  as  inexcusable, 
in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other.  All  uncalled-for  artificiality 
is  of  course  to  be  avoided  ;  but  the  way  to  ensure  this  is  not 
by  making  no  plans,  but  by  officially  adopting  plans  con- 
scientiously devised  to  achieve  the  high  purpose  of  the  reser- 
vations. The  means  and  methods  to  be  suggested  in  plans 
for  securing  landscape  are  as  different  from  those  of  building- 
plans  as  the  purpose  in  view  is  different.  Unlike  the  archi- 
tect, the  landscape  architect  starts  in  the  new  reservations, 
for  example,  with  broad  stretches  of  existing  scenery.  It  will 
be  his  calling  and  duty  to  discover,  and  then  to  evolve  and 


666  GENERAL  PLANS,    1894-97.  [1896 

make  available,  the  most  characteristic,  interesting,  and  effec- 
tive scenery.  Practically,  his  work  will  be  confined  to  plan- 
ning such  control  or  modification  of  vegetation  as  may  be 
necessary  for  the  sake  of  scenery,  and  to  devising  the  most 
advantageous  courses  for  the  roads  and  paths  from  which  the 
scenery  will  be  viewed.  The  two  departments  of  this  plan- 
ning should  obviously  go  forward  together.  "  Roads  must  be 
placed,  not  alone  with  reference  to  economy  of  construction 
in  respect  to  passage  from  place  to  place,  but  with  reference 
to  economy  in  the  ultimate  development  of  resources  of 
scenery."  —  F.  L.  Olmsted.  Many  of  the  roads  already 
opened  in  the  reservations  do  not  fulfil  this  no  more  than 
reasonable  requirement  of  true  economy  and  common  sense. 
These  roads  follow  lines  selected  without  reference  to  scenery 
by  the  wood-choppers  of  the  past  for  their  commercial  pur- 
poses. The  new  roads  were  hurriedly  built  on  these  old  lines, 
contrary  to  our  recommendation,  because  it  was  deemed  ad- 
visable to  admit  the  public  to  the  reservations  without  waiting 
for  the  completion  of  plans.  The  essential  topographical 
maps  were  at  the  time  not  even  ordered.  Since  the  first  day 
of  this  year,  however,  the  maps  have  been  at  hand,  and  their 
absence  can  no  longer  be  pleaded  as  an  excuse  for  hodge- 
podge or  happy-go-lucky  work  in  either  the  road-maker's  or  the 
woodsman's  department.  There  is  indeed  a  certain  amount 
of  work  in  the  latter  department  which,  even  in  the  absence 
of  general  plans,  may  be  safely  and  advantageously  prose- 
cuted. On  the  other  hand,  the  greater  part  of  the  woods 
ought  not  to  be  touched  before  general  plans  are  satisfactorily 
made  up.  To  permit  road-makers  or  woodsmen  to  work  here 
and  there  without  plans  would  be  much  like  allowing  masons 
and  carpenters  to  start  a  public  building  before  the  architect 
had  thought  it  out.  The  topographical,  forestal,  and  botan- 
ical surveys  ordered  by  the  Commission  to  provide  data  for 
planning  are  now  completed,  and  we  have  become,  in  the 
course  of  the  past  three  years,  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
wooded  as  well  as  with  the  other  reservations.  We  believe 
the  framing  and  the  official  adoption  of  general  plans  to  be 
very  important;  in  fact,  by  all  odds  the  most  important  work 
to  which  any  and  every  public  Executive  Board  can  give  its 


2ET.  36]        RESULTS  OF  LETTING  NATURE  ALONE  657 

attention  during  its  early  years.  The  Metropolitan  Sewer 
and  Water  Commissions  have  planned  their  comparatively 
prosaic  and  meclianical  undertakings  far-seeingly  and  com- 
prehensively. Shall  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  fail 
to  take  equal  pains  with  the  more  delicate  and  difficult  work 
which  the  tax-payers  have  confided  to  it  ? 

The  foregoing  general  statement  contains,  we  believe,  the 
whole  truth  of  the  matter,  and  we  ajipend  the  following  mem- 
orandum only  to  bring  out  one  point  a  little  more  sharply. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  even  if  general  plans  for  conserv- 
ing and  availing  of  scenery  were  practicable,  they  would  not 
be  desirable  where  the  domain  in  question  is  "  wild  land  " 
intended  to  be  kept  "  natural  "  for  the  enjoyment  of  city  peo- 
ple. It  is  admitted  that  thoroughly  thought-out  schemes  are 
necessary  and  desirable  for  houses,  public  buildings,  streets, 
squares,  and  urban  parks,  but  "  let  Nature  alone  "  in  the  hills 
and  woods,  and  she,  it  is  said,  will  frame  lovelier  landscapes 
than  any  which  can  be  evolved  or  developed  by  intention. 

Now,  whatever  may  be  the  case  in  other  lands  and  climates, 
so  far  as  New  England  is  concerned  our  answer  is  a  "  general 
denial,"  and  our  appeal  is  to  the  facts.  Why,  for  example,  are 
the  Middlesex  Fells  more  interesting  than  the  Lynn  Woods  ? 
Largely  because  the  vegetation  is  more  varied.  And  why  is 
it  more  varied  ?  Because  of  Man  and  not  Nature.  In  the 
Fells  are  moi-e  pastures,  more  grassy  glades  and  fields,  and 
there  is  also  more  variety  in  the  height  and  density  of  the 
forest  trees.  Nature,  indeed,  is  constantly  striving  to  abolish 
even  the  meagre  existing  variety,  and  to  shut  in  all  the  paths 
and  roads  between  walls  of  close-standing  tree-trunks.  Thus, 
if  the  reservations  are  left  to  Nature,  monotony  will  follow ; 
and  not  only  will  the  existing  scenery  be  soon  obliterated  (as 
one  visit  to  the  woods  makes  plain),  but  the  existing  econom- 
ical opportunity  for  securing  additional  interest  and  beauty 
will  be  lost  never  to  return,  unless  after  a  sweeping  forest 
fire. 

Permit  us,  lastly,  to  illustrate  the  nature  of  what  we  mean 
by  comprehensive  planning  by  citing  just  one  instance. 

Here  is  a  fairly  smooth  valley  between  two  rocky  hills 
which  rise  at  the  end  of  a  long  pond  or  reservoir.     The  hills 


658  GENERAL  PLANS.     1894-97  [1896 

are  well  wooded,  but  the  valley  contains  only  a  low  and  mixed 
growth  of  seedling  trees  and  shrubs.  It  appears  to  offer  a 
very  favorable  opportunity  for  developing  great  trees  from 
the  most  promising  specimens  of  the  young  growth.  There 
is  all  too  little  woodland  of  this  type  in  the  reservations, 
and  so,  for  variety's  sake,  we  tentatively  plan  to  eventually 
remove  the  poorer  trees  for  the  encouragement  of  the  better. 
In  so  proposing,  we  have  probably  suggested  the  highest  pos- 
sible development  of  this  particular  part  of  the  public  domain, 
if  it  is  to  be  considered  in  and  for  itself  alone.  But  we  know 
from  experience  that  this  is  not  the  way  to  go  to  work.  Our 
planning  must  be  comprehensive  and  not  fragmentary,  and 
accordingly  we  avoid  all  hasty  conclusions.  In  the  end,  we 
reverse  our  first  decision,  and  plan  to  remove  all  the  young 
trees  of  the  valley,  thus  encouraging  the  shrubbery  only. 
And  why?  Because  it  turns  out  that  it  is  through  this  val- 
ley that  a  striking  distant  view  of  the  Great  Blue  Hill  is 
obtainable  from  a  crag  a  mile  away  at  the  other  end  of  the 
chain  of  ponds.^  Large  trees  in  the  valley  would  completely 
obliterate  this  remarkable  picture.  When  it  is  remembered 
that  the  metropolitan  district  has  borrowed  and  spent  a  mil- 
lion dollars  expressly  in  order  to  secure  the  enjoyment  of  this 
picture,  with  others  like  it,  the  wastefulness,  and  therefore 
the  wrongfulness,  of  both  inaction  and  planless  action  be- 
comes evident. 

July  10,  1896. 

Enclosed  please  find  our  semi-annual  bill  for  professional 
services  during  the  half  year  lately  ended. 

In  handing  you  this  bill,  we  would  respectfully  call  your 
attention  to  the  fact  that  we  have  not  as  yet  received  any 
reply  to  our  letter  of  February  4th,  last.  We  asked  that  we 
might  be  definitely  and  publicly  freed  from  all  responsibility 
for  work  done  in  the  new  reservations,  or  else  that  we  might 
be  definitely  engaged  to  draw  up  for  the  consideration  of  the 
Commission  those  comprehensive  schemes  or  programmes  of 
work  which  are  commonly  called  "  general  plans."  You  will" 
readily  understand  that  we  cannot  professionally  afford  to 
have  our  names  associated  with  work  done  regardless  of  com- 
^  Charles's  favorite  prospect  in  the  Fells. 


^T.  36]     THE  WASTEFULNESS  OF  PLANLESS  WORK      659 

prehensive  studies.  We,  accordingly,  beg  leave  to  repeat 
the  request  of  our  letter  of  February  4th,  that  our  position 
respecting  the  woi-k  to  be  done  in  the  new  reservations  may 
be  publicly  defined.  A  copy  of  our  letter  of  February  4th  is 
enclosed  herewith. 

July  30, 1896. 
W.  B.  DE  LAS  Casas,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir,  —  It  will  be  entirely  agreeable  to  us  to  amend 
the  clause  which  follows  "  Noven^ber  30th,  1899,"  on  page  1, 
so  that  it  will  read  thus  :  "  and  shall  also,  from  time  to  time 
during  the  continuance  of  this  agreement,  give  such  advice  on 
the  ground  or  in  their  office  and  in  writing  or  verbally,  and 
shall  supervise  the  preparation  in  their  office,"  etc.,  etc.  I 
should  be  glad  to  meet  Mr.  Haskell  with  yourself  in  order 
that  the  whole  question  may  be  mutually  understood. 

As  to  dropping  plan-making  entirely,  you  doubtless  see  as 
plainly  as  I  do  what  the  results  are  sure  to  be.  The  con- 
sequences are  visible  all  over  the  Union,  and  alas !  in  almost 
all  the  work  that  my  firm  has  been  connected  with.  There 
is  always  and  everywhere  a  reluctance  to  spend  money  for 
consistent  schemes  of  work,  and  plans  are  consequently  put 
off.  By  and  by  there  comes  a  demand  for  some  work  of 
construction,  as  at  Revere  Beach  and  Stony  Brook  to-day ; 
and  then  there  is  a  sudden  call  addressed  to  us,  with  notice 
that  a  hundred  men  are  to  be  put  to  work  next  week  and 
what  shall  they  do  ?  We  have  just  such  a  letter  this  morn- 
ing from  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Not  only  are  we  in  such  cases 
greatly  troubled  by  the  haste  demanded,  but  we  are  generally 
hampered  by  the  necessity  of  regrading  such  roads  or  other 
constructions  as  are  almost  invariably  introduced  during  the 
planless  period.  It  is  because  I  have  studied  these  matters, 
and  know  the  extremely  uneconomical  results  of  postponing 
plans,  the  waste  of  resources  of  scenery,  as  well  as  the  waste 
of  money  spent  in  planless  or  non-comprehensive  work,  —  it 
is  because  as  a  reasoning  being  I  feel  the  shame  and  pity  of 
such  postponements  so  keenly,  that  I  have  all  along  hoped 
that  your  Commission  would  avoid  the  common  pitfall. 

In  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life,  planning  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  purposes  is  found  necessary  to  success  of  any 


660  GENERAL  PLANS.    1894-97  [1896 

kind.  In  the  extraordinary  work,  the  same  thing  is  true : 
painters  and  poets  have  to  "  lay  out "  their  work.  The  Me- 
tropolitan Commission  itself  has  wisely  planned  the  selection, 
the  boundaries,  and  the  distribution  of  the  acquii'ed  reserva- 
tions, having  certain  purposes  in  view.  The  next  most  im- 
portant thing  for  the  Commission  to  undertake  is,  logically, 
the  careful  planning  of  the  interior  of  the  reservations. 
When  I  reflect  that  the  money  expended  for  labor  since 
January  1st  has  been  sufficient  to  pay  the  cost  of  giving  that 
labor  something  worth  while  to  work  for,  I  am  again,  as  a 
reasoning  mortal,  shocked  and  saddened. 
Yours  truly, 

Charles  Eliot. 

Aug.  11,  1896. 
By  vote  of  the  Commission,  we  were  directed  on  July  2d 
to  make  plans  for  a  road  through  the  length  of  Stony  Brook 
Reservation.  We  have  studied  the  problem  both  on  the 
ground  and  on  the  map,  and  a  preliminary  line  is  now  being 
staked  for  inspection  and  adjustment.  We  find,  however, 
that  we  can  by  no  means  recommend  the  Commission  to  build 
a  road  on  the  lines  thus  sketched,  or,  indeed,  on  any  lines 
which  it  might  be  possible  to  devise  independently  of  the 
consideration  of  a  general  plan  for  the  whole  reservation. 
The  line  which  we  have  studied  possesses  good  lines  and 
grades,  and  it  would  have  our  approval  if  it  were  possible  for 
us  to  think  it  right  to  plan  roads  in  public  reservations  as 
roads  and  railroads  are  planned  in  the  world  at  large.  It 
seems  to  us  that  since  the  purpose  of  such  reservations  is  the 
conservation  and  presentation  of  scenery,  it  is  fundamentally 
illogical  to  begin  with  the  planning  of  roads.  The  scenery 
itself  should  first  be  studied,  and  plans  should  first  be  laid 
for  faithfully  preserving  the  best  of  the  available  landscape, 
for  restoring  the  beauty  of  damaged  scenes,  and  for  enhan- 
cing the  attractiveness  of  the  less  interesting  parts.  Roads 
should  be  planned,  or  begun  upon,  only  when  it  has  been 
determined  what  will  be  the  most  interesting  scenery  which 
they  can  reach  and  make  enjoyable.  For  example,  the 
through  road  should  pass  on  this  side  or  the  other  of  Turtle 


^T.  36]     WELL-REASONED   PLANNING  A  NECESSITY      661 

Pond,  according  as  this  side  or  that  can  be  made  to  present 
the  most  pleasing  prospects  ;  and  «o  on.  Kegard  should  also 
be  had  to  placing  the  roads  so  that  they  will  injure  the  finest 
prospects  either  not  at  all,  or  as  little  as  possible.  It  is  only 
by  painstaking  in  these  ways  that  the  resources  of  scenery 
can  be  economized  and  the  pur})ose  of  the  reservation  suc- 
cessfully fulfilled. 

We  need  hardly  add  that,  since  cross  connections  and  con- 
nections with  the  boundary  roads  will  certainly  be  required, 
they  ought  to  be  considered  and  planned  at  one  and  the  same 
time  ;  otherwise  the  lines  and  grades  at  junctions  will  surely 
be  either  awkward  and  inconvenient,  or  else  uneconomical. 

Holding  these  views  as  we  do,  we  respectfully  ask  to  be 
either  connnissioned  to  prepare  a  general  plan,  or  else  defi- 
nitely excused  from  responsibility  in  the  premises. 

[From  Garden  and  Forest  of  August  26, 1896^ 
THE  NECESSITY   OF  PLANNING. 

The  daily  work  of  the  architect  and  the  landscape  archi- 
tect is  popularly  supposed  to  consist  in  ornamenting  lands 
and  buildings  so  as  to  make  them  appear  beautiful.  Rooms 
may  be  inconveniently  and  awkwardly  shaped,  but  they  can 
be  "  beautified  "  by  rich  furniture  and  upholstery.  Whole 
buildings  may  be  irrationally  planned,  but  they  may  still 
be  made  "artistic"  by  means  of  mouldings,  carvings,  and 
mosaic.  House  grounds  and  college  grounds,  private  gar- 
dens and  public  parks,  may  be  senselessly,  as  well  as  ineffec- 
tively, arranged,  but  they  may  still  be  glorified  by  yellow  and 
purple  leafage.  In  short,  "  The  world  is  still  deceived  with 
ornament." 

On  the  other  hand,  although  all  seekers  for  the  truth  con- 
cerning beauty  have  discerned  elements  which  defy  analysis, 
such  special  students  have  nevertheless  deduced  from  the 
visible  and  historical  facts  a  whole  series  of  fixed  principles, 
which  are  quite  as  surely  established  as  any  of  the  other  so- 
called  laws  of  nature.  Among  these,  perhaps,  the  most  impor- 
tant is  this,  that,  "  in  all  the  arts  which  serve  the  use,  con- 
venience, or  comfort  of  man,  from  gardening  and  building 
down  to  the  designing  of  the  humblest  utensil  which  it  is 


662  GENERAL  PLANS.    1894-97  [1896 

desired  to  make  beautiful,  utility  and  fitness  for  intended 
purpose  must  be  first  considered."  It  is  to  be  remembered 
that  this  is  not  theory  but  law.  As  a  matter  of  fact  and 
experience,  satisfying  beauty  is  not  won  unless  the  law  of 
nature  is  obeyed. 

^That  faithful  and  well-reasoned  planning  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  purpose  is  necessary  to  the  success  of  the  work  of 
architects  of  buildings  is  now  generally  understood.  "  A 
plan  "  is  a  skilful  combination  of  convenience  with  effective- 
ness of  arrangement.  "  A  design  "  is  made  up  of  plan,  con- 
struction, and  outward  ajjpearance,  and  by  no  means  consists 
of  the  latter  only.  Indeed,  the  external  aspect  of  a  structure 
depends  directly  on  the  mode  of  construction,  tlie  construction 
depends,  in  turn,  on  the  plan,  and  the  plan  on  the  purpose  in 
view,  with  the  result  that  the  whole  appearance  of  the  build- 
ing inevitably  and  naturally  expresses  this  purpose. 

If  it  be  true  that  expression,  character,  and  even  beauty 
are  thus  most  surely  won,  in  the  case  of  buildings,  by  keep- 
ing decoration  subsidiary,  and  designing  with  a  purpose  in 
view  from  the  start,  it  is  equally  true  of  all  the  wide  field  of 
architecture,  using  the  word  in  its  broadest  imaginable  sense. 
"Architecture,  a  great  subject,  truly,"  says  William  Morris, 
"  for  it  embraces  the  consideration  of  the  whole  of  the  exter- 
nal surroundings  of  the  life  of  man ;  we  cannot  escape  from 
it  if  we  would,  for  it  means  the  moulding  and  altering  to 
human  needs  of  the  very  face  of  the  earth  itself."  A  bushy 
pasture,  or  a  smooth  green  field,  in  forest-clad  New  England  is 
as  truly  a  product  of  human  handiwork  as  a  green  meadow 
in  treeless  and  dusty  Utah ;  yet  each  is  beautiful,  and  neither 
owes  a  particle  of  its  beauty  to  decoration.  The  English 
deer-park  with  its  broad-spreading  trees,  or  the  church-yard 
with  its  ancient  stones  and  Yews,  the  typical  Yankee  farm 
with  its  low  buildings  and  great  Elms,  or  the  live  Oaks  and 
quaint  structures  of  the  plantations  of  Louisiana,  these  and  all 
similarly  interesting  landscapes  are  interesting,  not  because 
they  have  been  decorated,  but  because  they  are  strongly  char- 
acterized and  highly  expressive.  Their  moving  beauty  is  the 
natural  product  of  straightforward  work  for  tlie  adaptation 
of  land  and  landscape  to  human  needs  and  uses. 


-ET.  36]       MOULDING  THE   FACE  OF  THE  EARTH  6G3 

Believing  these  things,  it  will  be  impossible  for  us,  when  a 
tract  of  land  is  newly  dedicated  to  some  special  purpose,  be 
it  that  of  a  suburban  lot,  a  railroad  station  yard,  a  new  vil- 
lage, a  country-seat,  or  a  public  park,  to  stand  by  and  see  it 
thoughtlessly  laid  out  and  then,  perhaps,  turned  over  to  the 
decorators.  »^We  shall  insist  on  premeditation  and  careful 
fundamental  planning,  knowing  that  therein  lies  the  best,  if 
not  the  only,  hope  of  happy  results.  Once  possessed  of  faith 
in  that  law  of  nature  in  accordance  with  which  beauty  springs 
from  fitness,  we  shall  be  ready  to  agree  that,  when  purpose 
is  served,  formal  gardens,  rectilinear  avenues,  and  courts  of 
honor  are  not  only  permitted,  but  commanded.  "  On  the  other 
hand,  we  shall  be  equally  strenuous  in  demanding  studied 
planning,  and  adaptation  to  environment  and  purpose,  in  the 
laying  out  of  whatever  work  may  need  to  be  done  to  make 
the  wildest  place  of  private  or  public  resort  accessible  and 
enjoyable.  Positive  injury  to  the  landscape  of  such  places 
can  be  avoided  only  by  painstaking,  while  the  available  re- 
sources of  scenery  can  be  economized  only  by  careful  devis- 
ing. So  with  the  whole  range  of  problems  which  lie  between 
these  extremes.  No  work  of  man  is  ever  successfully  accom- 
plished without  taking  thought  beforehand ;  in  other  words, 
without  planning. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear,  opposition  to  such  planning 
for  effective  results  will  not,  in  practice,  be  found  to  come 
from  those  who  attempt  decoration  only  because  they  know  not 
how  else  to  attain  to  the  beautiful.  Just  as  the  literary  class 
in  China  ruinously  opposes  change  of  any  kind,  so  there  is 
with  us  a  comparatively  small,  but  influential,  body  of  refined 
persons,  far  too  well  educated  to  be  "  deceived  by  ornament," 
who  most  unfortunately,  though  unintentionally,  assist  in  the 
triumphs  of  ugliness  by  blindly  opposing  all  attempts  to  adapt 
land  and  landscape  to  changed  or  new  requirements.  Enjoy- 
ing the  pleasanter  scenery  of  their  surroundings  as  it  exists, 

—  certain  shady  roads,  or  some  lingering  fields  or  farm  lands, 

—  these  estimable  people  talk  of  "  letting  Nature  alone  "  or 
"  keeping  Nature  natural,"  as  if  such  a  thing  were  possible  in 
a  world  which  was  made  for  man.  No,  the  "  moulding  and 
altering  "  of  the  earth  goes  forward  of  necessity,  and  if  those 


664  GENERAL  PLANS.     1894-97  [1897 

who  ought  to  be  leaders  will  not  help  to  guide  the  work 
aright,  the  work  will  surely  be  done  badly ;  as  it  is,  in  fact, 
done  badly  in  the  neighborhood  of  all  our  great  towns.  To 
refuse  to  exercise  foresight,  and  to  adapt  to  purpose  in  due 
season,  is  simply  to  court  disaster.  Instead  of  hanging  back, 
it  ought  to  be  the  pride  and  pleasure  of  these  very  people  to 
see  to  it  that  proper  plans  are  seasonably  laid  fcr  the  widen- 
ing of  roads  so  that  fine  trees  shall  not  be  sacrificed,  to  see 
to  it  that  electric-car  tracks  shall  be  placed  only  in  suitably 
selected  and  specially  arranged  streets,  that  public  reserva- 
tions of  one  type  or  another  shall  be  provided  in  accordance 
with  some  consistent  general  scheme,  and  that  such  reserva- 
tions shall  be  saved  from  both  decorative  and  haphazard 
development  by  the  early  adoption  of  rational  and  compre- 
hensive plans.  There  is  needed  a  little  less  selfish  content- 
ment in  the  doomed  landscape  of  the  present,  a  sharper  sense 
of  responsibility  to  the  future,  and  a  living  faith  in  that  law 
of  God,  in  obedience  to  which  everything  which  is  well 
adapted  to  use  and  purpose  is  sure  to  be  interesting  and 
expressive,  and  if  not  beautiful,  at  least  on  the  way  to  be. 

Jau.  27,  1897. 
TREES   IN   PUBLIC   PARKS. 
To  THE  Editor  of  Garden  and  Forest. 

It  is  with  sorrow  that  I  am  obliged  to  confess  that  I  never 
read  your  editorial  of  December  23,  1896,  until  January  2, 
1897,  —  but  perhaps  it  is  even  now  not  too  late  to  express 
appreciation  of  your  vigorous  words  respecting  the  all  too 
prevalent  feeling  that  nothing  can  justify  the  felling  of  a 
tree.  Unless  this  superstition  can  be  put  to  rout,  we  may  as 
well  attempt  no  parks  or  reservations ;  for  if  the  axe  cannot 
be  kept  going.  Nature  will  soon  reduce  the  scenery  of  such 
domains  to  a  monotony  of  closely  crowded,  spindling  tree- 
trunks.  Among  men  versed  in  such  matters  there  is  no  ques- 
tion about  this.  Mr.  Olmsted  and  Mr.  J.  B.  Harrison  once 
compiled  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "  Observations  on  the  Treat- 
ment of  Public  Plantations,"  in  which  they  printed  some 
forty  quotations  from  the  writings  of  all  the  highest  author- 
ities from  Loudon  to  Douglass,  and  all  substantially  agree 


MT.  37]    THE  TREATMENT  OF  PUBLIC  PLANTATIONS    665 

with  you  in  saying  that  in  such  places  "  the  axe  should  never 
be  allowed  to  rest." 

But  how  shall  the  use  of  the  axe  be  guided?  This  is 
the  practical  question  for  park  commissioners  ;  and  it  seems 
to  me  that  your  editorial  gives  only  half  an  answer.  You 
recommend  the  employment  of  "  experts  in  the  care  of  orna- 
mental trees,"  and  experts  must  indeed  be  engaged?  at  least 
as  teachers  of  technical  methods.  But  how  shall  the  experts 
themselves  be  guided  ?  Shall  they  be  permitted  to  reduce 
the  groves  and  woods  of  our  public  domains  to  collections  of 
specimen  trees,  or  to  the  monotony  of  the  German  forests,  as, 
by  the  way,  they  surely  will  do  if  they  are  not  controlled  ? 
In  the  landscape  of  a  park  your  arboriculturist,  with  his  zeal 
for  "good"  or  "ornamental"  trees,  is  almost  as  dangerous 
a  person  as  your  horticulturist,  with  his  passion  for  curious, 
decorative,  or  novel  plants.  A  good  park  plan  is  funda- 
mentally a  scheme  for  the  creation  of  more  and  more  pleasing 
scenery  through  modifications  to  be  made  in  the  preexist- 
ent  vegetation,  by  clearings,  thinnings,  plantings,  and  the 
like,  and  only  secondarily  a  scheme  for  making  the  resulting 
scenery  agreeably  accessible  by  roads  and  walks.  Engineers 
who  direct  the  building  of  park  roads  are  expected  to  con- 
form their  work  to  the  requirements  of  the  adopted  general 
plan.  Woodmen,  foresters,  and  planters  should  be  similarly 
controlled  by  the  requirements  of  the  same  plan,  —  but  you 
do  not  say  so. 

Permit  me  to  add  that  your  incidental  remarks  about  the 
Boston  parks  (with  which  I  am  familiar)  strike  rae  as  exag- 
gerated. It  is  true,  indeed,  that  road  construction  has  pro- 
ceeded more  rapidly  than  planting  and  woodmen's  work,  and 
that  some  of  the  older  plantations  are  suffering  for  lack  of 
thinning.  On  the  other  hand,  none  of  the  wooded  or  planted 
areas  of  the  Boston  parks  are  yet  in  the  deplorable  condition 
of  the  border  plantations  of  Brooklyn's  Prospect  Park,  which 
you  mention  ;  nor  are  they  likely  to  reach  that  condition  yet 
awhile.  The  Boston  Park  Commission,  influenced  largely 
by  a  recent  mayor,  has  simply  chosen  to  spend  its  money 
in  building  roads  rather  than  in  tree-cutting,  pruning,  and 
planting;  but  it  has  not  been  forgotten  that  woodmen's  and 


666  GENERAL  PLANS.    1894-97  [1897 

planters'  work  Is  at  least  as  essential  to  the  realization  of  the 
general  plans  as  the  work  of  the  engineer,  and  there  is  good 
reason  to  suppose  that  this  work,  the  postponement  of  which 
has  as  yet  wrought  no  great  harm,  will  soon  be  entered  on 
with  vigor. 

January  22,  1897. 
Mv  dearT  Mr.  Sargent,  — 

I  am  sending  you  the  new  "  metropolitan  "  park  report  by 
this  mail,  and  I  beg  leave  to  ask  your  attention  to  the  argu- 
ment concerning  "  general  plans,"  which  begins  In  the  middle 
of  page  39  and  ends  on  page  41.  It  is  the  same  argument 
which  "  Garden  and  Forest "  has  presented  over  and  over 
again ;  and  that  you  should  take  ground  in  opposition  has 
naturally  surprised  me. 

The  Metropolitan  Commission  has  followed  designed  lines 
in  all  that  it  has  done  up  to  this  time,  —  in  selecting  the  sites 
of  the  reservations  and  parkways  (see  the  circular  diagram 
and  the  accompanying  text),  In  making  choice  of  the  exact 
boundaries,  and  so  on ;  but  now  that  their  work  Is  narrowed 
to  the  interiors  of  the  lands  acquired,  the  Commission  aban- 
dons all  attempt  to  secure  comprehensive  results,  and  pro- 
ceeds to  open  miles  of  roads  on  the  lines  of  the  old  paths, 
and  to  make  clearings,  and  then  open  groves,  as  I  mentioned 
this  morning,  without  a  thought  for  design,  or  for  any  com- 
prehensive results.  You  know  for  a  certainty  that  the  full 
scenic  value  of  the  reservations  (or  anything  approaching  it) 
can  never  be  won  by  such  methods.  Such  methods,  if  con- 
tinued In,  will  simply  make  it  impossible  for  the  community 
to  ever  get  what  they  ought  to  get  out  of  the  reservations. 
If  any  public  Board  other  than  a  park  board  followed  such 
irresponsible,  hap-hazard,  and  plan-less  methods,  —  say,  the 
trustees  of  a  church-building  fund,  or  a  sewer  commission,  — 
you  would  agree  that  they  would  be  blameworthy.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  they  would,  I  suppose,  be  indicted ! 
Yours  sincerely, 

Charles  Eliot. 

By  1902  the  Commission  had  ordered  from  their  landscape 
architects  general  plans  for  the  Blue  Hills,  Middlesex  Fells, 
Stony  Brook,  and  Beaver  Brook  Reservations,  successive  votes 


iET.  37]  WIDENING  A  MAKESHIFT  ROAD  667 

having  been  passed  at  various  times  which  ultimately  covered 
the  whole  of  these  reservations. 

The  following  letter  illustrates  the  diiSiculties  which  arose 
from  the  use  of  the  unplanned,  smoothed  wood-roads :  — 

March  12,  1897. 

Superintendent  Price  told  me  yesterday  of  the  great  dif- 
ficulty which  the  people  who  use  the  Fellsway  experience 
in  traversing  the  Hemlock  Pool  road.  This,  of  course,  is  a 
good  specimen  of  the  kind  of  difficulty  which  always  arises 
when  temporary  or  makeshift  roads  are  opened.  The  road  in 
question  ought  not  —  so  it  seems  to  me  —  to  be  widened, 
with  the  necessaril}'^  considerable  expense  for  cutting  and 
filling ;  at  least,  not  until  some  one  can,  after  thorough  study, 
make  sure  that  the  road  is  in  the  best  possible  location.  I 
have  no  idea  that  it  is  in  the  best  possible  location  at  every 
point.  It  certainly  does  not  exhibit  the  scenery  of  that  part 
of  the  Fells  through  which  it  runs  as  effectively  as  it  might 
be  exhibited.  Accordingly,  I  told  the  Superintendent  that 
the  only  thing  I  could  recommend  him  to  do  to  relieve  the 
present  difficulty  was  to  fell  such  trees  as  stand  immediately 
adjacent  to  the  present  narrow  roadway,  —  such  trees  as  look 
as  if  the  hubs  of  wheels  might  easily  strike  them.  The  road 
will  look  much  wider  if  all  these  trees  are  removed,  and  it 
will  also  be  possible  to  turn  out  at  many  places  in  case  of 
need.  There  are  so  many  other  trees  in  the  rear  of  those  I 
am  speaking  of,  that  I  see  no  harm  in  relieving  the  situation 
by  the  means  suggested. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

REVERE   BEACH.     1896 

Society  everywhere  is  in  conspiracy  against  the  manhood  of  every, 
one  of  its  members.  The  virtue  in  most  request  is  conformity.  It 
loves  not  realities  and  creators,  but  names  and  customs.  Whoso  would 
be  a  man  must  be  a  non-conformist.  —  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 

The  first  letter  from  the  landscape  architects  to  the  Metro- 
politan Park  Commission  about  Revere  Beach  (December 
15,  1893)  is  printed  in  the  previous  chapter  on  General 
Principles  in  selecting  Public  Reservations,  p.  435.  It  de- 
scribes the  minimum  public  investment  on  a  sea-beach ;  and 
also  a  more  liberal  and  advantageous  plan.  At  the  end  of 
1894,  the  plans  for  Revere  Beach  contemplated  the  removal 
of  the  railroad  from  the  top  of  the  beach,  and  the  construc- 
tion of  a  sidewalk,  driveway,  and  promenade  the  length  of 
the  beach,  and  on  its  long,  sweeping  curve.  In  their  report 
dated  January,  1895,  the  Commission  say  that  although  the 
legislature  of  1894  had  placed  i500,000  at  their  disposal  for 
acquiring  Revere  Beach,  they  had  not  seen  their  way  to  take 
any  active  measures  to  that  end.  Study  of  the  problem  had 
convinced  them  that  -f  1,000,000  would  be  needed  to  complete 
the  undertaking  in  a  satisfactory  manner.  Thereupon,  the 
legislature  of  1895  appropriated  1500,000  more  for  Revere 
Beach.  Before  the  end  of  that  year  the  beach  had  been 
"  taken "  by  the  Commission  for  a  distance  of  three  miles, 
and  the  settlement  with  owners  had  been  well  begun.  Infor- 
mation to  this  effect  having  reached  the  public,  multitudes 
began  to  resort  to  the  beach  as  soon  as  warm  weather  set  in  ; 
although  the  Commission  had  not  even  decided  on  the  con- 
structions which  would  be  desirable  for  the  security  and  con- 
venience of  the  public.  On  July  12th  —  a  warm  Sunday  — 
45,000  people  visited  the  beach ;  and  the  spectacle  gave  the 
Commissioners  and  all  their  agents  a  strong  impression  that 
constructions  on  a  large  scale  were  imperatively  needed. 
Charles  was  directed  to  prepare  designs  for  the  best  use  of 
the  reservation  by  the  public  ;  but  this  best  use  had  to  be 
imagined  or  prophesied,  since  the  situation  was  both  novel 
and  intricate.     From  the  middle  of  July  till  the  end  of  De- 


^T.  36]  PRIMARY  QUESTIONS  ABOUT  REVERE  BEACH    G69 

cember,  Charles  gave  a  large  portion  of  his  time  to  the  pro- 
blem of  the  beach.  His  views  of  what  was  most  desirable 
underwent  some  changes  and  enlargements ;  and  he  was 
obliged  to  study  undesirable  alternatives  and  arrangements 
obviously  not  the  best  possible,  because  the  resources  of  the 
Commission  were  limited,  and  the  best  might  not  be  attain- 
able. To  make  provision  for  orderly  sea-bathing  was  impera- 
tive ;  yet  the  buildings  for  bathers  threatened  to  impair  very 
seriously  the  chief  beauty  of  the  reservation,  namely,  the  long, 
unbroken  sweep  of  the  curving  beach. 

The  ultimate  plans  adojited  by  the  Commission  —  the  exe- 
cution of  which  is  as  yet  (1902)  only  partial  —  illustrate 
Charles's  foresight  and  faculty  for  imagining  future  condi- 
tions and  needs,  and  also  his  gift  of  persuasive  exposition. 
When  he  first  broached  some  of  his  ideas,  they  were  not  re- 
ceived very  sympathetically  by  the  members  of  the  Commis- 
sion. Thus,  on  August  26th,  Charles  made  the  following 
concise  entry  in  his  pocket  diary  concerning  a  meeting  of  the 
Commission  :  "  Discussion  of  Revere  Beach  problems.  Sug- 
gested putting  dressing-rooms  back  of  driveway.  Met  with 
Howls  !  Talked  of  traffic  road  east  of  Revere  Street  as  con- 
tinuation of  Ocean  Avenue.  More  Howls  !  "  These  initial 
differences  of  view,  however,  did  not  prevent  a  patient  discus- 
sion of  the  subject,  and  only  made  the  policy  adopted  more 
assuredly  wise. 

The  first  of  the  letters  which  constitute  this  chapter  men- 
tions in  the  opening  sentence  the  abandonment  of  the  large 
hotel  property  at  the  Point  of  Pines,  a  costly  property,  which 
the  Commission,  much  to  its  regret,  could  not  pay  for ;  and 
proceeds  to  discuss  the  proper  lay-out  for  the  remaining  reser- 
vation. Two  fifths  of  the  entire  length  of  the  beach  lies  east 
and  south  of  Revere  Street.  The  questions  of  roadway  or 
no  roadway,  of  the  minimum  elevation  of  the  promenade, 
of  the  avoidance  of  sea-walls,  and  of  the  position  of  the  traffic 
road  behind  the  reservation  were  all  fundamental.  The  other 
letters  deal  mainly  with  the  disposition  of  the  various  build- 
ings and  shelters  which  seemed  necessary.  It  was  in  regard 
to  these  arrangements  that  Charles's  ideas  underwent  a  de- 
cided evolution  in  the  course  of  the  five  months  of  study  and 
discussion.  The  letters  of  this  chapter  were  all  addressed  to 
the  chairman  of  the  Commission. 

August  19,  1896. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Commission  held  August  12,  1896^ 
we  submitted  a  plan  for  abandoning  the  sea  front  of  the  Point 


670  REVERE  BEACH  [1896 

of  Pines  hotel  property,  and  acquiring  a  strip  for  a  parkway 
which  should  lead  in  the  rear  of  the  hotels  towards  Lynn. 

To-day  we  submit  the  same  plan  slightly  modified,  as 
directed  by  the  Commission,  together  with  a  plan  for  the 
development  of  the  reservation  between  the  Point  of  Pines 
and  Revere  Street.  This  plan,  in  common  with  that  for  the 
remainder  of  the  reservation  south  of  Revere  Street,  is  based 
on  the  following  reasoning,  which  we  ask  leave  to  place  on 
file. 

Most  of  the  people  who  resort  to  the  reservation  naturally 
desire  to  walk  on  the  beach  itself ;  but  at  high  water  they 
are  driven  back  upon  the  dry  shingle,  where  walking  is  diffi- 
cult. A  paved  promenade  at  the  top  of  the  beach  seems, 
therefore,  necessary. 

Those  who  resort  to  the  reservation  in  carriages  have  been 
accustomed  to  drive  up  and  down  the  beach ;  but  when  the 
place  is  at  all  crowded,  this  practice  is  dangerous,  and  we 
presume  it  will  be  forbidden.  If  it  is  desired  to  give  people 
a  view  of  the  sea  from  carriages  and  cycles,  a  roadway  adja- 
cent to  the  promenade  will  be  required. 

The  private  lands  adjacent  to  the  reservation  are  presum- 
ably destined  to  be  occupied  by  hotels,  restaurants,  shops, 
apartment  houses,  and  private  dwellings  (though  we  hope  it 
may  be  possible  to  impose  some  restrictions)  ;  and  since  large 
numbers  of  people  will  often  want  to  resort  to  these  build- 
ings, a  broad  sidewalk  seems  necessary. 

It  is,  in  many  respects,  inconvenient  to  insert  a  carriage 
road  between  this  sidewalk  and  the  beach  promenade.  If  the 
whole  available  space  were  to  be  devoted  to  the  use  of  persona 
on  foot,  it  would  not  be  more  than  sufficient  to  accommodate 
such  crowds  as  may  be  expected  in  the  future.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  believe  a  carriage  road  will  not  work  any  very  great 
inconvenience  for  some  years  to  come,  and  we  have,  accord- 
ingly, placed  a  driveway  on  the  submitted  plan. 

It  appears  from  the  topographical  survey  that  the  elevation 
of  the  top  of  the  beach  varies  from  grade  15  to  grade  20,  the 
elevation  of  mean  high  water  being  grade  10.  Extreme  high 
water  rises  to  grade  14,  and  in  this  exposed  situation  some 
allowance  must  be  made  for  great  waves.     For  the  sake  of 


h-^-^ff'^S!^ 


^T.  36]      AVOIDING  BULKHEADS   AND   SEA-WALLS         671 

the  adjacent  piivate  lands,  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  economy 
in  filling-material,  it  is,  on  the  other  hand,  desirable  to  keep 
the  elevation  of  the  new  walks  and  roadway  as  low  as  pos- 
sible. The  usual  minimum  elevation  of  streets  and  sea-walls 
adjacent  to  tidal  waters  about  Boston  is  grade  16.  In  this 
case,  we  can,  however,  recommend  no  grade  short  of  18,  and 
even  then  it  is  probable  that  the  waves  during  great  storms 
may  reach  the  roadway. 

It  is  desired,  for  convenience  and  economy  as  well  as  ap- 
pearance, to  avoid  the  building  of  bulkheads  or  sea-walls. 
The  new  line  of  grade  18  must,  then,  be  kept  far  enough 
back  from  the  line  of  mean  high  water  at  grade  10  to  permit 
of  waves  running  up  the  beach  and  wasting  their  strength 
before  reaching  the  promenade.  To  secure  this  result,  so  far 
as  is  possible  in  the  circumstances,  the  promenade  ought 
to  be  kept  some  70  feet  back  from  the  line  of  high  water. 
For  the  promenade  itself,  the  plan  suggests  a  width  of  25 
feet,  for  the  roadway  40  feet,  and  for  the  sidewalk  20  feet, 
making  a  total  of  155  feet  required  between  the  curve  of 
the  high-water  line  and  the  curve  of  the  taking  line.  This 
breadth  is  already  in  the  possession  of  the  Commission, 
throughout  the  length  of  the  beach,  excepting  at  the  one 
place  above  mentioned,  where  it  cannot  be  obtained  without 
acquiring  additional  land,  and  diminishing  the  already  shal- 
low depth  of  the  private  lots  between  the  taking  line  and  the 
new  location  of  the  Boston,  Rpvere  Beach  &  Lynn  Railroad. 
South  of  Revere  Sti-eet  there  is  generally  but  little  space  to 
spare ;  in  other  words,  if  a  wider  sidewalk,  road,  or  prome- 
nade were  demanded,  it  could  be  obtained  only  by  building  a 
sea-wall.  For  some  distance  north  of  Revere  Street,  rather 
more  than  the  necessary  breadth  is  owned  by  the  Commis- 
sion, because  of  the  acquisition  of  the  location  of  Ocean 
Avenue.  Here  we  recommend  that  the  regular  curve  of  the 
road  and  sidewalk  be  continued,  regardless  of  the  lines  of 
Ocean  Avenue,  and  that  such  land  as  is  not  required  be  here- 
after disposed  of,  or  else  utilized  as  part  of  a  traffic  road  and 
electric  car  reservation,  to  be  laid  out  parallel  with  th*e  plea- 
sure driveway,  for  the  sake  of  permitting  traffic  between 
Kevere,  Chelsea,  and   Lynn  to  pass  along  the  reservation 


672  REVERE  BEACH  [1896 

without  entering  it.  Ocean  Avenue  north  of  Revere  Street 
is  practically  discontinued  for  traffic  purposes  by  the  laying 
out  of  the  reservation.  A  certain  amount  of  wagon  and  elec- 
tric car  traffic  will,  in  the  future,  desire  to  pass  to  and  fro 
between  Chelsea,  Revere,  and  Lynn;  and  we  fear  it  will  force 
itself  upon  the  reservation  and  the  pleasure  drive  (where 
there  is  not  room  for  it)  unless  a  separate  way  is  provided 
now,  while  the  land  is  cheap.  We  have,  accordingly,  indi- 
cated on  the  accompanying  plan  a  traffic  way,  placed  adjacent 
to  the  pleasure  road  of  the  reservation,  and  subdivided  as 
follows :  1st,  an  electric  car  reservation  30  feet  wide ;  2d,  a 
roadway  25  feet  wide ;  and,  3d,  a  sidewalk  adjacent  to  the 
private  land  15  feet  wide. 

At  Revere  Street  the  plan  suggests  the  acquisition  of  the 
estate  at  the  corner  of  Ocean  Avenue,  in  order  to  enable  Re- 
vere Street  to  be  divided,  so  as  to  lead  into  the  reservation  as 
easily  one  way  as  the  other,  and,  at  the  same  time,  provide  a 
street-car  terminus  between  the  branches.  Such  an  enlarge- 
ment at  this  point  will,  also,  enable  the  passengers  by  the 
steam  railroad  to  reach  the  reservation  more  comfortably. 

By  the  first  meeting  in  September  we  hope  to  be  able  to 
report  concerning  buildings  and  other  structures,  several  of 
which  are  evidently  called  for  in  this  reservation. 

September  9,  1896. 

On  August  19th  we  submitted  a  preliminary  plan  and  re- 
port descriptive  of  the  grades,  lines,  and  subdivisions  proposed 
for  the  roads  and  footways  of  Revere  Beach  Reservation. 
To-day  we  submit  a  jjreliminary  report  on  the  various  struc- 
tures which  will  be  required  sooner  or  later. 

For  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  great  body  of  vis- 
itors, a  few  level  terraces  and  roofed  pavilions  or  shelters  are 
much  needed.  It  is  obvious  that  those  should  be  placed  near 
the  railroad  stations  and  the  termini  of  the  electric  car  lines : 
in  other  words,  near  !6each  Street  and  near  Revere  Street. 

Unfortunately,  the  available  space  between  the  proposed 
driveway  and  the  sea  is  no  more  than  sufficient  for  the  run- 
ning up  of  storm  waves  (see  letter  of  August  19th),  and  the 
suggested  platforms  must,  therefore,  be  constructed  either  on 


^T.  36]  TERRACES  — SEA-BATHING  673 

piling  or  on  filling  held  in  place  by  massive  sea-walls.  Piling 
is  objectionably  ugly,  and  it  is  hardly  a  safe  mode  of  con- 
struction in  so  exposed  a  situation.  Pile  wharves,  or  even 
sea-walls,  extending  any  considerable  distance  seaward  from 
the  top  of  the  beach,  would  also  greatly  mar  the  appearance 
of  the  beach  as  a  whole  and  as  seen  from  the  driveway,  de- 
pending as  this  does  on  the  grand  simplicity  of  the  long  and 
continuous  concave  curve.  Accordingly,  we  have  rejected 
entirely  the  idea  of  piling  and  the  idea  of  protruding  any  sea- 
walls further  than  sixty  feet  seaward  from  the  edge  of  the 
proposed  promenade.  If  the  desired  terraces  are  confined  to 
this  narrow  width,  they  must,  of  course,  be  made  long,  but 
rather  than  make  them  excessively  so,  a  second  floor  or  upper 
deck  may  eventually  be  superposed.  In  addition  to  the  two 
large  terraces  at  Beach  Street  and  Revere  Street,  smaller 
structures  of  the  same  kind  should  eventually  be  built  adja- 
cent to  the  two  circles  at  the  extreme  ends  of  the  reservation. 
Facilities  for  orderly  sea-bathing  are  also  urgently  needed. 
At  least  one  thousand  dressing-rooms  should  apparently  be 
provided  at  once,  and  another  thousand  will  be  needed  before 
many  years.  One  dressing-room  occupies  from  twenty  to 
thirty  square  feet,  and  a  thousand  of  them  would  extend  four 
thousand  feet  along  the  beach.  Arranged  in  this  primitive 
way,  there  would  be  no  suitable  means  of  controlling  their 
use.  If,  however,  a  more  compact  arrangement  is  attempted, 
a  piled  or  sea-walled  foundation  becomes  necessary,  precisely 
as  in  the  case  of  the  terraces.  An  accompanying  diagram 
represents  the  block  plan  of  a  terrace  combined  with  a  bath- 
ing establishmont.  The  latter  is  shown  occupying  the  Strath- 
more  site,  and  the  terraces  extend  north  and  south  thei-eof. 
The  terraces  are  merely  enlargements  of  the  beach  prome- 
nades, and  until  provided  with  upper  decks,  they  may,  like 
the  promenades,  be  planted  with  one  or  two  rows  of  poplars, 
and  provided  with  numerous  seats.  The  bathing  establish- 
ment is  designed  to  be  entered  half-way  between  the  ends  of 
Beach  Street  and  Shirley  Avenue,  and  if  this  plan  is  adopted, 
it  will  be  advisable  to  secure  a  broad  passageway  leading 
through  the  middle  of  the  block  to  Ocean  Avenue  and  the 
railroad  station.    Upon  entering  the  building,  men  and  women 


674  REVERE  BEACH  [1896 

will  pass  the  office  through  turnstiles  to  the  right  and  left 
respectively,  and  after  bathing  they  will  go  out  at  the  same 
place.  There  should  be  only  one  way  for  men  in  bathing- 
suits  to  go  and  come  from  the  beach  and  one  for  women,  and 
both  should  be  watched  to  prevent  the  passage  of  persons 
not  in  bathing  costume.  By  building  two  floors  of  dressing- 
rooms,  and  carrying  the  second  floor  over  the  promenade 
(thus  arcading  the  latter),  about  850  dressing-rooms  can  be 
obtained  in  the  space  bounded  by  the  ends  of  Beach  Street 
and  Shirley  Avenue,  and  by  a  sea-wall  built  sixty  feet  from 
the  promenade.  A  larger  number  cannot  be  obtained  here 
without  sacrifice  of  light,  or  air,  or  both.  As  sketched,  every 
dressing-room  will  open  upon  a  roofless  alley.  To  avoid  the 
objectionable  arcading  of  the  promenade,  the  rooms  so  secured 
may  be  arranged  on  a  third  tier  or  floor  without  appreciable 
sacrifice  of  light  or  air ;  and,  in  any  case,  the  proposed  upper 
decks  of  the  terraces  may  be  joined  by  a  gallery  twenty  feet 
wide,  built  above  the  water-side  dressing-rooms,  where  the 
best  view  of  the  bathing  will  be  had. 

Another  diagram  presents  an  alternative  scheme  for  taking 
the  bathing  establishment  out  from  between  the  two  terraces 
already  described  and  placing  it  directly  behind  one  unified 
terrace  and  on  the  land  side  of  the  beach  driveway.  In  this 
case  all  the  dressing-rooms  would  be  over  a  hundred  feet 
farther  from  the  water,  and  bathers  would  have  to  cross  the 
driveway  by  fenced  bridges  ;  nevertheless,  this  scheme  pre- 
sents advantages  which  make  it  well  worthy  of  consideration. 
At  the  cost  of  additional  land  this  plan  would  save  the  cost 
of  the  sea-walls  and  filling  required  for  the  bathing  establish- 
ment already  described,  and,  what  is  more  important,  it  would 
better  preserve  the  continuity  of  the  beach,  and  the  view  from 
the  drive  and  the  adjacent  private  buildings.  This  alterna- 
tive diagram  places  the  bathing  establishment  just  south  of 
Shirley  Avenue  and  between  the  beach  road  and  Ocean  Ave- 
nue. As  the  bridges  over  the  driveway  must  be  fifteen  feet 
above  grade,  the  dressing-rooms  may  as  well  be  elevated  also. 
In  the  centre  of  the  ground  floor  may  then  be  placed  the 
office,  the  entrances  and  exits  of  the  bathing  establishment, 
and  the  necessary  checking-stands  and  lavatories,  for  which 


;ET.  36]  THE  ALTERNATIVE  SCHEMES  675 

it  is  hard  to  find  room  on  the  ocean  side  of  the  driveway.  The 
remainder  of  the  ground  floor,  it  is  proposed,  should  be  used 
for  the  termini  of  electric  car  lines,  where  the  arriving  and 
departing  crowds  can  be  suitably  controlled  by  fences  built 
on  spacious  platforms.  At  present  the  crowding  about  the 
cars  in  the  narrow  streets  is  so  unpleasant  and  so  dangerous 
as  to  keep  many  people  from  attempting  to  go  to  the  beach 
at  all.  The  alternative  scheme  herewith  submitted  would 
correct  this  evil  in  addition  to  providing  a  terrace  and  a  bath- 
ing establishment. 

The  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the  two  schemes  may 
be  summarized  as  follows  :  — 

Scheme  A. 

A  dvantages.  Disadvantages. 

Site  already  secured.  Site  very  narrow  and  somewhat 

Dressing-rooms  brought  as  near         dangerously  exposed  to  storm 

as  possible  to  the  water.  waves. 

Terrace  divided. 

Beach,  as  a  whole,  marred  in  ap- 
pearance. 
Beach-drive  and  adjacent  build- 
ings cut  off  from  view  of  the 
sea. 

Scheme  B. 
Advantages.  Disadvantages. 

Beach  marred  by  terrace  only  and     Site    for   bathing    establishment 
this  terrace  in  one  block.  still  to  be  secured. 

View  from  beach-drfve  less  ob-     Dressing-rooms  removed  from  the 
structed.  water,  and  approachable  only 

Site  a  safe  one.  by  stairs. 

A  car-station  secured  in  addition 
to  terrace  and  bathing  estab- 
lishment. 

Whichever  of  these  alternative  schemes  is  adopted  for  the 
Shirley  Avenue  location,  it  should  be  duplicated  at  Revere 
Street,  so  that  the  great  crowds  of  summer  holidays  may  be 
divided. 

The  stacks  of  dressing-rooms  can  be  framed  of  iron  and 
carried  on  iron  beams.  The  surrounding  fences  can  be  topped 
with  flagpoles ;  and  there  is  no  reason  why  both  the  terraces 


676  REVERE  BEACH  [1896 

and  the  bathing  establishments,  when  fitted  with  the  neces- 
sary railings,  electric  light  poles,  and  flagstaffs,  should  not 
present  a  pleasingly  festive  appearance.  We  would  respect- 
fully suggest  the  employment  of  some  well-known  and  suc- 
cessful architect  to  act  cooperatively  with  us  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  detailed  designs. 

November  21,  189G. 

Permit  us  to  summarize  for  the  special  meeting  on  Monday 
the  evolution  of  our  schemes  for  the  bathing  pavilions  at 
Revere  Beach. 

Since  the  Strathmore  Hotel  was  burned,  its  site  has  been 
much  used  as  a  plaza.  The  scheme  which  first  and  naturally 
suggested  itself  was,  therefore,  to  construct  a  permanent  plaza 
or  terrace  at  this  point,  place  the  entrances  to  the  bathing 
pavilions  at  the  ends  of  this  plaza,  and  stretch  the  dressing- 
rooms  beyond  the  offices  to  the  north  and  south.  This  scheme 
was  submitted  as  No.  28  in  our  office  series  of  Revere  Beach 
plans. 

Upon  reflection  it  was  found,  however,  that  this  obvious 
solution  of  the  problem  was  open  to  grave  objections.  (1) 
It  divided  the  administration  offices,  which,  for  economy's 
sake,  ought  to  be  concentrated.  (2)  It  placed  offices  and 
dressing-rooms  just  where  they  would  conceal  from  visitors 
arriving  at  the  plaza  the  long  sweep  of  the  open  beach,  which 
is  the  finest  thing  about  the  reservation,  (3)  It  placed  the 
necessarily  ugly  yards  of  dressing-rooms  where  they  would  be 
most  conspicuous  in  all  views  from  the  further  parts  of  the 
beach,  and  from  the  driveway  at  the  top  of  the  beach. 

To  correct  these  imperfections  of  the  first  scheme,  another 
plan  was  devised.  In  this  plan  the  administration  offices 
were  brought  together  in  the  middle,  the  yards  of  dressing- 
rooms  were  attached  on  either  hand,  and  terraces  for  the  use 
of  the  general  public  were  added  at  the  ends.  Thus  the 
administration  was  concentrated,  the  general  public  was  pro- 
vided with  good  view  points,  and  the  dressing-rooms  were 
concealed  behind  the  partly  double-decked  terraces. 

The  second  plan  was  a  great  improvement  on  the  first,  but 
again  we  found  it  subject  to  grave  fundamental  objections. 
What  was  it  that  the  metropolitan  district  sought  to  secure 


Bsr-- 


iET.  36]      MATURED   OPINION  OF  THE  EXPERTS  677 

when  it  purchased  this  costly  sea-coast  reservation  ?  It  was 
the  grand  and  refreshing  sight  of  the  natural  sea-beach,  with 
its  long,  simple  curve,  and  its  open  view  of  the  ocean.  No- 
thing in  the  world  presents  a  more  striking  contrast  to  the 
jumbled,  noisy  scenery  of  a  great  town  ;  and  this  being  the 
case,  it  seems  to  us  that  to  place  buildings  on  the  beach  is 
consciously  to  sacrifice  the  most  refreshing  characteristic  of  a 
sea-beach,  and  the  most  valuable  element  in  the  people's  pro- 
perty therein.  Accordingly,  a  third  plan  was  next  prepared, 
putting  the  bathers'  dressing-rooms  and  the  necessary  admin- 
istrative offices  on  the  landward  side  of  the  beach  roadway, 
where  they  will  be  off  the  beach  and  yet  within  sufficiently 
easy  reach  thereof.  For  the  bathers  this  plan  has  some  dis- 
advantages, but  the  general  public  consists  of  the  bathers 
plus  a  far  greater  number  of  other  persons,  and  this  third 
plan  is  the  only  plan  which  secures  for  the  general  public  a 
full,  continuous,  and  unshattered  view  of  the  beach  and  the 
sea. 

Charles  finally  concentrated  his  matured  opinions  into  the 
following  letter,  which  was  signed  by  the  Commission's  land- 
scape architects  and  engineer,  and  by  the  architects  who 
had  been  selected  to  design  the  buildings  for  this  reserva- 
tion :  — 

Bkookline,  Mass.,  December  3,  1896. 

The  undersigned,  having  studied  and  reported,  as  re- 
quested, certain  designs  for  plazas  and  bathing  establishments 
at  Revere  Beach,  beg  leave  to  place  on  file  their  unanimous 
opinion  that  it  is  undesirable  to  place  any  large  constructions 
seaward  of  the  proposed  promenade,  —  an  opinion  which  is 
based  on  the  following  reasons  among  others  :  — 

(1)  Construction  outward  from  the  promenade  flies  in  the 
face  of  nature,  which  demands  all  the  available  space  for 
the  harmless  running  up  of  storm  waves.  Retaining  and 
foundation  walls  built  seaward  will  receive  the  blows  of  the 
waves,  buildings  reared  upon  them  will  often  be  soused  with 
spray,  plazas  thus  constructed  will  be  drenched  when  the 
waves  are  high.  Structures  of  any  kind  in  such  a  position 
will  be  a  source  of  anxiety,  if  not  of  expense  for  repairs  and 
reinforcements. 


678  REVERE  BEACH  [1896 

(2)  Buildings  placed  between  the  promenade  and  the 
ocean  will  be  so  jammed  against  the  promenade,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  so  set  up  on  the  sea-wall,  on  the  other,  as  to  appear 
cramped  and  awkward  architecturally. 

(3)  Sea-walls,  plazas,  and  buildings  so  placed  will  un- 
avoidably appear  as  conspicuously  obtrusive  objects  in  all 
raking  or  alongshore  views,  both  from  the  drive  and  prome- 
nade, and  from  the  beach. 

(4)  A  plaza  will  inevitably  induce  the  congestion  of  crowds 
upon  it,  particularly  if  it  appears  to  be  cut  off  from  the 
promenades  by  bathing  establishments  placed  at  its  two  ends. 
A  continuous  promenade  without  any  plaza,  built  on  the 
natural  curve,  commanding  uninterrupted  views,  provided 
with  occasional  shelters,  and  marked  by  flagstaffs  and  lamp- 
posts, will,  on  the  other  hand,  lead  to  the  dispersion  of  the 
public,  while  it  will,  in  our  opinion,  make  the  reservation  a 
far  finer  possession  than  it  can  be  made  in  any  other  way. 

Respectfully  submitted  by 

Olmsted,  Olmsted  &  Eliot, 

Landscape  Architects. 
Stickney  &  Austin, 

Architects. 
Wm.  T.  Pierce, 

Engineer. 

On  the  24th  of  December,  Charles  had  the  satisfaction  of 
writing  in  his  diary  :  "  Board  adopted  new  scheme  for  house 
in  rear  of  driveway."  This  "  house  "  was  the  large  adminis- 
tration building  and  bath-house  with  tunnels  under  the  drive- 
way for  the  passage  of  bathers.  The  Commission  had  been 
gradually  convinced  that  the  curve  of  the  crest  of  the  beach 
should  not  be  interrupted  by  buildings  projecting  on  to  the 
beach  ;  and  they  finally  came  unanimously  to  Charles's  opin- 
ion on  this  vital  point. 

In  the  whole  course  of  Metropolitan  Park  business  no  event 
gave  Charles  more  satisfaction  than  this  ultimate  agreement 
to  preserve  the  crest  of  Revere  Beach  from  the  intrusion  of 
buildings ;  and,  it  may  be  added,  no  determination  of  the 
Commission  has  ever  been  more  promptly  or  more  completely 
justified.  In  writing  to  his  friend  and  coadjutor,  Mr.  Syl- 
vester Baxter,  on  January  23,  1897,  about  the  report  of  the 


^T.37]  A  UNIQUE  PUBLIC  PROVISION  679 

Metropolitan  Park  Commission  for  the  year  1896,  Charles 
said  of  the  landscape  architects'  discussion  of  the  problem 
of  Revere  Beach  in  that  report:  "This  is  a  difficult  and 
novel  question,  the  beach  being  the  first  that  I  know  of  to  be 
set  aside  and  governed  by  a  public  body  for  the  enjoyment 
of  the  common  people." 


CHAPTER   XXXVl 

REPORT  TO  THE  METROPOLITAN  PARK  COMMISSION  FOR 
1896 

Roads  and  walks  should  never  be  turned  from  their  obviously  direct 
course  without  a  sufficient  reason.  A  change  of  level  of  ground  sur- 
face, a  tree,  or  a  group  of  plants,  will  induce  and  seemingly  demand 
a  change  of  line.  .  .  .  When  roads  and  walks  are  carried  over  irregular 
surfaces,  the  natural  turnings  and  windings  necessary  to  follow  an  easy 
grade  and  keep  as  closely  to  the  original  surface  of  the  ground  as  pos- 
sible, will  usually  develop  pleasing  curves.  —  The  Gakden. 

PAET   I.       ACQUIRED    RESERVATIONS. 

The  Rock-hill  or  Forest  Reservations. 

.  .  .  (1)  The  eastern  and  western  boundaries  of  Stony 
Brook  Reservation  have  been  relocated  through  exceedingly 
rough  country  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  the  lines  and  grades 
and  the  work  of  constructing  the  boundary  roads  much  easier, 
though  still  difficult.  It  was  the  completion  of  the  topo- 
graphical map  which  enabled  this  needed  readjustment  to  be 
studied  and  accomplished  intelligently.  .  .  .  A  comprehensive 
scheme  for  guide-boards  for  the  preliminary  roads  of  the 
reservations  has  been  devised  and  submitted.  A  botanical 
list  of  the  plants  of  the  reservations,  edited  by  Mr.  Walter 
Deane  of  Cambridge  from  the  collections  of  many  cordially 
cooperating  botanists,  was  made  up  and  published  in  the 
spring.  It  will  interest  all  botanists  to  watch  for  the  possible 
return  of  many  long  since  evicted  plants.  The  wild  birds 
and  animals  of  the  reserved  and  protected  woodlands  have 
already  greatly  increased  in  number. 

A  preliminary  report  with  respect  to  such  work  as  might 
first  be  attempted  in  the  living  woods  of  the  reservations  was 
submitted  early  in  the  year,  but  no  active  work  has  yet  been 
ordered.  For  reasons  summarized  below  it  is  indeed  our 
opinion  that,  except  for  certain  rescuing  work,  it  will  be  wiser 


fiT.  37]      ECONOMY   PROHIBITS   PIECEMEAL   WORK         681 

to  leave  the  woods  alone,  rather  than  to  labor  in  them  without 
regard  to  carefully  considered  general  plans.  .  ,  . 

While  little  important  work  has  been  accomplished  in  the 
reservations  during  the  year,  the  gathering  of  information  on 
which  to  base  comprehensive  plans  for  guiding  work  in  the 
future  has  gone  on  steadily.  As  the  publication  in  1891  of  a 
general  topographical  map  of  the  whole  Boston  district  first 
made  possible  the  devising  of  a  comprehensive  scheme  for  a 
Metropolitan  Park  System,  so  the  completion  of  the  topo- 
graphical maps  of  the  separate  forest  reservations  has  now 
first  made  it  possible  to  study  intelligently  schemes  for  their 
gradual  development  as  treasuries  of  accessible  and  beautiful 
landscape.  The  contracting  surveyors,  Messrs.  French,  Bry- 
ant &  Taylor,  finished  the  maps  of  the  Fells  and  Blue  Hills 
Reservations  early  in  the  year ;  and  the  map  of  Stony  Brook 
Reservation  was  completed  by  the  Commission's  engineering 
department  a  few  months  later.  .  .  . 

By  means  of  sun-prints  from  the  full  scale  tracings  [of 
these  maps],  as  well  as  copies  of  the  lithograj^hed  maps,  the 
further  mapping  and  study  of  the  existing  condition  of  the 
woods  and  ground-cover  of  the  reservations  have  gone  forward, 
until  they  are  now  so  far  advanced  that  a  detailed  report 
on  the  present  state  of  the  woods,  illustrated  by  maps  and 
photographs,  will  soon  be  completed.  .  .  . 

But  it  may  be  asked.  Why  all  this  preparation  ?  Is  it  clear 
that  it  is  necessary,  or  even  advisable,  to  attempt  to  plan  in 
advance  how  vegetation  ought  to  be  controlled  and  directed, 
and  where  roads  ought  eventually  to  be  built?  Why  not 
swing  the  axe  and  build  roads  from  time  to  time,  as  cii'cum- 
stances  may  seem  to  dictate  or  occasion  require  ? 

To  us  it  seems  that  a  due  regard  for  the  high  purpose  of 
public  reservations,  as  well  as  a  due  regard  for  the  economical 
fulfilment  of  that  purpose,  prohibits  piecemeal,  unrelated,  and 
hand-to-mouth  work  in  such  domains.  .  .  .  Park  commissions 
are  the  trustees  of  the  people's  treasure  of  scenery ;  they  are 
responsible  for  the  safe-guarding  and  the  increase  of  this 
treasure,  and  they  are  charged  with  the  duty  of  making  it 
most  effectively  accessible.  Being  trustees,  they  cannot  safely 
proceed  planlessly,  any  more  than  can  those  who  are  charged 


682  REPORT  FOR   1896  [1896 

with  guarding  and  making  accessible  the  people's  treasure  of 
books  and  pictures,  or  with  providing  the  people's  drinking 
water.  The  devising  of  comprehensive  and  far-seeing  plans, 
or  programmes  of  procedure,  is  for  park  commissions,  as  for 
all  other  executive  bodies,  the  most  necessary,  arduous,  and 
responsible  labor  which  they  are  called  upon  to  perform. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  the  following  of  "  general  plans  " 
will  induce  a  regrettable  formalizing  of  the  scenery  of  the 
reservations  now  in  question,  or  a  lamentable  taming  and 
smoothing  of  what  is  now  wild  and  rough.  That  will,  how- 
ever, depend  on  the  nature  of  the  plans  adopted,  and  the 
desires  of  the  Commission  which  directs  the  planting,  pre- 
cisely as  the  style  of  the  architecture  of  a  church  or  library 
depends  on  tlie  desires  and  taste  of  the  trustees  in  charge  of 
the  work.  If  it  is  desired  to  preserve  wildness,  and  enhance 
the  natural  beauty  of  reservations  accessible  to  multitudinous 
populations,  that  is  precisely  the  thing  that  requires  the  most 
considerate  and  prophetic  planning. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  the  mere  existence  of  general 
plans  tends  to  an  extravagantly  rapid  prosecution  of  active 
work.  There  is,  however,  no  more  real  danger  of  excess  of 
expenditure  when  following  a  definite  and  comprehensive  pro- 
gramme than  there  is  when  proceeding  hap-hazard,  while  the 
following  of  plans  gives  assurance  that  every  dollar  will  count 
toward  worthy  results.  This,  also,  is  a  matter  which  lies 
entirely  in  the  control  of  the  directing  body. 

Our  survey  of  the  present  condition  of  the  reservations  has 
brought  out  this  fact,  among  others,  —  that  the  most  pleasing 
existing  scenery  is  a  product  of  men's  work  in  making  clear- 
ings and  thinnings,  pasturing  large  areas,  encouraging  seed- 
ling growths,  and  so  on  ;  and  that,  if  even  the  present  meagre 
degree  of  variety  in  the  landscape  is  to  be  merely  preserved, 
intelligent  attention  will  need  to  be  continually  given  to  the 
control  of  the  tree  growth  and  the  ground  cover.  The  con- 
stant care  which  will  be  required  for  the  preservation  and 
encouragement  of  the  most  appropriate  types  of  vegetation 
has  been  touched  upon  in  previous  reports.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  here  that  the  studies  of  this  year  have  only  confirmed  us 
in  the  belief  that  to  leave  the  woods  alone  would  be  only  to 


-ET.  37]      PLEASING  SCENERY   A  HUMAN  PRODUCT         683 

lose  scenery  and  develop  monotony,  and  that  to  preserve  and 
enrich  this  scenery  a  well-considered  programme  of  work 
must  be  devised  for  controlling  and  guiding  the  vegetation  of 
the  reservations.  Whatever  is  attempted  ought,  however,  to 
be  related  to  the  prospective  roads  and  other  points  of  view, 
from  which  the  scenery  of  the  future  is  to  be  commanded.  .  .  . 
To  proceed  to  "  improve  "  the  woods  without  reference  to  the 
positions  designed  to  be  occupied  by  the  permanent  roads 
will  plainly  result  either  in  much  double  expenditure,  or  else 
in  failure  to  secure  that  varied  and  beautiful  scenery  which 
the  public  has  a  right  to  expect  the  reservation  roads  to 
exhibit. 

Conversely,  it  is  just  as  true  that  the  placing  of  roads 
ought  to  be  largely  governed  by  the  plans  adopted  for  the 
control  of  vegetation.  If  roads  are  devised  independently, 
there  is  danger  that  they  will  either  seriously  mar  the  land- 
scape or  else  not  effectively  exhibit  it.  The  existing  pre- 
liminary roads  of  the  reservations,  opened  on  lines  which 
served  well  the  wood-choppers'  commercial  purposes,  fail  to 
meet  the  present  purpose  of  the  reservations  in  both  of  the 
two  ways  just  mentioned ;  and  for  this  reason,  and  because 
they  have  bad  lines  and  grades,  they  ought  to  continue  to 
be  regarded  as  in  great  part  temporary.  To  spend  money 
in  widening  them  or  in  improving  their  grades,  to  build 
permanent  roads  without  regard  to  any  programme  for  de- 
veloping the  forest  scenery,  or  to  attem]it  woodmen's  work 
without  reference  to  any  road  plans,  will  be  to  fix,  without 
consideration,  permanent  features  which  will  only  obstruct 
the  people  of  the  metropolitan  district  in  obtaining  from 
these  reservations  that  measure  of  refreshing  and  uplifting 
enjoyment  which  alone  can  justify  their  great  cost  and  their 
excision  from  the  taxable  area.^  .  .  . 

The  Lalce,  Brook,  and  River  Reservations. 

.  .  .  The  boundaries  of  Charles  River  Reservation  were 
discussed  in  our  report  of  last  year,  and  no  changes  have  been 
made  during  the  present  yeai',  except  that  the  line  has  been 

^  See  the  previous  annual  reports  of  the  landscape  architects,  p.  502 
for  1S94,  and  p.  531  for  1895. 


684  REPORT  FOR   1896  [1896 

improved  at  one  place  close  to  Watertowii  village  Ly  moving 
it  inland  to  coincide  with  the  line  of  Wheeler  Street.  Plans 
have  been  made  and  submitted  for  a  desirable,  though  nar- 
row, additional  acquisition  of  land  on  the  Newton  bank  below 
Lemon  Brook,  but  no  action  on  this  jilan  has  been  taken. 
Several  abandonments  have  been  proposed  at  different  times, 
for  present  economy's  sake.  In  our  opinion,  however,  none 
can  be  made  without  too  great  a  sacrifice  of  the  essential  value 
of  the  whole  reservation.  Private  industrial  frontages,  inter- 
spersed between  the  irremovable  Albany  Railroad  yards  near 
Cottage  Fai'm  and  the  Abattoir  in  Brighton,  would  greatly 
detract  from  the  effectiveness  and  value  of  the  remaining 
river-bank  parkways,  which  must  depend  upon  their  con- 
tinuity for  their  appearance,  as  well  as  for  their  usefulness 
for  travel.  We  have  from  the  first  maintained  that  all  the 
purchasable  frontage  should  be  purchased,  and  then  that  such 
portions  as  may  be  rentable  should  be  rented  to  private  per- 
sons during  the  years  which  may  intervene  before  the  con- 
struction of  the  river-bank  roads  or  parkways  may  be  de- 
manded. Should  occasion  require,  public  freight  landings 
may  be  provided,  as  above  remarked,  when  construction  is 
once  undertaken. 

On  the  Cambridge  side  of  the  river,  between  the  Cam- 
bridge Hospital  and  Boylston  Street,  the  construction  of  the 
North  Charlesbank  Road,  as  it  may  perhaps  be  called,  is  al- 
ready begun.  The  natural  river-bank  was  here  a  salt  marsh, 
subject  to  occasional  flooding  by  the  tide,  as  illustrated  in  the 
uppermost  of  the  typical  cross-sections  in  the  dra^ving  on  p. 
592.  Not  knowing  whether  the  river  will  eventually  have 
to  be  sea-walled,  as  in  the  second  section,  or  whether,  follow- 
ing the  building  of  a  dam,  it  may  be  green-banked,  as  in  the 
third  section,  the  Cambridge  Park  Commission  has  adopted 
the  temporary  mode  of  grading  the  bank,  illustrated  in  the 
fourth  cross-section.  When  it  is  remembered  that  there  are, 
above  Cottage  Farm,  some  ten  miles  of  salt-marsh  river-bank 
which  must  sooner  or  later  be  made  usable,  the  obvious 
economy,  as  well  as  the  greater  usefulness  and  beauty,  to  be 
secured  by  the  scheme  which  substitutes  a  short  crosswise 
wall  or  dam  near  the  river's  mouth  for  ten  miles  of  wall  lead- 


THE  LOCATION  OF  CHARLESMOUTH  BRIDGE 
And  the  design  for  the  head  of  Charles  River  Basin 


^T.  37]  A  CHARLESMOUTH  BRIDGE  685 

Ing  upstream  and  back  again  cannot  be  questioned  or  dis- 
guised. Watertown,  and  part  of  Newton,  with  Brighton, 
and  especially  Cambridge,  are  now  positively  suffering  for  a 
decision  of  the  question  of  dam  or  no  dam.  If  there  is  to  be 
no  dam,  the  river  ought  to  be  dredged  ;  if  there  is  to  be  a 
dam,  much  of  the  dredging  may  be  safely  omitted  ;  and  so 
on.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  Joint  Commission  which 
originally  proposed  the  dam  went  out  of  existence  with  the 
filing  of  its  report.  A  project,  no  matter  how  worthy,  which 
requires  the  cooperation  of  four  municipalities,  three  park 
commissions,  the  State,  and  the  United  States,  cannot  be 
expected  to  accomplish  itself. 

Meanwhile,  and  whether  Charles  River  is  to  be  relieved  of 
the  invading  tides  or  not,  at  least  the  location  for  an  adequate 
and  handsome  connection  between  the  existing  Muddy  River 
Parkway  and  the  proposed  Charles  River  Parkway  ouglit  to 
be  secured  before  the  construction  of  buildings  makes  it  too 
costly.  As  was  pointed  out  in  a  report  addressed  to  the  Com- 
mission early  in  the  year,  such  a  connection  would  greatly 
enhance  the  value  of  the  Metropolitan  as  well  as  the  Bos- 
ton and  Cambridge  parkways ;  and,  as  was  then  suggested, 
it  can  best  be  secured  by  widening  St.  Mary's  Street  and 
Ashby  Street,  as  an  extension  to  Charles  River  of  the  exist- 
ing Audubon  Road  of  the  Boston  Park  System.  It  is  about 
at  the  end  of  Ashby  Street  that  the  narrow  Charles  River 
empties  into  the  broad  and  long  Charles  River  basin  ;  and 
here,  and  not  at  Cottage  Farm,  is  the  natural  place  for  a 
bridge,  to  accommodate  the  travel  which  the  great  basin 
inevitably  inconveniences.  The  accompanying  diagram  illus- 
trates how  such  a  Charlesmouth  bridge  might  span  the  stream 
in  a  manner  which  would  terminate  the  basin  symmetrically 
and  architecturally ;  while  the  same  diagram  makes  it  plain 
that  such  a  bridge  would  be  an  improvement  over  the  Cottage 
Farm  bridge,  not  only  for  the  users  of  the  parkways,  but 
also  for  ordinary  traffic.  It  is  already  plain  that  this  head  of 
the  basin  is  to  be  an  important  focal  point  of  greater  Boston, 
—  a  point  from  which  broad  parkways,  not  to  speak  of  lines 
of  traffic,  will  lead  eastward  along  both  banks  of  the  basin 
and  westward  up  the  Charles  to  Watertown.     It  is  also  quite 


686  REPORT  FOR   1896  [1896 

within  reason  to  expect  that  a  branch  from  the  Charles  River 
Parkway  will  lead  northward  by  Fresh  Pond  to  Middlesex 
Fells  Reservation,  as  the  Boston  and  Brookline  Parkway  now 
leads  southward  to  Franklin  Park  and  Stony  Brook  Reserva- 
tion. So  much  the  more  reason,  then,  for  an  adequate  bridge 
at  the  head  of  the  basin,  and  for  the  extension  of  Audubon 
Road  as  a  connecting  link.  .  .  . 

The  Bay  and  Seashore  Reservations. 

The  two  reservations  of  this  most  valuable  class,  thus  far 
acquired,  both  lie  northeast  of  the  State  House.  To  the 
comparatively  remote  and  small  King's  Beach  no  attention 
has  been  given  by  our  office  during  the  year  ;  but  to  Revere 
Beach  and  the  problem  of  its  adaptation  to  public  use  much 
study  has,  by  direction  of  the  Commission,  been  devoted.  .  .  . 

Concerning  the  boundaries  of  Revere  Beach  Reservation, 
it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  long  land  boundary,  on  which  a 
continuous  row  of  buildings  will  eventually  front,  has  from 
the  first  been  designed  to  be  a  curve,  conforming  as  closely 
as  possible  to  the  natural  and  singularly  beautiful  sweep  of 
the  beach  itself.  The  legal  necessity  of  wiping  out  certain 
public  and  semi-public  streets  and  footways  has  resulted  in 
obscuring  the  desired  curve  for  the  present,'  but  it  ought  to 
be  restored  before  any  new  buildings  are  built  on  lines  not 
in  harmony  with  it.  This  is  a  case  where  some  returning  of 
land  to  private  ownership  will  distinctly  improve  the  future 
appearance  of  the  reservation.  Of  the  abandonment  to  its 
former  owners  of  the  sea  front  of  the  Point  of  Pines  —  one 
fifth  of  the  original  length  of  the  reservation  —  there  is  no- 
thing to  be  said,  except  that  the  Commission  deemed  it  neces- 
sary, because  of  the  lack  of  money  wherewith  to  pay  for  the 
property  taken.  It  is  not  so  much  the  loss  of  length  of 
sea-beach  that  is  regrettable,  as  it  is  the  possibility  of  the 
occupation  of  the  conspicuous  point  in  question  by  disfiguring 
industrial  establishments.  .  .  . 

[The  views  of  the  landscape  architects  on  the  appropriate 
constructions  at  Revere  Beach  have  been  expressed  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  except  on  the  proposal  of  subways  from 
the  bath-houses  to  the  beach.] 


^T.  37]  MAKING  THE  VERY  BEST  OF  REVERE  BEACH  687 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  by  no  means  impracticable  to 
place  the  public  bathing  establishments,  along  with  the  hotels 
and  private  buildings,  on  the  landward  side  of  the  road  and 
sidewalk.  The  extension  of  the  outlets  from  the  stacks  of 
dressing-rooms  as  subways  running  under  the  road  and  prom- 
enade is  the  only  additional  construction  which  this  position 
would  necessitate.  By  this  arrangement  bathers  would  enter 
the  office  of  the  bathing  establishment,  either  directly  from 
the  electric  cars  in  Ocean  Avenue  or  from  the  reservation's 
sidewalk,  and  their  passage  to  the  beach  through  the  airy 
(because  open-ended)  subways  would  involve  only  about  forty 
additional  footsteps  in  each  direction.  So  entirely  2)racticable 
is  this  scheme,  and  so  little  would  it  inconvenience  bathers, 
that  we  are  convinced  that  it  ought  to  be  adopted  in  prefer- 
ence to  any  structure  projected  on  to  the  beach.  .  .  . 

It  is  sometimes  said  to  be  useless  to  spend  time,  pains,  and 
money  in  making  sure  that  public  domains  are  made  as  beau- 
tiful as  they  can  be  made,  because  "  ordinary  people  will 
never  appreciate  the  difference."  But  what  if  fine  results 
are  not  accurately  valued  and  their  causes  discerned  by  the 
multitude?  We  all  of  us  experience  and  enjoy  sensations 
and  emotions,  the  causes  of  which  are  unrecognized  and  even 
unknown.  When  he  comes  into  the  presence  of  unaccus- 
tomed beauty  or  grandeur,  the  average  man  does,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  consciously  or  unconsciously  experience  a  reaction, 
which  is  of  benefit  to  him.  It  is  on  this  account,  and  not 
in  order  to  satisfy  competent  students  of  aesthetics,  that  our 
democracy  has^  ordered  the  setting  apai-t  of  Kevere  Beach  and 
the  other  reservations.  It  is  precisely  for  the  sake  of  "  the 
common  people  "  that  these  reservations  ought  to  be  made  to 
exhibit  their  grand  or  beautiful  scenery  just  as  effectively  as 
possible.  The  principle  that  the  most  effective  arrangement 
is  none  too  good  for  "  the  common  people  "  already  governs 
the  trustees  of  our  schools,  libraries,  and  art  museums.  It 
has,  also,  been  fully  illustrated  in  many  public  parks.  For 
example,  Prospect  Park,  Brooklyn,  includes  a  long  and  lovely 
meadow,  made  at  large  expense  by  joining  fields  together,  and 
now  extremely  beautiful  by  reason  of  its  great  and  unbroken 
expanse,    its    simplicity,    and    its    unity.     The   Playstead   in 


688  REPORT  FOR   1896  [1896 

Franklin  Park,  Boston,  is  another  fine  i^ublic  meadow,  which, 
like  the  Prospect  Park  meadow  (and  like  Revere  Beach),  is 
chiefly  valnable  for  its  effective  breadth,  openness,  and  con- 
tinuity. Both  these  fields  are  used  by  tennis,  croquet,  and 
ball  players  (as  Revere  Beach  must  be  used  by  bathers)  ;  but 
are  the  buildings  which  are  necessary  for  the  convenience  of 
the  players  allowed  to  intrude  themselves  so  as  to  shatter  the 
effect  of  the  meadows  ?  On  the  contrary,  they  are  in  each 
case  pushed  back  into  the  edge  of  the  bordering  woods,  where 
they  are  not  quite  as  convenient  as  they  might  be,  but  where 
they  are,  nevertheless,  reached  easily  enough.  At  Franklin 
Park  the  players  pass  to  and  from  their  lockers  and  wash- 
rooms by  a  subway  which  leads  under  the  spectators'  over- 
looking terrace,  and  by  this  means  the  convenience  of  all 
classes  is  well  served,  while  the  beautiful  breadth  of  the 
meadow  is  preserved. 

It  seems  to  us  that  the  preservation  of  the  complete  open- 
ness of  Revere  Beach  is  more  important  than  the  preservation 
of  the  openness  of  this  meadow  by  as  much  as  the  ocean  pano- 
rama and  the  view  of  the  sea  strand  is  rarer  and  grander  than 
the  landscape  of  a  field.  .  .  . 

PART    II.      DESIRABLE    RESERVATIONS. 

[After  an  exposition  of  the  equitable  distribution  of  the 
acquired  i-eservations,  and  a  statement  concerning  three  addi- 
tional reservations  which  ought  to  be  acquired  (see  pp.  594 
and  597),  the  i-eport  proceeds  :  — ] 

It  should  be  specially  noted  that  the  public  ownership  and 
control  of  non-commercial  strips  of  land  along  river-banks 
and  seashores  is  something  very  different  from  the  public 
ownership  of  ordinary  "  parks."  Parks  like  Franklin  Park 
are  valuable,  indeed,  but  river-side  and  seashore  strips  pro- 
vide access  to  great  stores  of  fresh  air  and  refreshing  scenery 
without  removing  any  large  area  from  the  tax  lists.  They 
do,  indeed,  quickly  pay  for  themselves,  because  practically 
the  whole  value  of  the  lands  acquired  is  added  to  the  next 
adjacent  private  lands.  They,  negatively,  prevent  the  depie- 
ciation  of  the  potential  values  of  surrounding  lands  which  is 
60  generally  caused  by  "  cheap  buikling  "  on  fresh-water  and 


JET.  37]   A  COMPREHENSIVE  SCHEME  FOR  PARKWAYS    089 

tidal  shores.  They  place  the  control  of  the  trunk  lines  of 
surface  drainage  under  public  authority,  and  so  forfend  the 
public  from  such  costly  expenditures  for  the  prevention  of 
floods  as  Boston  has  been  driven  to  along  Stony  Brook  in 
Jamaica  Plain  and  Roxbury.  Reservations  of  this  class  are 
primarily  desirable,  not  for  aesthetic  or  sentimental,  but  for 
eminently  practical,  reasons  ;  while  their  first  cost  is  properly 
to  be  regarded  as  an  intelligent  investment,  rather  than  an 
extravagant  expenditure. 

PART    III.       METROPOLITAN   PARKWAYS. 

.  .  .  With  respect  to  the  general  principles  on  which  the 
routes  of  parkways  to  be  paid  for  by  the  metropolitan  district 
ought  to  be  chosen,  we  see  no  reason  to  change  the  views  ex- 
pressed in  previous  annual  reports.  .  .  .  [There  are]  several 
cons])icuously  desirable  connections  with  and  approaches  to 
the  reservations  which  it  would  pi-ofit  the  district  to  possess ; 
for  it  is  plain  that  the  reservations  cannot  benefit  the  people 
as  they  ought  to  unless  they  can  be  made  agreeably  accessible. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  obvious  that  mandatory  legislation, 
requiring  tlie  Commission  to  secure  any  particular  parkways 
or  any  specifically  mentioned  reservations,  would  place  the 
Commission  in  a  very  difficult  situation  as  respects  dealings 
with  the  owners  of  the  lands  directed  to  be  bought,  while 
it  would  probably  upset  such  equitable  and  comprehensive 
schemes  as  commissions  are  established  to  devise  and  prose- 
cute. If  there  are  to  be  any  additional  Metropolitan  Park- 
ways, it  is  just  as  important  that  they  should  be  placed  and 
designed  in  accordance  with  some  comprehensive  scheme,  as 
it  is  that  the  reservations  should  be  chosen,  bounded,  and 
severally  adapted  to  public  use  in  accordance  with  rational 
and  consistent  general  plans. 
December  1,  1896. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

SELECTED  LETTERS  OF  JANUARY,  FEBRUARY,  AND 
MARCH,  1897 

The  works  of  man,  bury  them  as  we  may,  do  not  perish,  cannot 
perish.  What  of  heroism,  what  of  Eternal  Light  was  in  a  man  and 
his  life  is  with  very  great  exactness  added  to  the  eternities,  remains 
forever  a  divine  portion  of  the  sum  of  things.  —  Caklyle. 

In  the  fall  of  1896  and  the  ensuing  winter  thei-e  was  much 
criticism  in  the  public  prints  of  the  condition  of  the  planta- 
tions in  the  Boston  parks  and  along  the  Boston  pai-kways, 
some  of  which  Charles  thought  to  be  well  founded.  The 
plantations  had  not  been  properly  cared  for ;  and  in  some 
instances  the  original  designs  of  Mr.  Olmsted  had  been  de- 
parted from  by  subordinate  agents  of  the  Commission.  In 
the  next  letter,  which  was  addressed  to  the  chairman  of  the 
Boston  Park  Commission,  Chaides  states  the  fundamental 
principle,  that  tlie  original  treatment  of  the  vegetation  of  a 
pai'k,  —  trees,  shrubs,  and  grass,  or  other  ground-cover,  —  in 
order  to  develop  and  keep  visible  the  scenery  of  the  park,  is 
properly  chargeable  to  construction  and  not  to  maintenance 
—  more  properly  even  than  the  building  of  roads.  He  urges, 
therefore,  that  henceforth  a  much  larger  part  of  the  money 
available  for  construction  should  be  devoted  to  the  woods  and 
plantations.  When  the  right  conditions  of  vegetation  have 
been  once  established,  the  preservation  of  those  conditions 
may  properly  be  charged  to  maintenance,  just  as  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  roads  and  paths  is  so  chargeable. 

January  4,  1897. 

The  True  Distinction  between  Construction  and 
M  aintenance.  —  The  abolition  at  the  last  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  the  office  of  "  Landscape  Gardener  "  and  the  jDro- 
posed  establishment  of  the  office  of  "  Superintendent "  mark 
a  step  in  the  history  of  the  parks  which  we  hope  means 
greater  readiness  to  devote  money  to  maintenance  as  dis- 
tinguished from  construction.     There  has  always  been  money 


*T.  37]    THE  VITAL  ELEMENT  IN  A  PARK  DESIGN      691 

for  construction,  but  never  sufficient  for  maintenance.  Roads 
and  walks  have  been  extended  annually,  and  new  planting 
has  been  done  from  time  to  time ;  but  the  money  available 
for  maintenance  has  barely  sufficed  to  keep  the  constantly 
increasing  mileage  of  roads  in  good  repair.  It  has  been 
argued  that  since  roads  cost  so  much,  it  would  be  shameful  to 
allow  them  to  deteriorate,  and  so  the  larger  part  of  the  ap- 
propriations for  maintenance  has  been  devoted  to  the  roads, 
with  the  result  that  the  care  of  grass  and  shrubberies  has 
been  sadly  slighted,  while  the  original  trees  and  woods  have 
received  little  or  no  attention. 

That  this  is  an  anomalous  condition  of  affairs  is  evident. 
Park  roads  and  walks  are  merely  means  of  approach  to  scen- 
ery ;  so  that  it  would  seem  as  if  such  work  as  may  be  most 
necessary  for  the  preservation  and  improvement  of  the  living 
elements  of  scenery  ought  by  rights  to  be  accomplished 
before,  rather  than  after,  the  construction  of  roads.  The 
"  general  plans  "  of  parks  contrived  by  our  firm  are  always 
based  on  studies  of  the  available  scenery,  and  embody  schemes 
for  modifying  preexistent  vegetation  by  clearing  here  and 
thinning  there,  planting  trees  or  shrubs,  and  sowing  grass,  as 
well  as  schemes  for  making  the  resulting  scenery  agreeably 
accessible  by  roads.  The  vital  element  in  a  park  design  is 
indeed  its  suggestions  concerning  vegetation.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary to  imagine  a  park  without  grass,  bushes,  or  trees  to 
realize  that  this  is  the  case.  The  road  lines  of  parks  are 
chosen  with  reference  to  the  scenery  designed  to  be  secured 
by  modifications  of  the  vegetation,  and,  conversely,  the  pro- 
gramme of  work  on  the  vegetation  is  devised  with  reference 
to  the  positions  chosen  for  the  roads  and  other  points  of  view. 
Thus  the  "  general  plan  "  of  a  park  is  not  a  road  plan  only, 
and  it  is  not  a  planting-plan,  or  a  scheme  for  the  treatment 
of  old  trees  or  roads.  It  is  a  closely  related  and  logically 
combined  design,  requiring  for  its  realization  on  the  ground 
faithful  work  in  all  these  different  departments  alike. 

It  follows  that  whatever  work  may  be  required  for  the 
complete  realization  of  a  "  general  i)lan,"  whether  it  be  work 
of  axe  or  pruning-hook,  plough,  spade,  or  steam-roller,  may 
properly  be  charged  to  construction.     The  contrary  assump- 


692  SELECTED  LETTERS.    1897  [1897 

tion  that  while  roads  may  be  charged  to  construction,  work  in 
the  preexistent  woods  and  all  thinning  of  plantations  after 
they  are  two  years  planted  must  be  charged  to  maintenance, 
has  naturally  resulted  in  a  partial  and  lop-sided  development 
of  the  Boston  parks,  by  no  means  representing  the  intents 
and  plans  of  the  designers.  Roads  and  walks  have  been 
thoroughly  well  built  in  accordance  with  the  general  plans ; 
but  the  vegetation  of  the  Fens,  for  example,  is  not  what  it 
was  designed  to  be,  because  it  has  not  been  properly  thinned 
and  readjusted  from  time  to  time.  The  desirable  treatment 
of  the  original  woods  has  also  been  too  long  postponed.  We 
would  recommend  that  a  much  larger  part  of  the  money 
available  for  construction  should  henceforth  be  devoted  to  the 
woods  and  plantations. 

Assuming,  for  a  moment,  that  this  reform  can  be  accom- 
plished, permit  us  to  briefly  mention  some  of  the  more  press- 
ing items  of  work  to  be  done.  We  will  assume  that  the 
superintendent  will  have  full  charge  of  all  the  work  of  main- 
tenance, including  road  repairs  and  watering,  the  care  of 
buildings,  finished  lawns,  shrubberies,  and  groves,  and  so  on, 
and  that  the  engineering  department  will  continue  to  direct 
works  of  engineering  construction  in  accordance  with  the 
same  general  plans. 

After  acquainting  himself  thoroughly  with  the  intentions 
embodied  in  the  general  plans,  the  former  officer  ought  to 
attend  first  to  the  rescue  and  readjustment  of  the  plantations 
of  the  Fens.  These  plantations  were  rightly  planted  very 
thickly,  both  for  immediate  effect  and  because  of  the  expos- 
ure of  the  place  to  the  winds.  Viewed  from  the  water  and 
from  many  of  the  paths,  the  resulting  effects  are  generally 
pleasing,  but  radical  thinning  has  for  some  time  been  needed 
for  the  encouragement  of  the  longer-lived  and  finer  sorts  of 
trees  and  plants,  which  are  choked  by  the  quick-growing 
species  of  less  permanent  value.  In  addition,  there  are  a  few 
small  areas,  such  as  the  triangle  at  the  Boyle  O'Reilly  monu- 
ment and  the  spaces  near  Westland  Avenue,  which,  owing  to 
changed  circumstances,  need  to  be  thoroughly  revised. 

Throughout  the  parks,  beyond  the  Fens,  there  is  more  or 
less  old  growth  which  needs  to  be  removed  or  helped,  as  the 


S.T.  37]  THE   TRUE  PARK   PLANTER  693 

case  may  be,  and  there  is  much  half-finished  and  more  as 
yet  unattempted  new  phuiting,  which  will  call  for  close  and 
faithful  following  of  the  intentions  of  the  park  designers. 
For  accomplishing-  the  new  planting,  large  stocks  of  suitable 
species  of  trees  and  shrubs  will  need  to  be  collected  and 
propagated,  —  much  larger  stocks  of  the  more  useful  native 
sorts  than  Mr. ,  with  his  leanings  towards  garden  va- 
rieties, could  be  persuaded  to  gather  and  use.  It  was  pre- 
cisely because  of  Mr. 's    increasing  inability  to  keep  in 

mind  the  character  of  the  simpler  planting  required  by  the 
designs  that  we  felt  obliged  some  months  ago  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  Board  to  the  matter.  Fortunately  there  is 
little  of  his  recent  work  which  cannot  be  easily  recast  to 
accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  plans,  and  we  may  add  that  if 
work  in  the  original  woods  can  now  be  taken  up  intelligently, 
no  one  need  much  regret  that  it  has  been  so  long  postponed. 
Park  Planting  different  from  Gardening  or  For- 
estry. —  It  is  obvious  that  the  work  to  be  done  cannot  safely 
be  entrusted  to  a  horticulturist  or  a  gardener,  nor  can  it  be 
left  to  an  arboriculturist  or  forester.  Good  gardeners  cannot 
avoid  working  for  the  perfecting  of  individual  plants  —  work 
which  is  right  in  a  garden,  but  wrong  in  a  park,  where  the 
general  effect,  or  landscape,  is  of  first  importance.  Good 
foresters  cannot  avoid  working  for  the  development  of  indi- 
vidual trees  — work  which  is  right  where  a  crop  of  timber  is 
desired,  or  where  specimens  are  to  be  trained  up,  as  in  an 
arboretum,  but  wrong  in  a  park,  where  groups,  masses,  and 
dense  woods  are  more  important  in  the  landscape  than  single 
trees.  The  planter  to  be  appointed  to  carry  out  the  designed 
effect  in  the  landscape  should  have  as  much  knowledge  of 
trees  and  shrubs  as  possible,  but  should  be  young  enough  to 
learn  by  study  and  experience  to  appreciate  the  various  kinds 
of  landscape  designed  to  be  secured.  ^Ve  have  found  that 
young  men  who  have  had  experience  in  nurseries,  provided 
they  have  sufficient  intelligence  to  shake  off  the  nurseryman's 
love  of  plants  as  novelties  and  curiosities,  are  far  better  fitted 
to  manage  park  planting  than  gardeners.  .  .  . 

Driveways  for  speeding  horses  have  been  regarded  by  au 
influential  class  of  citizens  as  legitimate  parts  of  a  city's  park 


694  SELECTED  LETTERS.     1897  [1897 

system ;  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  fast  trotting  has  been 
habitually  permitted  on  certain  tolerably  level  highways, 
although  tliey  were  but  ill-adapted  for  that  sport  because  of 
frequent  cross-roads.  Both  the  Metropolitan  and  the  Boston 
Commission  have  had  to  meet  the  demand  for  speedways. 


THE    BEST    PLACES    FOR    SPEEDWAYS. 

January  12,  1897. 
Mr.  Benjamin  Wells,  Supt.  of  Streets,  Boston. 

Dear  /Sir,  —  I  was  happy  to  see  some  account  the  other 
day  of  your  report  in  opposition  to  the  building  of  speedways 
by  the  city  of  Boston  on  lines  primarily  intended  for  public 
streets.  At  the  time  when  it  was  first  proposed  that  the 
Metropolitan  Park  Commission  should  acquire  lands  along 
Chai4es  River,  one  of  the  arguments  we  used  for  the  purchase 
of  such  lands  was  the  fact  that  the  level  salt  marshes  fur- 
nished the  only  long  stretches  of  absolutely  level  ground  to 
be  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  and  we  pointed  out 
at  the  time  that  these  marshes  were  peculiarly  well  adapted  to 
serve  as  the  sites  of  speedways,  because  the  infrequency  of 
cross-roads  and  bridges  makes  it  possible  to  have  stretches 
without  breaks  where  speed  must  be  slackened. 

I  send  you  herewith  one  of  the  early  lithographs  of  our 
scheme  for  the  eventual  development  of  the  Charles  River 
Reservation,  on  which  you  will  find  noted  a  desirable  site  for 
a  speedway.^ 

To  secure  a  handsome  and  symmetrical  western  end  for  the 
Charles  River  Basin  by  means  of  a  new  bridge  and  modifica- 
tions of  the  adjacent  shore  lines  was  an  object  which  Charles 
always  had  in  mind.  Rumors  of  proposed  expenditures  on 
the  existing  bridge  in  continuation  of  Brookline  Street,  Cam- 
bridge, induced  him  to  write  as  follows  to  the  Mayor  of 
Cambridge :  — 

January  23,  1897. 

We  are  sending  you,  under  separate  cover,  a  copy  of  the 
new  report  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  asking  your 
kind  attention  to  that  portion  of  our  report  to  the  Commis- 
sion which  is  concerned  with  Charles  River  (see  pp.  684-686). 

^  The  speedway  on  the  south  bank  of  Charles  River  was  finished  in 
1899. 


^T.  37]  THE  CHARLES  RIVER  BASIN  AGAIN  695 

You  are  doubtless  already  familiar  with  the  main  arguments 
for  a  dam.  We  have  merely  restated  some  of  them  very 
briefly  at  this  time.  Tlie  matter  we  desire  to  call  to  your 
particular  attention  is  the  suggestion  for  a  substitute  for  the 
existing  Essex  Street  or  Brookline  Street  bridge.  We  think 
that  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  proposed  change  would 
greatly  benefit  Cambridge  generally,  however  much  it  may  be 
objected  to  in  certain  quarters.  The  suggestion  is,  of  course, 
made  on  the  assumption  that  a  bridge  will  be  eventually 
secured  at  Magazine  Street,  and  it  is  also  to  be  understood 
that  the  existing  Brookline  Street  bridge  would  not  be  dis- 
turbed until  the  suggested  bridge  is  completed,  together  with 
the  parkway  bridge  over  the  railroad.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  present  Brookline  Street  bridge  ought  not  to  be  so  elab- 
orated as  to  make  it  any  harder  to  secure  the  proposed  bridge. 
Among  the  advantages  of  the  latter  we  may  set  down  the 
following :  — 

1.  More  direct  approach  to  Boston ;  in  other  words,  a 
shorter  line. 

2.  Better  connection  between  Cambridge  and  all  the  south- 
ern suburbs  of  Boston. 

3.  Better  service  for  all  the  Cambridge  lands  between 
Brookline  Street,  the  Esplanade,  and  INIassachusetts  Avenue. 

4.  Direct  connection  between  the  Cambridge  and  Boston 
parkways  by  Audubon  Road. 

5.  The  fine  view  from  the  bridge  of  the  great  Basin ;  and, 
conversely,  the  handsome  western  end  of  the  Basin  which  the 
proposed  bridge  would  make. 

Permit  us  to  add  that  if  the  Beacon  Street  and  other 
Boston  people  do  not  care  to  have  the  advantages  of  a  tideless 
basin  extended  downstream  to  their  doors,  with  its  boating 
and  skating  pi*ivileges,  etc.,  the  proposed  Charlesmouth  bridge 
might  well  be  made  a  dam.  However  this  may  be  (the  ques- 
tion is  entirely  a  separate  one),  we  have  made  the  suggestion 
for  a  bridge  at  this  time,  not  with  a  view  to  urging  its  con- 
struction at  once,  but  solely  in  the  hope  that  nothing  may 
be  done  on  the  line  of  Brookline  and  Essex  streets  which 
would  tend  to  defeat  the  future  realization  of  the  better 
project. 


696  SELECTED   LETTERS.     1897  [1897 

The  great  resort  to  Eevere  Beach  during  the  summer  of 
1896  forced  upon  the  attention  of  the  Metropolitan  Park 
Commission  the  question  how  to  get  an  agreeable  approach 
to  the  beach  from  the  heart  of  the  district  and  the  northern 
suburbs.  Early  in  February  Charles  carefully  studied  this 
difficult  question  on  the  ground,  and  made  a  preliminary  sug- 
gestion for  its  solution  in  the  following  letter :  — 

February  10,  1897. 

In  obedience  to  a  request  of  the  Commission,  conveyed  to 
us  by  a  letter  from  the  Secretary,  we  submit  herewith  a  pre- 
liminary sketch  plan  showing  the  outlines  of  lands  which 
might  advisedly  be  acquired  for  the  extension  of  the  Kevere 
Beach  Parkway  towards  the  centre  of  population  of  the 
metropolitan  district. 

Beginning  at  the  corner  of  Winthrop  and  Campbell  ave- 
nues, where  the  taking  already  made  for  this  parkway  ends, 
the  plan  suggests  the  acquisition  of  the  northern  shore  of 
Sales  Creek,  between  Winthrop  Avenue  and  the  East  Boston 
branch  of  the  Boston  and  Maine  Kailroad.  The  parkway 
would  here  consist  of  but  one  broad  roadway,  and  if  electric 
cars  should  accompany  this  roadway,  they  would  be  placed 
on  the  southern  side  thereof. 

Just  west  of  the  East  Boston  branch  railroad  is  found  a 
coal  wharf  at  the  head  of  navigation  in  Chelsea  Creek ;  and 
the  plan  proposes  that  the  parkway  should  pass  in  the  rear  of 
this  property,  though,  if  it  is  not  too  expensive,  it  might  be 
advisable  to  purchase  this  property  and  lease  it  for  the  pre- 
sent. The  view  from  this  point  down  the  length  of  Chelsea 
Creek  is  broad  and  fine,  and  it  v/ill  make  an  interesting  part 
of  the  scenery  of  the  parkway. 

Westward  again,  the  main  line  of  the  eastern  division  of 
the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  has  to  be  crossed ;  but  the 
necessary  bridge  will  be  founded  upon  upland,  as  indeed  will 
be  the  case  with  the  bridge  over  the  East  Boston  branch. 
West  of  the  railroad  the  plan  proposes  the  acquisition  of  both 
banks  of  Mill  or  Snake  Creek;  and  the  suggestion  is  made 
that  the  main  road  of  the  parkway  should  follow  the  northern 
border  of  the  lands  to  be  acquired.  As  we  understand  it,  it 
is  the  intention  of  the  Chelsea  Park  Commission  to  approach 


^T.  37]  THE  REVERE   BEACH   PARKWAY  697 

the  owners  of  the  land  along  this  creek,  and  to  secure  options 
or  make  purchases,  as  may  prove  possible. 

"West  of  the  head  of  this  creek  there  is  found  a  somewhat 
crowded  neighborhood,  tributary  to  the  electric  cars  which  go 
to  Boston  over  Washington  Avenue  and  Broadway,  Chelsea. 
There  is,  however,  a  passage  still  open  through  this  district, 
one  hundred  and  ten  feet  wide  at  the  narrowest  place.  Unfor- 
tunately, the  electric  car  line  must  be  crossed  in  the  immedi- 
ate neighborhood  of  the  terminal  stables,  which  lie  in  a  valley 
between  two  hills,  and  exactly  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
crowded  quarter.  It  may  be  that  these  stables  can  eventually 
be  removed  to  some  other  location,  in  which  case  the  parkway 
could  be  greatly  improved. 

West  of  Washington  Avenue  open  land  not  yet  much  built 
upon  is  met  with,  as  well  as  a  high  ridge  of  rock  and  gravel 
lying  along  the  so-called  County  Road,  near  the  boundary 
between  Chelsea  and  Everett.  At  the  southern  foot  of  this 
ridge  is  found  the  salt  marsh  which  extends  along  Island  End 
River,  and  west  of  the  U.  S.  Marine  Hospital  to  Mystic 
River.  Consequently,  this  ridge  commands  broad  views  to 
the  southward.  The  breadth  and  openness  of  these  views  will 
be  preserved  through  the  proposed  acquirement  by  the 
Chelsea  Park  Commission  of  the  large  playground  lying  on 
the  slope  and  at  the  foot  of  the  ridge,  and  between  it  and 
Everett  Avenue.  It  will  require  a  detailed  topographical 
survey  to  enable  us  to  properly  study  the  best  way  to  over- 
come the  difficult  grades  in  this  location  and  the  best  way 
of  securing  the  view,  but  the  accompanying  sketch  makes  a 
suggestion  which  seems  practicable  at  this  time. 

West  of  this  interesting  point,  which,  as  before  remarked, 
lies  on  the  boundary  between  Chelsea  and  Everett,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  continue  the  parkway  across  the  marshes  and  other 
level  lauds  of  Everett  in  either  of  several  different  locations, 
which  need  not  be  discussed  at  this  time.  To  enable  us  to 
determine  which  route  would  be  the  most  advantageous  on 
the  whole,  we  would  suggest  that  surveys  should  be  made  of 
the  territory  lying  between  Chelsea  Street  and  the  Eastern 
Division  of  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad,  at  least  as  far 
west  as  the  Saugus  Branch  Railroad. 


698  SELECTED  LETTERS.     1897  [1897 

The  equitable  distribution  of  parks  and  parkways  through- 
out the  metropolitan  district  was  a  thought  ever  present  to 
Charles's  mind.  Thirty-six  municipalities  had  combined  in 
the  great  work,  and  every  one  of  them  ought  to  get  a  fair 
proportion  of  the  resulting  benefits.  There  is,  therefore, 
significance  in  the  word  "  corresponding "  in  the  second 
sentence  of  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  the  Metropolitan  Park 
Commission  on  the  23d  of  February,  1897.  The  letter  begins 
thus :  "  A  fortnight  ago  we  submitted  a  preliminary  plan 
suggesting  boundaries  for  the  Revere  Beach  Parkway.  To- 
day we  submit  a  similar  preliminary  sketch  suggesting  bound- 
aries for  a  corresponding  southern  pai'kway  between  Milton 
station  and  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  on  the  way  to  Quincy 
Beach  or  Shore." 

On  the  3d  of  March  he  wrote  another  letter  to  the  Com- 
mission, which  begins  thus :  "  We  submit  herewith  prelimi- 
nary plans  for  the  acquisition  of  lands  along  the  shore  of 
Quincy  Bay.  between  the  existing  road  to  Squantum  and  the 
existing  Merrymount  Park."  He  had  steadily  maintained 
that  the  population  south  of  Boston  should  have  a  seashore 
reservation  approximately  equivalent  to  Revere  Beach  on  the 
north  of  Boston. 

A  note  from  his  father's  friend.  Professor  William  R. 
Ware  of  Columbia  University,  drew  from  Charles  the  follow- 
ing reply,  in  which  he  combatted  the  not  uncommon  opinion 
that  the  designs  made  by  his  firm  were  always  of  the  in- 
formal, irregular,  or  picturesque  type.  He  was  the  freer  to 
express  himself  on  this  occasion,  because  he  had  not  been 
intimately  concerned  with  the  designs  for  Jackson  Park, 
Chicago. 

January  4,  1897. 

Dear  Mr.  Ware,  —  Your  interesting,  as  well  as  enter- 
taining, letter  of  January  2d  is  at  hand,  and  I  am  sorry  to 
say  that  you  are  too  late  with  your  suggestions  for  the  Chi- 
cago park  which  once  was  the  site  of  the  World's  Fair.  Park 
Commissions  in  Chicago  are  extremely  energetic  bodies,  and 
a  very  large  part  of  the  World's  Fair  site  is  already  reshaped 
to  park  purposes  in  accordance  with  the  general  plan,  a  copy 
of  which  I  send  you  herewith.  This  plan  is  a  modification  of 
Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted's  original  plan  for  this  park,  made  many 
years  before  the  World's  Fair  was  thought  of.  In  one  corner 
of  the  drawing  you  will  find  the  principal  elements  of  the 
design  briefly  noted  in  type. 


^T.  37]     PLANTING  THE   BOSTON   HARBOR   ISLANDS      699 

To  show  you  that  we  work  in  the  formal,  or  rectilinear, 
manner  when  circumstances  or  purpose  seem  to  demand  it,  I 
send  you  with  the  Jackson  Park  plan  our  preliminary  sketch 
for  the  new  site  of  Washington  Univei-sity,  St.  Louis.  This 
site  is  a  very  high  and  steep-sided  ridge,  extending  eastward 
toward  the  city,  and  you  will  observe  how  the  buildings  of 
the  college  are  proposed  to  be  attached  to  the  sides  of  the 
ridge  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  a  level  campus  between  them. 
For  the  Methodist  University  at  Washington  we  also,  quite 
lately,  prepared  a  preliminary  plan  on  formal  lines,  and  I 
could  show  you  here  many  designs  for  rectangular  and  geo- 
metric gardens  and  terraces  for  the  immediate  surroundings 
of  large  private  houses. 

On  the  Jackson  Park  plan  you  will  notice  that  the  sur- 
roundings of  the  great  Museum  are  designed  to  be  formal ; 
this  formality  extending  even  to  the  water  basin  and  the 
bridge  lying  south  of  the  Museum.  The  great  avenue  which 
the  Midway  has  now  become  is  also  thoroughly  formal 
throughout  its  length,  having  roads  on  either  side,  accom- 
panied by  walks  and  bridle-paths,  and  having  in  the  middle  a 
canal  which  affords  a  boating  course  in  summer  and  skating 
in  winter.  In  this  way  the  Midway  has  become  an  avenue, 
accommodating  travellers  in  carriages  or  sleighs,  on  cycles, 
on  horseback,  on  foot,  in  boats,  and  on  skates ;  and  what  a 
wonderful  place  for  fetes  and  carnivals  it  will  be ! 

In  the  fall  of  1896  Mr.  Augustus  Hemenway  of  Boston,  a 
member  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  asked  Charles 
some  questions  about  planting  the  islands  of  Boston  Harbor. 
Charles  answered  in  tlie  following  letter  :  — 

November  5, 1896. 

With  respect  to  the  possible  and  very  desirable  planting 
of  the  harbor  islands,  you  will  find  a  report  of  Mr.  F.  L. 
Olmsted's,  published  in  the  Thirteenth  Annual  Report  of 
the  Boston  Park  Department,  under  date  of  December  30, 
1887.  .  .  . 

In  order  to  catch  up,  so  to  speak,  with  the  progress  of 
building,  and  the  establishment  of  new  institutions  on  the 
harbor  islands,  a  good  deal  of  which  has  gone  forward  since 


703  SELECTED  LETTERS.     1897  [1897 

1887,  it  seems  to  me  tliat  a  new  investigation  would  be  neces- 
sary, involving  conferences  with  those  in  charge  of  the  islands 
and  of  the  institutions  in  question,  and  a  compilation  of  suf- 
ficient maps  to  determine  and  estimate  the  areas  which  it 
might  be  agreed  upon  could  be  planted  advantageously.  A 
thorough  study  of  the  islands  with  reference  to  the  kinds  of 
plants  to  be  used  and  the  spaces  or  areas  to  be  planted,  so  as 
not  to  incommode  the  occupants  of  the  islands,  while  effect- 
ing the  desired  change  in  the  appearance  of  the  harbor,  would 
be  a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty,  and  it  would  involve 
the  expenditure  of  more  time  than  is  ordinarily  the  case,  be- 
cause of  the  difficulty  of  getting  about  among  the  islands.  A 
preliminary  report,  with  an  estimate  of  cost,  but  without  de- 
tailed plans  for  executing  the  work,  could,  I  think,  be  made 
for  -$500,  expenses  of  all  kinds  included.  If  more  detailed 
plans  for  the  jjlanting  of  the  principal  islands,  with  estimates 
of  the  number  and  cost  of  each  kind  of  plant  required,  were 
desired,  it  would  easily  cost  another  1500,  and  more  than 
this,  if  the  planting-plans  would  need  to  be  prepared  in  any 
fine  detail. 

It  is  only  about  a  year  ago  that  our  firm  discussed  this 
question  anew  with  the  Boston  Park  Commission  ;  and  we 
were  then  told  that  the  work,  in  their  opinion,  would  be  more 
appropriately  attempted  by  tlie  Metropolitan  Park  Commis- 
sion than  by  the  Boston  Department.  We  were  also  told 
that  the  Boston  Departsnent  at  that  time  had  no  -IfeSOO  which 
could  be  properly  devoted  to  the  purpose.  Probably,  if  some 
scheme  of  planting  could  be  definitely  outlined,  and  a  fair  esti- 
mate of  the  cost  of  the  work  prepared,  some  way  could  then 
be  found  to  induce  the  different  institutions  now  occupying 
the  islands,  or  the  Boston  Park  Department,  or  the  Metro- 
politan Park  Department,  to  undertake  the  work. 

A  little  later,  Mr.  Henry  Clarke  Warren  of  Cambridge 
consulted  Charles  as  to  the  cost  and  the  pecuniary  result  of 
planting  the  whole  of  Bumkin  Island  in  Boston  Harbor,  an 
island  of  about  twenty-two  acres  in  area,  which  then  belonged 
to  Harvard  University,  and  was  at  the  moment  wholly  unpro- 
ductive. Mr.  Warren  indulged  the  hope  that  the  planting  of 
trees  on  this  island  might  be  shown  to  promise  a  profit  in  a 


acT.  37]  BOTANIC   GARDEN   IN  BRONX  PARK  701 

long  term  of  years.  Charles  was  unable  to  confirui  this  hope ; 
but  the  following-  extraet  from  a  letter  to  Mr.  Warren  shows 
that  he  thought  the  re-foresting  of  the  "harbor  islands  and 
headlands  could  be  accomplished  in  a  short  term  of  years  and 
at  a  moderate  expense  :  — 

February  18,  1897. 

.  .  .  My  own  feeling  as  to  what  would  be  accomplished  by 
suitably  planting  the  island  is  this :  Supposing  the  island 
were  planted  with  broad  belts  of  different  kinds  of  the  most 
likely  trees,  with  plenty  of  "  nurse  trees,"  and  that  an  accu- 
rate scientific  record  should  then  be  kept  of  the  rate  of  growth 
and  product  from  thinnings  during  25  or  50  years,  data  would 
be  obtained  of  the  sort  that  by  the  end  of  50  3'ears  will  prob- 
ably be  much  more  highly  valued  than  such  data  would  be 
to-day,  were  they  at  hand.  It  is  as  a  scientific  experiment 
that  it  seems  to  me  t!ie  proposed  work  would  be  valuable.  I 
do  not  think  it  would  profit  the  College  treasury  —  though, 
if  well  started,  it  might  pay  for  its  own  keep  afterwards.  It 
strikes  me  that  the  College  would  get  a  better  income  from 
the  island  if,  for  example,  it  leased  lots  on  it  for  summer 
camps  or  cottages.  As  to  the  cost  of  preparing  the  ground, 
planting,  weeding,  and  tending  for,  say  five  years,  I  think 
$2500  would  cover  all  that  would  be  really  necessary.  This 
would  not  include  providing  any  water ;  and  you  know  I 
think  the  experiment  would  be  more  serviceable  in  the  future 
if  water  were  not  artificially  supplied.  ... 

In  1896-97  plans  were  in  preparation  for  a  large  Botanic 
Garden  in  Bronx  Park,  New  York,  a  park  controlled  by  the 
■  Commissioners  of  the  Park  Department  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  The  Garden  is  a  private  institution  with  its  own 
Board  of  Managei's  ;  but  its  land  and  most  of  its  money 
came  from  the  city,  and  the  plans  for  the  Garden  were,  in 
consequence,  to  be  approved  by  the  Park  Commissioners. 
Plans  for  the  Garden  had  been  prepared  by  a  commission 
appointed  by  the  INIanagers  and  consisting  of  their  Director- 
in-chief,  Engineer,  Architect  of  the  Museum  Building,  and 
Gardener,  with  on(!  of  the  seven  Scientific  Directors  of  the 
Garden,  and  a  representative  of  the  architects  of  the  glass- 
houses. Their  plans  were  not  entirely  acceptable  to  the  Park 
Commissioners,  who  thereupon  asked  the  advice  of  four  ex- 
perts acting  together  as  a  commission  to  report  on  the  plans; 


702  SELECTED   LETTERS.     1897  [1897 

namely,  Professor  Charles  S.  Sargent  of  Harvard  University, 
Samuel  Parsons,  Jr.,  Superintendent  of  Parks,  Thomas  Hast- 
ings, architect,  and  Charles  Eliot,  landscape  architect. 

Charles  first  heard  of  this  invitation  on  the  11th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1897,  from  his  friend  W.  A.  Stiles,  editor  of  "  Garden 
and  Forest,"  who  was  one  of  the  Park  Commissioners.  He 
gladly  accepted  the  invitation  ;  for  he  had  imagined  that  a 
work  might  be  done  for  New  York  City  analogous  to  the 
Metropolitan  Park  work  which  he  had  seen  done  for  Boston ; 
and  he  welcomed  any  opportunity  to  study  the  park  resources 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  great  city.  He  ordered  the  best 
tojjographical  maps  of  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  and  began 
to  study  the  topogi-aphy,  the  boundaries  of  the  different 
municipalities,  the  unoccupied  districts,  the  watercourses, 
the  means  of  communication,  and  all  the  other  elements  of  the 
problem,  just  as  he  had  studied  the  similar  elements  of  the 
metropolitan  district  problem.  It  was  the  end  of  the  month 
before  he  could  get  to  New  York ;  but  he  then  spent  three 
days  there,  visiting  Mulberry  Bend  and  Bronx  Park  "■  to  get 
the  lay  of  the  land,"  walking  all  over  the  ground  from  Bed- 
ford Park  station  and  back,  and  conferring  with  Messrs. 
Stiles,  Parsons,  and  Hastings  at  the  Century  Club,  and  with 
Mr.  Hastings,  and  Messrs.  Britton,  Brinley,  and  Henshaw  of 
the  Managers'  Plans  Commission,  on  the  ground.  He  was 
much  impressed  with  the  landscape  possibilities  of  Bronx  and 
Pelham  Bay  Parks,  and  wrote  to  his  wife  of  Bronx  Park : 
"  I  am  glad  to  have  had  this  afternoon's  hours  in  the  very 
beautiful  park.  Too  bad  it  must  become  a  Botanic  Garden." 
He  expressed  his  opinions  informally  to  his  friend  Mr.  Stiles 
before  leaving  New  York,  and  was  at  his  office  in  Brookline 
again  on  March  2d.  The  Commission  of  experts  to  i-eport  to 
the  Park  Commissioners  on  the  plans  of  the  Managers'  Com- 
mission dissented  from  the  proposals  of  that  Commission  in 
some  respects ;  and  as  a  resxdt  of  the  entire  discussion  be- 
tween three  Commissions  and  one  Committee,  some  fine  scen- 
ery was  saved  which  the  original  plans  would  have  marred. 
New  York  is  now  justly  proud  of  both  the  parks  and  the 
Garden. 

During  the  winter  of  1896-97  Mr.  Warren  H.  Manning 
consulted  several  persons,  interested  in  landscape  architecture 
as  a  profession,  on  the  possibility  and  expediency  of  organ- 
izing a  society  of  landscape  designers,  which  should  cover  the 
United  States,  and  endeavor  to  contribute  by  the  selection  of 
its  members  to  a  better  comprehension  of  the  nature  of  func- 
tions of  the  profession.    He  had  obtained  the  assent  of  several 


^T.  37]  OUTDOOR  ART  ASSOCIATION  703 

leading-  practitioners  when  he  wrote  to  Charles  on  the  subject. 
Charles  answered  Mr.  Manning's  inquiry  by  the  following 
letter  written  at  Hartford  while  he  was  visiting-  the  parks 
there : — 

March  8,  1897. 

Your  letter  of  March  5  came  to  hand  in  due  season,  but 
really  I  have  no  time  (or  perhaps  it  is  no  enei-gy)  for  any- 
thing more  than  the  regular  course  of  work  which  is  always 
piled  up  ahead  of  me  in  a  mass  which  I  never  can  overlook. 
It  is  impossible  for  me  to  go  into  a  discussion  of  the  pros 
and  cons  of  the  association  you  propose ;  but  I  can  tell  you 
frankly  that  I  do  not  believe  a  league  of  professional  men, 
covering  the  field  of  the  United  States  and  endeavoring  to 
control  admittance  to  the  ranks  of  the  profession,  is  worth 
attempting  while  the  number  of  professional  men  concerned 
is  only  four  or  five,  and  while  the  profession  is  so  generally 
unrecognized  by  the  public. 

It  seems  to  me  that  if  you  have  energy  to  spare  for  advan- 
cmg  the  professional  cause,  and  for  cultivating  a  more  general 
recognition  of  its  usefulness  and  importance,  it  would  be  best 
to  begin  by  organizing,  not  a  professional,  but  a  general  asso- 
ciation, to  be  made  up  of  all  who  desire  the  advancement 
of  landscape  art,  much  as  the  Forestry  Association  is  made 
up  of  those  who  hope  for  the  advance  of  real  forestry  in 
our  country.  In  such  a  general  association,  amateurs,  landed 
proprietors,  writers,  park  superintendents,  engineers,  forest- 
ers, gardeners,  and  anybody  intei-ested  might  become  mem- 
bers, and  pay  their  two  dollars  or  so  a  year.  A  committee 
on  publication  might  then  print  a  sort  of  annual  or  quarterly 
report  of  progress  with  special  papers.  A  committee  on 
membership  would  drum  up  new  members  among  village  im- 
provement societies  and  elsewhere.  Your  special  point  might 
even  be  gained  by  having  a  committee  on  fellowship  who 
from  time  to  time  would  designate  as  Fellows  of  the  Associa- 
tion such  professional  men  as  might  accomplish  work  woi'thy 
of  being  crowned  with  the  approval  of  the  association.  In 
brief,  I  think  the  proposed  association,  if  attempted  at  all, 
should  correspond  more  closely  to  the  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science  than  to  any  trades-union  or  profes- 
sional league. 


704     LAST  REPORT  TO  THE  BOSTON  COMMISSION    [1897 

Please  excuse  tlie  hasty  composition  of  this  note,  which  I 
would  rather  you  would  not  copy  or  duplicate  at  present, 
except  that  I  wish  you  would  make  one  copy  and  send  it  to 
my  address  in  Brookline. 

Off  now  to  a  commission  meeting. 

Charles's  idea  of  what  the  proposed  Association  should  be 
was  accepted  by  the  pei-sons  most  interested  in  the  project, 
and  the  Park  and  Outdoor  Art  Association  was  duly  organ- 
ized at  a  meeting  held  at  Louisville  in  the  summer  of  1897. 

The  following  report  —  the  last  Charles  wrote  —  is  not  in 
the  form  in  which  the  report  of  the  landscape  architects 
appears  in  the  printed  report  of  the  Boston  Park  Commission 
for  1896,  for  the  reason  that  Charles  did  not  have  opportu- 
nity to  revise  his  fii'st  draught  in  consultation  either  with 
his  partners  or  with  the  Commission.  The  printed  report 
appeared  several  months  after  Charles's  death,  and  contains 
numerous  sentences  added  by  the  firm,  and  does  not  contain 
several  paragraphs  and  sentences  which  Charles  actually 
wrote.  These  changes,  whether  by  addition  or  subtraction, 
may  all  have  been  desirable  or  expedient,  and  very  possibly 
Charles  would  have  assented  to  them  ;  but  as  he  never  had 
the  opportunity  to  do  so,  it  has  seemed  necessary  to  print  here 
just  what  he  wrote.  The  report  is  in  his  own  handwriting. 
It  was  addressed  to  the  chairman  of  the  Boston  Park  Com- 
mission, but  was  never  received  by  him  in  this  form.  The 
actual  report  made  by  the  firm  was  dated  March  23,  1897  ; 
it  included  what  Charles  had  written,  but  there  were  some 
alterations  and  additions.  This  second  draught  was  changed 
considerably  before  printing. 

The  following  brief  notes  of  our  doings  in  connection  with 
the  work  of  the  Boston  Park  Commission  during  the  year 
1896  are  respectfully  submitted. 

GENERAL    PLANS. 

The  last  complete  design  or  "  general  plan "  officially 
adopted  by  the  Park  Commission  was  the  plan  for  the  small 
and  peculiar  pleasure  grounds  recently  named  North  End 
Beach  and  Copps  Hill  Terrace. 

A  "  general  plan  "  for  Dorchester  Park  has  been  prepared ; 
but,  though  approved  by  the  Commission,  it  has  never  been 
formally  adopted,  because   certain  agreements  with  the  city 


^T.  37]     WEST  ROXBURY   PARKWAY  —  PETERS   HILL      705 

departments  controlling  adjacent  lands  which  ought  to  be 
joined  to  the  park  —  namely,  the  City  Hospital  and  the  City 
Street  Department  —  have  not  yet  been  entered  into. 

A  "  general  plan  "  for  the  recently  acquired  West  Rox- 
bury  Parkway,  extending  from  tlie  Arboretum  to  Bellevue 
Hill  and  Stony  Brook  Keservation,  has  been  ordered  by  the 
Commission  :  it  cannot,  however,  be  satisfactorily  finished 
imtil  certain  small  additional  areas  of  land  are  secured  at  two 
difficult  places.  When  these  two  parcels  are  acquired,  there 
will  be  no  part  of  the  Boston  j^arks  where  boundary  roads 
affording  frontage  for  adjacent  building  land  will  not  be 
obtainable  when  they  are  wanted. 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  West  Eoxbury  Parkway  will 
presumably  be  the  last  large  Boston  park  ai'ea  for  which  a 
comprehensive  design  will  be  needed.  Hereafter,  or  at  least 
until  the  city  shall  take  up  in  earnest  the  development  of  the 
remarkable  opportunity  presented  by  the  Charles  River  Basin 
between  Boston  and  Cambridge,  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  the 
designing  of  small  local  recreation  grounds  will  occupy  the 
Commission's  professional  assistants. 

DETAILS    OF    ADOPTED    PLANS. 

As  has  been  the  case  in  all  recent  years,  the  study  of  the 
details  of  previously  submitted  and  adopted  general  plans  has 
chiefly  busied  your  landscape  architects.  In  1895  the  grad- 
ing plans  for  North  End  Beach,  for  the  yacht  club  sites  on 
the  Strandway,  for  the  neighborhood  of  the  Franklin  Park 
restaurant  and  carriage  sheds,  and  the  widening  of  Blue  Hill 
Avenue,  with  a  number  of  similar  works,  had  close  attention. 
During  1896  detailed  construction  designs  have  been  pre- 
pared for  a  large  part  of  West  Roxbury  Parkway,  for  several 
roadways  in  the  Peters  Hill  section  of  the  Arboretum,  for 
a  roadway  in  Jamaica  Park  between  Prince  Street  and  the 
Pond,  for  the  peculiar  bathing-place  outside  the  Strandway 
at  the  foot  of  L  Street,  for  a  foot])ath  entrance  to  Franklin 
Park  from  Blue  Hill  Avenue  at  the  end  of  Wales  Street, 
and  so  on. 

The  roads  for  the  steep  and  difficult  Peters  Hill  were  first 
designed  to  have  a  maximum  grade  of  six  per  cent. ;  but  the 


706  SELECTED  LETTERS.    1897  [1897 

Director  of  the  Arboretum  objected  so  seriously  to  the  exten- 
sive grading  of  side  slopes  which  was  involved,  that  we  were 
instructed  to  re-draw  the  plans  in  such  a  way  as  to  reduce  the 
side  slopes  to  the  narrowest  possible  limit.  This  was  done ; 
but  the  resulting  roads  will  necessarily  have  maximum  grades 
of  eight  per  cent. ;  in  other  words,  they  will  be  steeper  than 
any  other  roads  of  the  Boston  parks,  and  in  our  opinion 
steeper  than  any  much-fi'equented  pleasure  driveways  ought 
to  be. 

The  new  road  planned  for  Jamaica  Park  will  pass  for  the 
most  part  through  gently  sloping  lands  lying  along  that  side 
of  Jamaica  Pond  where  the  memorial  to  Francis  Parkman  is 
shortly  to  be  built ;  but  in  another  part  of  its  course  it  must 
descend  a  hill  along  a  very  steep  crosswise  slope  thick-set 
with  fine  trees;  and  just  here  the  new  road  will  also  be  so 
close  to  the  existing  border  road  called  Prince  Street,  that  it 
will  inevitably  appear  unnecessary.  The  original  design  for 
Jamaica  Park,  indeed,  proposed  this  road  paralleling  Prince 
Street ;  but  this  design  was  based  on  the  underlying  design 
for  a  continuous  pleasure  driveway,  wholly  separate  from 
the  border  roads,  and  free  from  the  traffic  of  their  abutting 
buildings,  which  was  to  begin  at  Huntington  Avenue,  Brook- 
line,  and  traverse  Leverett  Park,  Jamaica  Park,  and  the 
Arborway  to  Franklin  Park.  It  was  argued,  and  we  think 
justly,  that  such  a  long,  continuous,  and  separate  park  road, 
bordered  by  trees  and  shrubbery  rather  than  by  houses,  would 
be  more  enjoyable  than  the  border  roads,  which  must  in  any 
event  serve  for  pleasure  driving  all  the  way  from  the  Public 
Garden  to  Leverett  Park.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Leverett 
Park  section  of  this  separate  road  has  been  built,  as  well  as 
that  part  of  it  which  is  included  in  the  Arborway,  but  the 
land  required  to  separate  it  from  the  border  road  along  the 
northwest  side  of  Jamaica  Pond  has  never  been  secured.  It 
seems  to  us  that  the  placing  of  a  road  on  the  steep  west  bank 
of  Jamaica  Pond  cannot  be  justified,  unless  the  whole  length 
of  the  originally  proposed  separate  road  is  to  be  secured. 

Among  the  most  difficult  details  of  park  designs  are  the 
plans  for  the  necessaiy  buildings.  The  Commission  has  al- 
ways employed  good  architects  ;  but  it  has  been  necessary 


^T.  37]  PARK  BUILDINGS  AND  PLANTINGS  707 

that  we  should  define  for  the  architects  the  purposes  to  be 
served  by  the  buikliiigs,  and  to  sketch  preliminary  ground 
plans.  Designs  for  the  administration  building,  and  for  the 
men's  and  women's  bath-houses  at  North  End  Beach,  have 
been  studied  with  Architect  R.  C.  Sturgis  during  the  past 
year.  It  is  impossible  to  foretell  how  much  this  small  bath- 
ing-beach may  be  frequented ;  but  it  seemed  best  not  to 
make  use  of  all  the  narrow  space  available  for  bathers'  dress- 
ing-rooms at  once.  The  buildings  are  ingeniously  arranged 
so  as  to  properly  control  the  bathers,  and  so  as  to  permit 
their  passing  to  and  from  the  beach  without  interfering  with 
persons  passing  to  or  from  the  piers  and  boat-landings. 

The  bathing  establishment  at  Marine  Park  was  first  opened 
last  summer,  and  was  much  used ;  but  it  needs  to  be  fenced 
off  as  originally  designed  ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
licensed  manager  may  be  a  little  more  strictly  controlled  in 
some  respects.  We  must  needs  regret  that  the  restaurant, 
originally  designed  for  the  pier,  was  finally  squeezed  into  the 
head-house  to  the  ruin  of  its  interior  plan. 

The  restaurant  in  Franklin  Park  was  also  opened  for  the 
first  time  last  summer,  and  was  much  visited  in  the  evenings. 
For  the  sake  of  the  health  of  the  vines  which  are  to  cover  the 
great  arbor  of  the  terrace,  we  were  obliged  to  recommend  a 
temporary  flooring  of  boards.  Brick  will  be  substituted  after 
the  vines  are  well  started.  The  circular  carriage  shed  and  a 
bicycle  stand  adjacent  to  this  building  have  also  been  planned 
during  the  year  in  conjunction  with  Architects  Hartwell  and 
Richardson. 

Among  other  buildings  which  are  already  needed  are  a 
house  for  players  and  skaters  at  Franklin  Field,  a  boating 
and  skating  house  at  Jamaica  Pond,  and  an  administration 
building  and  stable  in  Franklin  Pai"k.  A  leading  horticul- 
tural journal  recently  spoke  of  "  useless  buildings  "  in  the 
Boston  parks ;  but  we  know  of  none  such.  Those  which 
have  been  built  are  essential  to  the  realization  of  the  adopted 
general  plans.  Whether  their  construction,  or  that  of  par- 
ticular roads,  bridges,  or  walls,  might  not  have  been  post- 
poned, or  accomplished  more  cheaply,  it  is  not  for  us  to 
say.     Having  adopted  a  general  plan,  the  Commission  alone 


708  SELECTED   LETTERS.     1897  [1897 

determines  what  part  or  parts  thereof  shall  be  executed  from 
year  to  year. 

Perliaps  the  most  difficult  of  all  the  elements  of  a  gen- 
eral plan  to  get  carried  out  satisfactorily  is  such  modification 
of  existing  vegetation,  or  such  addition  of  new  vegetation 
by  planting,  as  may  be  required  for  the  realization  of  the 
intended  scenery.  The  lines  and  grades  of  roads  and  paths 
which  make  i3arks  accessible  can  be  described  by  drawings 
with  great  accuracy ;  but  not  so  the  more  essentially  scenic 
work  in  the  woods  and  fields.  This  work  in  the  Boston  parks 
has  been,  and  indeed  must  be,  entrusted  to  resjjonsible  spe- 
cialists corresponding  with  the  engineers  in  charge  of  the  con- 
structive works  ;  but  if  satisfactory  results  are  to  be  secured, 
it  is  just  as  essential  that  these  foresters  or  gardeners  should 
be  loyal  to  the  general  plans,  as  it  is  that  the  road-building 
engineers  should  be.  The  roads  and  paths  of  country  parks 
are  placed  in  certain  positions  so  as  to  command  certain  land- 
scapes, or  bits  of  scenery,  thus  and  so,  and  conversely  the 
vegetation,  which  in  this  climate  makes  the  scenery,  must  be 
controlled,  encouraged,  or  modified  accordingly.  Unless  the 
planting,  thinning,  and  clearing  are  thus  done  sympatheti- 
cally, the  courses  of  the  roads  become  meaningless,  and  their 
cost  is  wasted. 

We  feel  obliged  to  say  that,  on  account  of  circumstances 
which  need  not  be  detailed,  this  important  department  of 
work  in  the  Boston  parks  has  not,  like  the  construction  de- 
partment, been  uniformly  faithful  to  the  adopted  general 
plans,  as  they  have  been  described  in  the  landscape  architects' 
drawings,  and  in  their  reports  on  the  designs  for  the  Fens, 
for  Franklin  Park,  and  so  on.  With  the  appointment  of  a 
responsible  superintendent  of  parks,  we  look  forward  to  more 
thoroughly  harmonious  methods  and  residts. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

LANDSCAPE   FORESTRY  IN  THE  METROPOLITAN  RESER- 
VATIONS 

Wherever  Nature  has  herself  glorified  a  country,  and  made  a  picture 
bounded  only  by  the  horizon,  as  in  many  parts  of  Switzerland,  Italy, 
Southern  Germany,  and  even  our  own  Silesia,  I  am  strongly  of  the 
opinion  that  park-works  are  superfluous.  It  seems  to  me  like  paint- 
ing a  petty  landscape  in  one  corner  of  a  beautiful  Claude  Lorraine. 
In  these  cases  we  should  content  ourselves  with  laying  out  good  roads, 
to  make  the  fine  points  more  accessible,  and  here  and  there  the  cutting 
of  a  few  trees,  to  open  vistas  which  Nature  has  left  closed.  —  Pucklek- 

MUSKAU. 

By  the  time  the  metropolitan  forest  reservations  had  been 
in  possession  of  the  Commission  two  years  and  a  half,  the 
removal  of  dead  wood  had  been  accomplished,  preliminary 
roads  on  the  lines  of  the  old  wood-roads  had  been  opened  to 
give  the  public  and  the  employees  of  the  Commission  access 
to  all  parts  of  the  reservations,  and  the  topographical  maps 
on  a  scale  of  100  feet  to  the  inch  had  been  completed  (early 
in  1896).  Charles  thought  he  saw  in  this  state  of  things  an 
opportunity  to  procure  some  beginning  of  landscape  forestry 
work ;  and  in  January,  1896,  he  opened  the  subject  to  the 
Commission  in  the  following  letter,  which  proposed  a  small 
annual  expenditure  for  supervision,  and  the  diversion  to 
forestry  woi'k  of  some  of  the  labor  regularly  employed.  As 
usual,  his  recommendations  were  moderate  as  regards  expen- 
diture —  indeed,  distinctly  economical :  — 

January  8,  1896. 

We  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  suggestions  concern- 
ing the  work  in  the  three  woodland  reservations  :  — 

From  the  date  of  the  acquiring  of  these  reservations  to  the 
present  time,  the  forces  employed  have  been  engaged  in  two 
principal  works :  (1)  removing  dead  wood,  both  standing 
and  fallen ;  (2)  constructing  preliminary  roads  on  the  lines 
of  the  old  woodpaths.  Two  winters  have  already  been  de- 
voted to  the  first-named  work,  and  two  summers  to  the  second. 


710  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  [1897 

The  reservations  have  been  opened  to  carriages  and  horse- 
back riders,  and  the  preliminary  roads  are  now  quite  suf- 
ficiently numerous.  The  work  of  the  present  winter  ought 
to  finally  free  the  woods  of  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the 
inflammable  material.  If  the  appropriations  warrant  the 
continuance  of  expenditure  at  the  present  rate,  it  would  seem 
that  some  attention  might  soon  be  given  to  the  restoration 
and  betterment  of  the  living  vegetation,  and  we  accordingly 
offer  the  following  suggestions  with  respect  to  this  delicate 
and  most  important  work. 

The  existing  forests  of  the  reservations  comprise  both 
sprout  and  seedling  woods ;  the  former  consisting  of  shoots 
sprung  from  the  stumps  of  felled  or  fire-killed  trees,  and  the 
latter  consisting  of  woods  which  have  grown  from  seeds  sown 
without  human  aid  in  lands  which  once  were  completely 
cleared  for  pasturage  or  cultivation.  The  restoration  of  the 
burnt  and  sprout  lauds  to  an  interesting  and  beautiful  con- 
dition will  require  years  of  labor  in  accordance  with  a  well- 
laid  scheme  of  economical  management.  Such  a  scheme  we 
may  outline  presently. 

The  work  which  calls  for  first  attention  is  found  in  the 
reforested  pastures.  Here  are  to  be  seen  most  of  the  large 
trees  and  the  only  broad-spreading  trees  of  the  reservations. 
Around  them  press  the  seedling  Oaks,  Hickories,  etc.,  which 
the  birds  and  squirrels  planted  among  the  slow  red  Cedars, 
the  short-lived  gray  Birches,  and  the  beautiful  wild  shrub- 
beries which  were  the  first  woody  growths  to  appear  in  the 
old  fields.  If  the  lives  of  the  older  generation  of  spreading 
pasture  trees  are  to  be  prolonged  (as  we  liope  they  may  be), 
it  will  be  necessary  to  free  them  from  the  too  close  pressure 
of  the  trees  of  the  younger  generation,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  heal  the  most  serious  of  the  many  wounds  they  have 
already  received.  The  axe  must  be  used  to  effect  the  first- 
named  purpose,  and  the  saw  the  second ;  but  the  axe  must  be 
used  with  discretion,  and  with  care  to  retain  enough  of  the 
vigorous  young  trees  to  fill  the  gaps  when  the  veterans  shall 
at  last  pass  away. 

In  other  smooth  parts  of  the  seedling  woods,  where  the 
former  pastures  contained  no  old  trees,  and  the  present  growth 


^T.  37]  THE  USES  OF  THE  AXE  711 

consists  of  mixed  species  too  closely  crowded,  the  axe  ought 
likewise  to  be  brought  into  play  for  the  freeing  of  the  most 
promising  individuals,  or  the  trees  of  the  most  desirable 
kinds.  In  valleys  and  glades  where  the  surface  is  smooth 
enough  and  the  soil  good  enough  to  grow  grass  when  suf- 
ficient light  has  been  admitted,  it  will  generally,  though  not 
always,  be  advisable  to  take  away  all  but  a  few  trees,  which 
will  thus  be  encouraged  to  form  noble  individuals  or  groups. 
On  rough,  rocky,  or  steep  ground  where  grass  is  unattainable, 
no  such  thinning  for  the  development  of  individuals  should 
be  attempted.  The  axe  may  be  used  to  eliminate  incongruous 
or  unsuitable  kinds  of  trees  and  bushes,  or  to  admit  the  sun- 
light necessary  to  the  growth  or  increase  of  desirable  species ; 
but  its  use  to  produce  a  monotony  of  separated  individuals 
regardless  of  soil  and  topography  must  be  prohibited.  Dense 
thickets  will  in  many  places  be  much  more  desirable  than 
open  glades. 

Of  the  other  good  services  in  the  cause  of  beauty  which  the 
axe  may  do  among  the  seedling  growths  of  the  reservations, 
it  is  unnecessary  to  write  at  length.  Among  its  good  works 
may  be  the  removal  of  trees  for  the  encouragement  of  shrubby 
ground-cover  at  points  where  distant  prospects  would  other- 
wise be  shut  out ;  the  similar  encouragement  of  low  ground- 
cover  on  and  among  some  of  the  finer  crags  which  to-day  are 
wrapped  from  sight  by  mantles  of  leaves  ;  the  removal  of 
conflicting  species  for  the  encouragement  of  the  white  Dog- 
wood on  this  southern  slope,  the  Winterberry  by  this  swamp, 
the  Bearberry  on  this  rocky  summit,  or  the  white  Pine  on 
this  ridge.  We  are  well  aware  that  the  axe  is  regarded  with 
a  sort  of  horror  by  many  excellent  people  at  this  time ;  but 
we  are  equally  convinced  that  with  the  help  of  no  other  in- 
strument, the  axe,  if  it  be  guided  wisely,  may  gradually  effect 
the  desired  rescue  and  enhancement  of  that  part  of  the  beauty 
of  the  scenery  of  the  reservations  which  depends  upon  the 
seedling  woods  and  shrubberies. 

Concerning  the  large  acreage  of  sprout-land  within  the 
reservations,  it  may  be  sufficient  at  this  time  to  point  out  that 
inasmuch  as  sprouts  from  stumps  form  unnatural,  compara- 
tively short-lived,  and  generally  monotonous  and  unbeautiful 


712  .  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  [1897 

woods,  it  ought  to  be  the  policy  of  the  Commission  to  grad- 
ually replace  the  sprouts  by  seedlings.  This  work  will 
doubtless  prove  a  somewhat  slow  and  arduous  undertaking ; 
but,  if  it  is  not  hurried,  it  need  not  prove  expensive.  Sprouts 
which  are  large  enough  to  be  useful  as  poles,  fence-posts,  or 
railroad  sleepers  are  always  salable  as  they  stand.  Such 
salable  sprouts  should  not,  however,  be  all  cut  at  once  ;  but 
by  felling  a  part  of  the  crop  one  year  and  another  part  a  few 
years  later,  every  inducement  should  be  offered  seedling  trees 
and  a  suitable  undergrowth  to  take  possession  and  obtain  a 
good  start.  On  the  other  hand,  sprouts  which  have  sprung 
from  the  stumps  in  the  most  recent  clearings  or  since  the 
most  recent  killing  fires,  while  unsalable,  are  still  so  small 
that  they  may  be  cut  rapidly  and  without  undue  expenditure 
of  time  and  money.  If  the  cutting  is  done  in  August,  most 
of  the  stumps  will  at  the  same  time  be  made  incapable  of 
sprouting  again  ;  and,  if  no  valuable  seedlings  have  yet  come 
in,  sheep  may  be  pastured  in  such  places  for  a  year  or  two  to 
complete  the  "  killing."  It  is  only  in  those  places  where  the 
sprouts  are  so  large  as  to  make  it  costly  to  cut  them,  and  yet 
so  small  as  to  be  unsalable,  that  it  seems  as  if  it  might  be  eco- 
nomical, and  therefore  advisable,  to  wait  some  years  before  the 
seedlings  can  be  offered  their  opportunity  to  possess  the  land. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  these  proposed  works  in  the  living 
woods  demand  uncommonly  far-seeing  and  even  artistic  direc- 
tion. Now  that  the  preliminary  roads  have  been  roughed 
out,  and  the  topographical  maps  completed,  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  Commission's  engineer  will  assume  charge 
and  direction  of  whatever  permanent  works  of  construction 
may  be  attempted.  Similarly,  whenever  the  clearing  away  of 
dead  wood  shall  have  been  practically  completed,  a  trained 
woodsman  ought  to  be  placed  in  cliarge  of  the  work  in  the 
living  woods.  The  man  who  is  thus  placed  in  command  of 
the  vegetation  of  parks  is  generally  called  a  "  landscape  gar- 
dener ; "  because  he  practises  the  operations  of  gardening  for 
the  sake  of  developing  "  landscapes."  Such  a  man  employed 
in  the  reservations  of  your  Conmiission  might  more  appro- 
priately be  called  a  "  landscape  forester ; "  but,  whatever  he 
may  be  called,  he  should  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 


^T.  37]      FOREMEN  OF  WOODCRAFT  SUGGESTED  713 

fauna  and  flora  of  the  woods,  competent  to  direct  all  wood- 
land work,  to  devise  economies,  to  discover  sources  of  income, 
and  eager,  at  the  same  time,  to  impart  to  the  superintendents 
and  to  a  succession  of  younger  assistants  something  of  his 
own  enthusiasm,  knowledge,  and  skill.  It  will  also  be  neces- 
sary that  this  woodsman,  as  well  as  the  engineer,  should  be 
in  complete  sympathy  with  the  landscape  architects,  and 
possess  a  good  knowledge  of  their  plans.  To  make  a  begin- 
ning, we  would  suggest  that  we  be  authorized  to  supervise, 
through  our  assistants,  such  work  as  may  be  suitably  entered 
upon  before  long,  and  at  the  same  time  to  draw  up  a  scheme 
of  work  to  be  executed  in  the  order  of  its  importance  during 
a  term  of  years.  This  laying  out  of  work  and  the  accom- 
panying supervising  is  something  that  we  are  accustomed  to 
attend  to  for  almost  all  our  clients,  both  public  and  private. 
Our  assistants  (draughtsmen,  plantsmen,  and  inspectors) 
take  up,  as  we  may  direct,  the  office  or  field  work  of  one 
client  after  another,  the  cost  of  their  services  being  charged 
to  different  clients,  according  to  the  time  given  to  the  work  of 
each.^  Whenever  any  work  calling  for  special  or  novel  ser- 
vice from  our  assistants  is  proposed,  we,  of  course,  ask  for 
authority  in  advance.  Work  done  on  the  Metropolitan  Dis- 
trict Map,  the  Guide  Maps  of  the  Forest  Reservations,  and 
the  Botanical  Survey  has  thus  been  specially  authorized.  The 
suggested  supervision  of  work  in  the  reservations  is  a  new 
service,  the  cost  of  which  we  may  estimate  as  $1000  for 
the  first  year.  Mr.  Warren  H.  Manning,  who  has  been  con- 
nected with  our  office  during  eight  years,  would  take  charge 
of  the  supervising  work.  A  more  competent  man  cannot 
be  found.  To  make  his  services  as  effective  as  possible,  we 
would  suggest  the  appointment  by  the  Commission  of  at  least 
two  foremen  of  woodcraft,  who  should  be  men  of  some  expe- 
rience. With  the  aid  of  these  men,  and  such  of  the  present 
foremen  as  may  be  competent  or  trainable,  we  feel  sure  that 
a  good  general  scheme  of  work  can  be  mapped  out  during  the 
coming  year,  and  that  valuable  beginnings  in  the  more  press- 
ing work  can  be  assured. 

1  Your  Commission  has  been  accustomed  to  settle  these  so-called  ex- 
pense accounts  every  three  months. 


714  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  [1897 

It  was,  however,  Charles's  settled  conviction  that  fores- 
try work  on  a  large  scale,  with  a  view  to  the  improvement 
of  landscape,  could  only  be  done  safely  after  the  preparation 
of  general  plans  for  each  of  the  forest  reservations ;  but  the 
Commission  was  not  yet  ready  to  oi"der  such  general  plans. 
As  soon  as  the  completion  of  the  topographical  maps  of  the 
three  forest  reservations  enabled  him  to  get  sun-prints  from 
the  full-scale  tracings,  he  thei-efore  organized  a  systematic 
mapping  of  the  existing  condition  of  the  woods  and  ground- 
cover  in  these  reservations.  This  work  went  on  during  the 
season  of  1896 ;  and  Charles  mentioned  it  in  his  report  to 
the  Commission  for  that  year  (see  p.  680).  It  was  in  his 
mind  a  part  of  the  desirable  preparation  for  making  general 
plans  ;  and  it  also  provided  a  permanent  record  of  the  deplor- 
able state  of  the  woods  when  the  Commission  took  charge  of 
them. 

The  completed  "  forest  survey  "  was  presented  to  the  Com- 
mission on  February  15, 1897.  It  consisted  of  seventy  survey 
sheets  in  portfolios,  accompanied  by  nine  hundred  numbered 
catalogue  cards,  each  of  which  described  the  vegetation  at  a 
spot  referred  to  by  a  number  on  one  of  the  survey  sheets. 
Flat  tints  were  also  used  on  the  sheets  to  indicate  the  princi- 
pal types  of  vegetation.  The  following  letter  accompanied 
this  considerable  piece  of  work  :  — 

February  15,  1897. 

We  hand  you  herewith  the  field  notes  and  maps  of  the 
"  forest  surveys  "  referred  to  in  our  last  annual  report,  ■^—  the 
product  of  studies  begun  soon  after  the  "  taking  "  of  the 
several  reservations,  and  continued  as  opportunities  have 
offered  from  time  to  time ;  also  a  list  of  the  trees  and  shrubs 
of  the  reservations,  with  notes  on  their  habits  and  distribu- 
tion. Messrs.  Warren  H.  Manning,  Percival  Gallagher,  J. 
Fred  Dawson,  and  Charles  H.  Wheeler  have  done  most  of 
this  mapping  and  note-taking  as  our  assistants. 

A  summary  report  of  the  principal  ascertained  facts,  with 
photographic  illustrations,  is  also  submitted  herewith,  includ- 
ing some  account  of  the  origin  of  the  commoner  types  of 
woodland  scenery,  and  some  suggestions  as  to  that  control  of 
the  vegetation  of  the  reservations  which  will  be  necessary  for 
the  preservation  and  enhancement  of  the  beauty  and  interest 
of  the  landscape. 


;et.  37]  VEGETATION  AND   SCENERY  715 

The  "  summary  report "  referred  to  in  the  preceding  letter 
was  illustrated  by  154  photographs,  6  sketches,  and  3  maps, 
and  as  a  piece  of  exposition  and  argument  addressed  to  a 
small  Board,  all  of  whose  members  could  examine  the  highly 
convincing  illustrations,  it  certainly  had  remarkable  merit. 
Charles  wrote  it  between  January  11  and  February  12, 1897, 
in  the  midst  of  many  other  occupations,  after  assembling  all 
the  various  contributions  of  his  field  and  office  assistants, 
and  classifying  them  in  his  own  mind  with  his  usual  discrim- 
ination and  perspicuity.  Although  intended  for  the  Park 
Commission  as  a  business  report  indicating  a  long  line  of 
executive  policy,  the  paper  is  much  more  than  an  argument 
addressed  to  one  park  board ;  it  shows  what  the  charming 
elements  of  park  scenery  really  are,  and  how  they  may  be 
preserved.  Even  genuine  lovers  of  scenery  are  often  quite 
unobservant  of  the  constituent  elements  of  the  scenes  they 
love.  Here  is  a  concise  treatise  on  the  different  types  of 
vegetation  which,  in  addition  to  the  fixed  "lay  of  the  land," 
make  New  England  rural  scenery,  and  on  the  ways  of  using 
these  types  to  preserve  and  enhance  the  beauty  of  that  char- 
acteristic scenery.  It  is  reproduced  here  with  only  five  of 
the  illustrations  which  originally  accompanied  it. 


VEGETATION    AND   SCENERY   IN    THE    METROPOLITAN    RESER- 
VATIONS. 
The  Object  of  the  Investigation. 

The  purpose  of  investing  public  money  in  the  purchase  of 
the  several  metropolitan  reservations  was  to  secure  for  the 
enjoym^t  of  present  and  future  generations  such  interesting 
and  beautiful  scenery  as  the  lands  acquired  can  supply ;  at 
all  events,  it  is  on  the  assumption  that  this  was  the  purpose 
in  view  that  the  following  report,  with  the  investigation  it 
describes,  is  based. 

The  scenery  of  the  inland  reservations  may  be  considered  as 
compounded  of  the  varying  forms  of  the  ground,  rocks,  waters, 
and  vegetation,  and  of  a  great  variety  of  distant  prospects, 
including  views  of  the  sea  and  of  remote  mountains,  such  as 
Wachusett  and  Monadnock.  The  more  or  less  rock-ribbed 
masses  of  the  Fells  and  the  Blue  Hills  and  the  intricately 
carved  or  modelled  hollows  of  Hemlock  Gorge,  Stony  Brook, 
and  Beaver  Brook  Reservations  have  life  histories  of  their 


716  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  [1897 

own ;  but  the  processes  of  their  evolution  are  so  slow  that  for 
all  human  purposes  these  smooth,  rough,  concave,  or  convex 
surfaces  may  be  regarded  as  changeless.  It  is,  moreover, 
quite  unlikely  that  there  will  ever  be  any  need  of  artificially 
modifying  them  in  any  considerable  degree.  Such  paths  or 
roads  as  will  be  needed  to  make  the  scenery  accessible  will  be 
mere  slender  threads  of  graded  surfaces  winding  over  and 
among  the  huge  natural  forms  of  the  ground. 

As  to  the  waters  of  the  reservations,  they  may,  indeed,  be 
artificially  ponded  here  and  there,  as  they  already  have  been 
in  the  Fells  and  in  Lynn  Woods,  where  the  reservoirs  greatly 
enliven  the  general  landscape ;  but  the  numerous  minor 
brooks  and  rivulets  will  doubtless  continue  to  alternately  dry 
up  and  rise  in  flood,  as  is  their  habit  in  our  climate,  without 
affecting  more  than  the  local  scenery  of  the  hollows  or  ravines 
in  which  they  flow. 

Thus  the  only  changeful  and  changeable  element  in  the 
general  as  well  as  the  local  landscape  of  the  domains  in  ques- 
tion is  the  vegetation  which  clothes  the  surface  everywhere, 
excepting  only  such  bare  areas  as  consist  of  naked  rock  or 
of  water.  Much  of  the  most  striking  scenery  of  the  world  is 
almost  or  quite  devoid  of  verdure ;  but  here  in  New  England 
we  cannot  escape  it,  even  if  we  would.  Bulrushes  insist  upon 
crowding  every  undrained  hollow,  Bearberry  carpets  barren 
rocks,  and  a  great  variety  of  vigorous  trees  and  shrubs  have 
had  to  be  continually  and  forcibly  prevented  from  reoccupy- 
ing  such  parts  of  the  slopes  between  the  rocks  and  the  swamps 
as  men  have  laboriously  cleared  at  different  times  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  food  crops  or  grass  for  the  feeding  of 
cattle.  The  original  forests  disappeared  long  ago.  Where 
once  stood  towering  Pines,  there  are  to-day  perhaps  thickets 
of  scrub  Oak,  and  where  great  Hemlocks  shaded  damp,  mossy 
cliffs,  there  may  now  be  sun-baked  ledges  with  clumps  of 
Sweet  Fern  in  their  clefts.  While  seedlings  have  been  push- 
ing their  way  into  the  clearings  at  every  opportunity,  fire  and 
the  axe  have  made  great  changes  in  the  vegetation  of  the 
wilder  woodlands  during  the  last  two  hundred  years ;  and  all 
these  changes  have  necessarily  had  their  effect  on  the  scenery. 

The  present  investigation  is  not,  however,  an  historical  or 


-ET.  37]         CHIEF  TYPES  OF  THE  VEGETATION  717 

even  a  scientific  inquiry.  Its  purpose  is  simply  to  record  the 
present  condition  of  the  verdure  of  the  reservations,  to  note 
the  effect  in  the  landscape  of  the  several  predominant  types 
of  vegetation,  and  to  inquire  into  the  origins  of  these  various 
types  only  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  to  determine  how  best 
to  encourage,  control,  or  discourage  the  existing  growth,  with 
a  view  to  the  enrichment  of  that  treasure  of  scenery  whjch 
the  reservations  have  been  created  to  secure  and  preserve. 

The  Methods  Pzirsued. 

For  the  purpose  of  making  a  record  of  the  present  condition 
of  the  vegetation,  sun-prints  from  the  original  tracings  of  the 
topographical  maps  of  the  several  reservations  were  carried 
into  the  field,  together  with  ordinary  catalogue  cards.  The 
maps  used  were  drawn  to  the  scale  of  6ne  hundred  feet  to  an 
inch,  and  showed  roads,  paths,  stone  walls,  conspicuous  rocks, 
and  large  trees,  in  addition  to  contour  lines  indicating  every 
difference  of  five  feet  in  elevation.  Each  of  the  seventy  sep- 
arate survey  sheets  was  designated  by  a  letter  and  number 
(for  example.  Fells,  B.  3),  the  dozen  or  more  cards  bearing 
notes  referring  to  each  separate  sheet  were  also  numbered  (for 
example,  Fells  B.  3),  and  the  card  numbers  were  entered  on 

13 
the"  survey  sheets  at  the  several  points  to  which  the  corre- 
sponding notes  had  reference.  Different  observers  engaged 
in  different  parts  of  the  broad  field  have  doubtless  followed 
somewhat  different  standards  in  making  notes ;  but  the  en- 
deavor of  all  has  been  to  record  every  marked  variation  in 
the  existing  vegetation,  together  with  such  information  as  to 
the  origin  of  each  peculiar  type  as  could  be  gathered  either 
from  study  on  the  spot  or  from  persons  acquainted  with  the 
neighborhood. 

The  Principal  Types  of  Vegetation. 

On  comparing  and  studying  the  returned  map  sheets  and 
card  notes,  it  gradually  became  clear  that  what  at  first  seemed 
a  hopeless  confusion  of  isolated  facts  was  after  all  resolvable 
into  a  rational  order,  and  that  the  vegetation  of  the  reser- 
vations can  be  truthfully  said  to  be  composed  of  some  six 


718  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  [1897 

principal  landscape  types  or  forms,  the  peculiarities  of  two 
of  which  depend  chiefly  on  natural  topographical  conditions, 
while  the  distinguishing  features  of  the  other  four  types  are 
principally  derived  from  the  work  of  men  and  of  fire  in  the 
woodlands  of  the  past.  Perhaps  the  most  interesting  fact 
established  by  the  inquiry  is  just  this, — that  the  woods  of 
these  reservations,  which  are  commonly  thought  of  and  spoken 
of  as  "  wild,"  are  really  artificial  in  a  high  degree.  The  pecul- 
iar growth  of  dwarf  trees  and  bushes  which  occupies  the 
highest  summits  of  the  Blue  Hills,  and  the  equally  peculiar 
growth  of  shrubs  and  herbs  which  fills  the  wetter  swamps, 
have  not  been  worth  troubling  with  the  axe,  while  the  bare 
ledges  of  the  hill-tops  have  defended  the  summit  type  of 
growth  from  fire  almost  as  effectually  as  the  presence  of  water 
has  defended  the  swamp  type.  On  the  other  hand,  all  the 
intervening  slopes  and  plains  of  the  reservations  have  been 
chopped  over,  or  completely  cleared,  or  pastured,  or  burnt 
over,  time  and  again  since  the  settlement  of  Massachusetts. 
Much  of  the  resulting  vegetation,  and  consequently  much  of 
the  scenery  of  the  reservations,  is  monotonous,  insipid,  and 
unlovely,  but  it  must  be  added  that  those  parts  in  which  men 
have  lived  longest  or  worked  hardest  are  often  beautiful  in  a 
high  degree. 

The  following  are  the  principal  types  of  the  vegetation  of 
the  reservations  which  are  about  to  be  reviewed  in  the  order 
here  set  down  :  — 

Types  dependent  chiefly  on  topographical  conditions :  — 
The  Summit,  The  Swamp. 

Types  dependent  chiefly  on  the  interference  of  men :  — 
The  Coppice,  The  Bushy  Pasture, 

The  Field  and  Pasture,    The  Seedling  Forest. 

It  is,  of  course,  to  be  understood  that  all  these  types,  and 
particularly  the  last  three,  run  together  more  or  less,  and  that 
in  sketching  their  distribution  on  the  accompanying  maps,  all 
that  is  intended  is  to  indicate  to  the  observer's  judgment  as 
to  which  type  predominates  in  each  locality. 

1.  The  Summit  Type.  —  Whether  the  lofty  or  rocky  sum- 
mits of  the  Blue  Hills  were  ever  covered  with  high  forest  is 


^T.  37]  THE  SUMMIT  TYPE  719 

not  quite  clear,  but  that  the  scanty  soil  of  these  hill-tops  is 
clothed  to-day  with  an  interesting  and  distinctive  kind  of 
vegetation  is  very  noticeable.  This  vegetation  is  generally 
low,  seldom  exceeding  five  feet  in  heiglit,  except  where  wind- 
bent  forms  of  pitch  Pines,  Hickories,  Chestnut-Oaks,  or  other 
trees,  occasionally  rise  above  the  dense  mass  of  ground-cover- 
ing shrubbery.  This  shrubbery  consists  for  the  most  part  of 
closely  interlocking  plants  of  scrub  Oak,  forming  thickets 
almost  as  impenetrable  as  the  chaparral  of  the  Western 
States.  Mixed  with  the  scrub  Oak  are  occasional  patches 
of  other  bushes  of  kinds  which  are  capable  of  withstanding 
adverse  circumstances,  such  as  Sweet  Fern  and  Chokeberry ; 
and  where  the  gravelly  soil  is  thinnest,  broad  mats  of  Bear- 
berry  are  not  uncommon.  This  growth  has  generally  escaped 
destruction  by  fire,  but  where  it  has  been  killed  so  that  raw 
soil  has  been  exposed,  the  gray  Birch  has  seeded  itself  and 
taken  at  least  temporary  possession.  Many  of  the  higher, 
steeper,  and  more  naked  .crags  have  wholly  escaped  all  re- 
cent fires  and  the  axe  as  well ;  and  here  are  found  quaint 
stunted  forms  of  pitch  Pines  and  other  hardy  trees.  The 
irregular  upper  edge  of  the  ordinary  forest  in  these  hills  (the 
"  tree  line,"  as  it  would  be  called  in  the  mountains)  als( 
exhibits  many  more  or  less  distorted  growths  of  the  hardiei' 
species  of  trees,  and  forms  strong  and  sharp  foregrounds  for 
the  panoramic  views. 

Speaking  generally,  this  summit  growth  is  altogether  appro- 
priate, interesting,  and  pleasing.     It  is  generally  low  enough 
to  enable   the  broad   prospect  of  these  hill-tops  to  be  suffi- 
ciently well  commanded.    Its  dwarf ness  also  tends  to  increa^ 
the  apparent  height  of  the  hills,  and  to  set  off  the  granci 
picturesque  forms  of  their  ledges  and  crags.     It  ought  to  ^ 
the  settled  purpose  of  the  administration  of  the  reservations 
to  foster  the  peculiar  character  of  this  vegetation  by  removing 
such  few  inappropriate  species  as  may  occasionally  obtain  a 
foothold  on  the  heights,  and  by  carefully  refraining  from  any 
trimming  or  clearing  of  those  crooked  growths  which  give 
character  to  this  type  of  scenery.     It  should  be  added  that 
the  type  is  in  some  measure  imitated  on  even  low-lying  ledges 
and  tracts  of  ledgy  ground  throughout  the  reservations,  and 


720  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  [1897 

that  even  where  it  is  only  a  minor  element  of  local  scenery,  it 
should  be  encouraged  and  helped.  Rock  scenery  is  indeed 
so  interesting,  and  characteristic  vegetation  so  enhances  this 
interest,  that  it  will  be  advisable  (as  is  noted  later)  to  remove 
much  inappropriate  and  rock-concealing  vegetation  from  the 
craggy  parts  of  the  reservations,  and  to  induce  the  spreading 
therein  of  dwarf  forms  chiefly. 

2.  The  Swamp  Type.  —  In  marked  contrast  to  the  vegeta- 
tion of  the  prospect-commanding  heights  is  the  verdure  of  the 
many  sheltered  and  secluded  swamps  and  wet  valleys.  Small, 
roundish  swamps,  generally  bordered,  in  part  at  least,  by 
ledges,  are  very  common  in  the  three  larger  reservations.  The 
ordinary  forest  presses  close  about  these  hollows,  but  owing 
to  lack  of  drainage  their  level  floors  are  too  wet  for  most  trees, 
although  the  stumps  of  white  Pines  are  often  found  in  them. 
Bulrushes  are  to-day  the  usual  occupants  of  the  deeper  parts 
of  these  wet  spots,  while  much  beautiful  shrubbery  of  Clethra, 
Azalea,  Winterberry,  and  other  sorts  fringes  their  edges. 
The  local  scenery  of  these  sunny  openings  in  the  monotonous 
woods  is  often  extremely  pleasing,  as  when  some  bold  rock 
projects  into  the  level  of  rushes,  or  when  the  encircling  fringe 
of  bushes  is  unbroken.  It  is  evident  that  these  places  ought 
not  to  be  meddled  with,  save  for  good  reasons.  Their  peculiar 
beauty  can  be  long  preserved,  if  the  natural  drainage  is  not 
altered,  and  if  such  incongruous  species  as  may  from  time  to 
time  appear  are  promptly  removed. 

According  as  these  bowls  or  hollows  of  the  surface  are 
worse  or  better  drained  than  in  the  typical  cases  jnst  men- 
tioned, the  vegetation  varies.  Such  high-lying  or  uncommonly 
large  bowls  as  have  not  yet  been  completely  filled  by  wash- 
ings from  the  surrounding  surfaces  show  open  water  in  their 
centres,  at  least,  and  if  the  breadth  of  water  is  not  so  great 
as  to  generate  waves,  it  is  sometimes  wholly  or  in  part  sur- 
rounded by  a  "  floating  or  quaking  bog  "  composed  of  matted 
roots  of  such  low-growing  woody  plants  as  Cranberry,  Cas- 
sandra, Andromeda,  and  the  like.  No  shrubberies  can  be 
lovelier  than  some  of  these  which,  beginning  with  low  bushes  or 
rushes  at  the  water's  edge,  increase  irregularly  in  height  as  they 
recede  from  the  water,  until  they  finally  merge  into  the  margin 


^T.  37]  THE   J5WAMP  TYPE  721 

of  the  surrounding  woods.  It  is  noticeable  that  such  shrub- 
beries are  best  developed  where  the  supply  of  water  is  most 
constant;  as  at  Turtle  Pond  in  Stony  Brook  Reservation. 
Where  wetness  alternates  with  dryness,  the  Button-bush 
seems  to  feel  at  home,  and  covers  large  areas,  almost  without 
comjjanions.  Again,  where  the  conditions  are  just  right  and 
men  have  not  cut  it  out,  the  white  Cedar  still  holds  posses- 
sion, with  its  exceedingly  dense  and  dark  growth. 

On  the  other  hand,  such  hollows  and  valleys  as  have  better 
drainage  than  the  typical  swamps  first  cited  tend  to  clothe 
themselves  with  trees  in  addition  to  the  usual  shrubs  of  wet 
places.  Where  such  trees  thrive,  the  shrubs  slowly  disappear, 
and  a  wood  results  much  like  the  ordinary  forest.  In  any 
general  view  over, the  reservations  these  brook  valleys  are 
easily  traceable  by  the  general  coloring  of  the  trees  which  fill 
them.  The  gray  Birch  is  frequent,  but  the  characteristic  tree 
of  such  wet  hollows  is  now  the  red  Maple,  which  with  its 
haze  of  blossoms  in  early  spring,  its  brilliant  colors  in  early 
autumn,  and  the  peculiar  gray  of  its  twigs  in  winter,  tints  all 
the  valleys  of  the  reservations  and  brings  them  out  as  on  a 
map. 

In  places  where  the  conditions  are  suitable  for  the  growth 
of  shrubs  like  high-bush  Blueberry,  Cletlira,  and  the  like,  the 
Maple  often  tends  to  intrude  itself  where  it  could  well  be 
spai'ed.  The  upland  woods  are  quite  sufficiently  dense,  con- 
tinuous, and  monotonous,  without  filling  the  wet  bush-covered 
openings  with  additional  tree-trunks.  The  local  scenery  of 
such  bushy  openings,  the  bounding  ledges  or  slopes  of  rocky 
debris,  cannot  be  seen  or  appreciated,  if  Maples  are  to  be 
allowed  to  crowd  in.  On  this  account  trees  ought  eventually 
to  be  kept  out  of  many  of  these  places  for  the  encouragement 
of  the  bushy  ground-cover,  and  particularly  is  this  the  case 
where  the  removal  or  suppression  of  Maples  will  disclose 
above  the  bushes  and  between  the  framing  woods  glimpses  or 
vistas  of  far  blue  distances. 

3.  The  Coi)ince  Type.  —  The  summit  and  swamp  types  of 
vegetation  already  reviewed  have  been  but  little  molested  or 
changed  in  any  recent  years,  but,  with  mention  of  the  Maples 
of  the  better  drained  lowlands,  approach  is  made  to  the  main 


722  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  [1897 

body  of  the  woods  which,  modified  past  recognition  by  both 
axe  and  fire,  still  occupies  the  smooth  or  ragged  uplands  be- 
tween the  swamps  and  the  highest  summits.  The  transition 
from  the  lowland  woods  of  Maples  to  the  upland  forest  of 
Oaks,  Chestnuts,  and  other  species  is  generally  quite  sharply 
defined,  whether  the  dry  woods  consist  of  seedling  growth  or 
sprout-growth.  Sprout-growth  or  coppice  greatly  predomi- 
nates in  the  woodlands  under  consideration.  It  consists  of 
trees  sprung,  not  from  seed,  but  from  the  axed  or  burnt 
stumps  of  the  trees  of  a  previous  generation.  In  some  parts 
of  the  reservations,  as  many  as  six  or  eight  crops  have  been 
taken  by  means  of  the  axe  from  the  same  stumps  ;  twenty  to 
thirty  years  having  been  allowed  for  the  growth  of  each  crop. 

Much  might  be  learned  from  study  of  ,this  common  prac- 
tice of  gathering  periodical  wood-crops  from  lands  too  rough 
for  the  nicer  operations  of  husbandry ;  how  it  tends  to  reduce 
the  woods  to  masses  of  the  few  species  which  sprout  with 
the  greatest  vigor  and  suffer  the  least  from  fire ;  how  the 
extremely  rapid  growth  of  the  first  sprouts  from  old  stumps 
strangles  the  small  seedling  trees  which  may  have  started 
amid  the  undergrowth,  and  thus  preserves  the  supremacy  and 
continuity  of  the  coppice  ;  and  so  on.  Our  present  concern, 
however,  is  only  with  the  appearance  of  coppice  or  sprout 
growth,  and  particularly  with  the  part  it  plays  in  local  and 
broad  scenery. 

The  interior  of  a  high  coppice  wood  is  seldom  as  beautiful 
as  the  interior  of  a  seedling  forest,  not  to  speak  of  an  open 
grove.  It  lacks  the  pleasing  variety  of  natural  woods,  com- 
posed as  they  are  of  numerous  competing  kinds  of  trees  and 
underwood.  The  crop-like  or  artificial  nature  of  sprout-growth 
is  obvious  at  a  glance,  and  cannot  be  concealed  by  an  occa- 
sional though  rare  luxuriance  of  undergrowth  or  pretty  play 
of  light  and  shade.  Along  paths  and  roads  the  monotonous 
effect  of  its  crowded  vertical  lines  is  tedious  in  a  high  degree. 
It  is  only  when  some  cause  or  condition  introduces  a  little 
unwonted  variety  either  of  form  or  kind  of  tree  or  under- 
growth, or  when  a  distant  vista  catches  the  eye,  that  the  paths 
of  the  sprout-lands  are  not  comparatively  dull.  Along  the 
edges  of  old  or  broad  roads,  clearings,  swamps,  or  ponds,  and 


.ET.37]  THE   COPPICE   TYPE  723 

where  ledges  or  other  impediments  form  a  defence  against 
too  near  neighbors,  both  masses  and  single  specimens  of  sprout 
trees  naturally  send  out  low  branches  and  take  on  more  in- 
teresting forms ;  even  remarkably  striking  forms  in  many 
cases.  On  the  other  hand,  the  general  appearance  of  the 
ordinary  sprout-gi'owth,  when  it  is  seen  from  a  distance  in 
any  broad  view  over  the  reservations,  is  as  dull  and  tame  as 
is  its  usual  ajjpearance  close  at  hand.  Its  crowding  swarms 
of  nearly  uniform  trees  press  closely  down  to  the  swamps, 
climb  close  up  to  the  summit  ledges  and  invade  their  slopes 
of  debris,  crowd  the  hollows  and  notches  between  rocks,  and 
generally  tend  to  wrap  both  the  softer  and  the  bolder  features 
of  the  general  landscape  in  the  same  monotonous  blanket  of 
impenetrable  twigs  and  leafage.  A  kind  of  vegetation  which 
is  so  little  beautiful  in  itself  ought  not  to  be  permitted  to  take 
possession  of  those  parts  of  public  reservations  which  would 
be  more  interesting  were  the  screens  of  close-set  tx'ee-trunks 
wholly  or  partly  removed.  Here,  for  example,  is  a  hill  on 
which  the  sprout-growth  is  not  so  thick  as  it  often  is,  and  yet 
it  nevertheless  conceals  effectually  the  fine  rock-buttresses  of 
the  slope,  changes  what  would  otherwise  be  a  picturesque 
skyline  into  a  level  line  of  twigs,  and  in  summer  reduces  the 
whole  bold  hillside  to  a  soft  bank  of  leaves.  The  opposing 
cliffs  and  talus  slopes  of  the  narrow  valleys  of  the  Blue  Hills, 
many  lesser  knobs  and  ledges,  and  most  of  the  elevated  vista- 
commanding  "  notches  "  of  the  Hills  and  Fells  are  similarly 
smothered  in  curtains  and  veils  of  sprouts,  which,  in  great 
measure,  nullify  the  potential  beauty  of  the  scenery. 

Fortunately,  the  one  constant  ally  of  the  axe  of  the  wood- 
chopper  in  the  work  of  destroying  the  beauty  of  the  wood- 
lands of  the  reservations  is  now  presumably  under  control. 
Ground  or  leaf  fires  have  ordinarily  spread  through  the  woods 
almost  every  spring  and  autumn,  charring  the  base  of  the 
trees  without  killing  them :  but  about  once  in  every  ten  or 
twelve  years  the  dry  accumulations  of  chopped  tree-tops  and 
fallen  wood  have  furnished  material  for  conflagrations  hot 
enough  to  kill  trees  as  well  as  ground-cover  over  large  areas. 
In  such  cases  the  dead  or  dying  trees  stand  for  a  year  or  two, 
intact  but  naked,  while  new  sprouts  shoot  up  from  their  roots. 


724  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  ^     .J 

Later,  the  dead  trees  lose  their  now  dry  twigs  and  fall  from 
time  to  time,  forming  almost  impenetrable  barriers  of  sticlcs, 
supremely  well  adapted  to  serve  as  kindling  for  new  flames. 
The  greater  part  of  the  woodland  of  Blue  Hills  Reservation 
was  in  this  dead,  dangerous,  and  unsightly  condition  at  the 
time  the  reservation  was  acquired,  and  the  woods  of  the  Fells 
and  Stony  Brook  Reservations  were  largely  in  the  same  miser- 
able state.  For  the  sake  of  the  safety  of  the  living  growth, 
it  was,  therefore,  necessary  to  clear  away  the  accumulations 
of  dead  wood,  and  this  has  been  done  by  burning  it  in  heaps 
in  winter. 

When  full-grown  coppice  is  thus  killed  by  fire  or  felled  by 
the  axe,  the  stumps,  as  has  been  noted,  push  out  many  vigor- 
ous and  crowded  shoots  at  the  first  seasonable  opportunity.  If 
care  is  taken  to  prevent  such  sprouting,  for  example,  by 
bruising  the  shoots  when  tender,  or  by  sending  sheep  to 
browse  on  them,  the  stumps  can  be  eventually  killed  so  that 
they  will  sprout  no  more,  and  clearings,  pastures,  or  fields 
may  be  the  result.  If,  however,  the  stumps  are  not  killed, 
the  ground  is  soon  so  thickly  covered  by  the  new  sprouts  that 
it  cannot  be  seen  and  can  hardly  be  traversed.  It  makes 
little  difference  whether  such  new  sprout  follows  the  killing 
of  high  sprout  by  fire,  or  whether  it  springs  from  the  stumps 
of  felled  trees,  its  appearance  is  equally  dreary  and  monoto- 
nous. If  the  fire-killed  trees  are  not  entirely  removed  (as  they 
now  have  been  throughout  most  of  the  reservations),  or  if  they 
are  allowed  to  slowly  fall  to  pieces  amid  the  tangle  of  new 
sprouts,  the  woodland  scenery  becomes  still  more  dismal  and 
squalid.  It  would,  indeed,  be  hard  to  exaggerate  the  ruined 
appearance  of  such  scenes  ;  and  yet  they  were  met  with  on 
every  hand  when  the  reservations  were  first  acquired. 

As  in  the  case  of  old  sprout,  the  presence  of  young  sprout 
is  particularly  unwelcome  when  it  screens  from  sight  any  fine 
rocks  or  any  richly  verdurous  swamp  openings,  as  well  as  when 
it  blots  out  possible  vistas.  It  sometimes  springs  from  the 
stumps  of  such  deciduous  trees  as  once  were  mixed  with  con- 
ifers on  rocky  hillsides,  and  in  such  cases  it  ought  to  be  sup- 
pressed at  once  for  the  encouragement  of  seedling  Pines,  or 
other  trees  known  to  be  long-lived  and  appropriate  in  such 


9, 


! 


t;^' 


-ET.  37]    THE  REMOVAL  OF  THE   SPROUT-GROWTH        725 

situations.  The  occasional  broad  views  obtained  from  "  clear- 
ings "  made  just  previous  to  the  acquisition  of  the  reserva- 
tions, or  from  areas  from  which  fire-killed  old  sprout  has  been 
recently  removed,  are  often  fine,  but  they  are  generally  only 
temporary,  —  the  growth  of  the  young  sprout  will  obliterate 
most  of  these  prospects  in  a  very  few  years,  together  with 
many  now  pleasing  glimpses  of  the  ponds  in  the  Fells,  of  the 
distant  sea,  or  of  the  Great  Blue  Hill  seen  through  some 
chance  valley  or  ravine.  The  growth  of  the  young  sprout 
in  other  recent  clearings  will  also  once  more  shut  out  from 
view  such  bold  hill-forms  and  foreground  rock-masses  as  are 
temporarily  visible  and  enjoyable  just  at  present.  Many  of 
these  chance  and  fleeting  openings  in  the  too  continuous  and 
too  monotonous  woods  of  high  sprout  ought  certainly  to  be 
made  more  permanent,  if  only  to  illustrate  how  the  removal 
of  sprout-growth  from  large  surfaces,  and  particularly  from 
among  the  rocks,  will  enrich  and  vivify  the  scenery.  To 
neither  the  old  nor  the  young  living  coppice  has  any  attention 
yet  been  given.  The  only  care  the  pi-evious  private  owners 
gave  it  was  to  cut  the  sprout-growth  clean  whenever  the  crop 
seemed  ripe,  that  is,  whenever  most  of  the  trees  were  large 
enough  for  cordwood,  or  sometimes  for  chestnut  posts.  To 
thin  the  sprout-growth  so  as  to  develop  trees  of  more  spread- 
ing habit  was  never  worth  while  from  the  wood-lot  owners' 
point  of  view ;  but  such  thinning  has  been  practised  at  a  few 
places  within  the  limits  of  the  reservations  by  persons  de- 
sirous of  making  their  lands  more  attractive  in  the  eyes  of 
purchasers  of  suburban  house-lots,  with  results  which,  though 
startlingly  ugly  at  first,  serve  the  purpose  after  a  few  years. 
To  treat  the  sprout-lands  of  the  reservations  in  this  manner 
throughout  their  length  and  breadth  would,  however,  be  in- 
advisable, since  the  result  would  be  quite  as  monotonous  and 
artificial  in  its  way  as  is  the  present  dense  growth.  More- 
over, in  most  of  the  rough  lands  of  the  reservations  no  type 
of  growth  could  be  more  inappropriate  than  that  which  con- 
sists of  separated  and  spreading  trees.  In  such  lands  there 
is  not  enough  soil  to  grow  really  fine  separate  or  specimen 
trees,  and  again  there  are  few  sprout  trees  which  are  suf- 
ficiently sound  at  their  necessarily  deformed  bases  to  make 


726  LANDSCAPE   FORESTRY  [1897 

them  likely  to  thrive  and  live  more  than  a  comparatively 
small  number  of  years.  In  view  of  the  uninteresting  quality 
of  sprout-growth  as  an  element  of  scenery,  and  of  these  grave 
objections  to  any  general  thinnings,  it  ought  to  be  the  settled 
policy  of  the  management  of  the  reservations  to  gradually 
effect  the  substitution  of  mixed  seedling  growth  in  place  of 
the  existing  sprout-growth.  Now  that  fires  are  prevented 
from  spreading,  seedlings  of  many  species  of  trees  will  soon 
spring  up  wherever  the  sprout  trees  are  not  too  thickly  set ; 
Pine  seedlings  here.  Hemlocks  and  Beeches  there,  Birches 
among  these  rocks,  Hickories,  Chestnut-Oaks,  and  so  on.  Such 
seedling  underwood  is  noticeable  in  many  places  to-day;  and 
wherever  it  exists  and  wherever  it  appears,  it  can  and  ought 
to  be  given  possession  by  gradually  removing  the  sprout  trees 
and  killing  their  stumps.  In  such  cases  the  high  sprout  trees 
should  first  be  severely  thinned,  and  then  wholly  removed  per- 
haps two  years  later,  so  as  not  to  expose  the  seedlings  to  new 
conditions  with  too  great  suddenness.  In  the  high  vista- 
commanding  notches,  as  well  as  on  the  higher  slopes  and  in 
other  places  where  few  trees,  whether  sprout  or  seedling,  are 
really  desirable,  it  will  be  best  to  fell  all  the  sprout-growth 
at  once  and  to  kill  the  stumps.  How  beautifully  a  level  or 
ledgy  pasture  will  clothe  itself  with  seedling  shrubbery  and 
trees  will  be  illustrated  later.  It  is  sufficient  to  point  out 
here  that  intelligent  management  will  find  it  easy  to  gradually 
replace  the  crop-like  coppice  with  vegetation  much  more 
beautiful  in  itself,  and  also  more  conducive  to  beauty  of 
scenery. 

4.  The  Field  and  Pasture  Type.  —  The  scenic  value  of 
even  temporary  clearings  in  woods  has  just  been  mentioned, 
but  the  importance  and  beauty  of  more  lasting  open  places, 
such  as  fields  and  pastures,  is  incompai-ably  greater.  In  this 
climate  almost  all  treeless  and  grass-clothed  areas,  if  not 
quite  all,  are  due  to  the  labor  of  men,  supplemented  by  the 
browsing  of  domestic  animals.  For  a  year  or  two  the  stump- 
studded  slopes  or  levels  destined  to  be  converted  into  pas- 
tures or  fields  are  vigly  enough  in  themselves,  though  they 
may  open  to  view  certain  previously  invisible  prospects,  but 
the  more  or  less  bare  earth  between  the  now  dead  stumps 


^T.  37]  THE  FIELD  AND  PASTURE  TYPE  727 

soon  springs  to  life  and  covers  itself  with  plants  of  many- 
sorts,  —  often  with  berry  bushes,  which  will  yield  great  crops 
of  fruit  so  long  as  the  bushes  are  not  browsed  down  by  ani- 
mals, or  overshaded  by  seedling  plants  of  taller  species. 
Much  work  devoted  to  dragging  out  stumps  and  stones  is 
necessary  before  such  lands  can  be  called  even  rough  fields. 
Most  of  the  few  smooth  fields  of  the  reservations  are  pro- 
ducts of  the  slow  labors  of  many  generations,  while  the  hard 
and  close  sod  of  the  old  pastures  is  the  result  of  many  years 
of  continuous  browsing. 

After  traversing  long  stretches  of  monotonous  coppice,  to 
emerge  into  grassy  openings  of  this  sort,  set  with  occasional 
spreading  trees,  bordered  or  framed  by  hanging  woods, 
beyond  which  rises  perhaps  some  bold  hill  or  ledge,  is  like 
coming  to  a  richly  interesting  oasis  in  the  midst  of  a  bare 
desert,  save  that  our  desert  is  a  close-ranked  wood,  and  our 
oasis  a  sunny  opening  in  it.  Such  man-made  oases  are 
specially  lovely  when  they  lie  in  hollow  glades  or  intervales 
where  there  is  moisture  enough  to  keep  them  fresh  and 
green  in  dry  seasons ;  and  even  the  still  wetter  meadows, 
from  which  crops  of  only  the  swamp  grasses  are  obtainable, 
make  welcome  and  interesting  incidents  in  landscape. 

It  seems  plain  that  few,  if  any,  of  the  existing  grassy  areas 
of  the  reservations  can  be  spared  without  loss  of  scenery,  and 
they  should,  therefore,  be  maintained  by  systematic  mowing 
and  pasturing.  In  the  future,  some  additional  grassed  open- 
ings will  be  desirable  in  smooth  and  hollow  spots  where  pro- 
vision will  be  needed  for  the  gathering  of  people,  or  for  the 
setting  forth  of  some  specially  interesting  local  scenery ;  but 
as  such  grass-lands  are  troublesome  to  maintain,  they  ought 
not  to  be  multiplied  unduly.  A  ground-covering  of  bushes 
will  serve  as  well  as  grass,  when  it  is  only  a  question  of  keep- 
ing a  view  open,  and  there  is  no  need  of  providing  strolling 
places  for  crowds  or  smooth  playgrounds  for  boys  or  children. 

5.  The  Bushy  Pasture  Type.  —  Of  the  several  types  of 
vegetation  thus  far  mentioned,  the  coppice  type  occupies  by- 
far  the  largest  part  of  the  new  reservations,  while  the  sum- 
mit, swamp,  and  field  types  cover  approximately  equal,  but 
much  smaller    areas.     It  now  appears  that  almost  all  the 


728  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  [1897 

remaining  area  of  the  reservations  has  been  at  one  time  or 
another  either  grass-land,  field,  or  rough  pasture  land,  and 
that  the  growth  which  now  covers  it  more  or  less  densely  re- 
sults from  the  more  or  less  complete  abandonment  of  the  use 
and  care  of  these  lands  by  their  owners.  Why  these  con- 
siderable areas,  cleared  with  great  labor  and  situated  near 
growing  towns,  should  have  been  thus  abandoned,  it  is  not  for 
us  to  ask,  though  the  subject  is  one  of  considerable  historical 
and  economical  interest.  It  is  only  to  be  noted  here  that  the 
peculiar  vegetation  of  these  lands  combines  with  their  topo- 
graphy to  form  some  of  the  most  pleasing  scenery  of  the 
i-eservations. 

Even  where  cattle  are  still  pastured,  it  is  common  enough 
to  find  plants  of  red  Cedar  starting  up  from  seed  here  and 
there.  Other  seedlings  are  bitten  off  as  fast  as  they  appear, 
but  the  foliage  of  the  red  Cedar,  prostrate  Juniper,  pitch  Pine, 
and  a  few  other  species,  is  not  edible,  and  so  these  plants  sur- 
vive and  spread  in  pastures,  unless  they  are  burnt  or  rooted 
out  by  men.  Sometimes,  as  at  Bear  Hill  in  the  Fells,  the 
red  Cedar  takes  almost  complete  possession  of  the  ground, 
often  with  striking  effect,  as  when  it  stands  up  stiffly  on  bare 
rocks,  or  when  it  clothes  a  stony  hillside.  As  soon  as  cattle 
cease  to  browse  a  piece  of  land,  the  common  and  fast-growing 
gray  Birch  mingles  with  the  Cedar,  or  takes  possession  of  large 
areas  by  itself.  Abandoned  ploughed  land  goes  the  same 
way  in  time.  Cedars,  pitch  Pines,  and  Junipers  forming  the 
centres  of  many  spreading  islands  of  low  or  high  shrubbery. 
The  beautiful  variety  and  intricacy  of  this  bushy  growth  is 
often,  and,  indeed,  generally  remarkable  and  delightful.  With 
time  the  bushes  of  Sweet  Fern,  Bay  berry,  Blueberry,  Vibur- 
num, and  the  like  grow  more  and  more  numerous  and  en- 
tangled, and  their  combination  with  the  dark  Cedars  and  the 
white  Birches  often  helps  to  form  even  broad  landscape  of  rare 
beauty.  Gradually,  however,  this  type  of  landscape  vanishes. 
From  the  midst,  perhaps,  of  Junipers  which  browsing  cattle 
have  avoided,  or  from  clumps  of  crowded  bushes,  slow-grow- 
ing Oaks  and  other  forest  trees  start  up  from  seeds  brought 
by  the  winds,  birds,  or  squirrels.  Slowly  but  surely,  as  the 
great  trees  grow  in   height   and  breadth,  the   low-growing 


^T.  37]  THE   SEEDLING  FOREST  TYPE  729 

Birches,  Cedars,  Junipers,  and  bushes  are  overshadowed,  and 
as  it  were  suffocated,  and  in  the  end  the  forest  of  seedling 
trees  takes  full  possession. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  obvious  that  the  bushy  stage  or 
type  is  so  beautiful  in  itself  that  it  ought  to  be  preserved  in 
many  places  for  itself  alone,  while  it  is  equally  obvious  that 
in  such  parts  of  the  reservation  as  command  broad  views 
which  would  be  shut  from  sight  by  trees,  this  bushy  ground- 
cover  will  need  to  be  encouraged  in  every  possible  way ;  even, 
if  need  be,  by  going  through  the  natural  order  of  felling 
trees,  killing  the  stumps,  and  pasturing  the  rough  ground  for 
a  limited  time. 

6.  The  Seedling  Forest  Type.  —  That  part  of  the  total 
area  of  the  reservations  which  is  clothed  with  seedling  woods 
is  comparatively  small.  Here  and  there  are  found  groups  or 
patches  of  old  seedling  trees,  like  the  Hemlocks  of  Hemlock 
Gorge,  Hemlock  Pool,  or  Breakneck  Ledge,  which  appear  to 
be  direct  descendants  of  innumerable  generations  occupying 
the  same  peculiarly  rocky  ground.  Here  and  there  are  found 
clusters  or  groves  of  white  Pines,  apparently  survivors  of  that 
generation  of  Pines  which  not  so  very  many  years  ago  clothed 
the  major  part  of  the  reservations.  Single  specimens  of  such 
surviving  Pines  are  not  uncommon  even  in  the  midst  of  the 
sprout-lands.  Like  the  Hemlocks,  they  have  sometimes  sur- 
vived in  positions  from  which  it  was  thought  too  difficult  to 
remove  them.  A  few  of  the  larger  Pine  groves  have  been 
leased  by  their  owners  as  picnic  grounds,  and  so  have  been 
more  or  less  cleared  of  undergrowth  and  trampled.  A  few 
other  woods,  for  example,  the  Wolcott  Pines,  have  been  in 
some  measure  cared  for  and  encouraged,  without  destruction 
of  low  undergrowth,  during  one  or  two  generations.  Here 
conflicting  deciduous  trees  have  been  cut  out,  and  the  Pines 
themselves  thinned  in  some  degree  ;  while  young  seedlings 
from  the  parent  trees  have  been  protected  both  from  fire  and 
from  too  vigorous  neighbors.  The  not  unusual  fate  of  the 
carelessly  managed  Pine  woods  has  been  their  ruin  by  fire, 
and  the  subsequent  surrender  of  the  ground  to  coppice  or 
scrub  Oak.  Here  and  there,  again,  are  found  crowded  groves 
of  deciduous  trees,  sprung  from  the  small  seedlings  which, 


730  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  [1897 

after  long  struggling  in  the  shade  of  Pines  or  Hemlocks,  shot 
up  in  vigorous  competition  with  each  other  when  the  Pines  or 
Hemlocks  were  felled.  On  the  other  hand,  almost  all  such 
deciduous  seedling  woods  have  long  ago  been  cut  down  and 
converted  into  that  coppice  which  so  shrouds  the  hills  and 
valleys,  and  which,  on  being  cropped,  again  sprouts  so  vigor- 
ously as  to  suppress  such  seedlings,  whether  evergreen  or 
deciduous,  as  may  have  started  in  its  shade.  Beech-trees 
often  seed  the  land  around  them  very  thickly ;  Hemlocks  and 
Pines,  also,  when  they  have  a  chance ;  and  once  in  a  while, 
though  by  no  means  often,  such  seedlings  compete  successfully 
with  the  surrounding  coppice,  and  form  colonies  in  the  midst 
thereof. 

In  spite,  however,  of  these  and  other  exceptions  to  the  rule, 
it  is  true  that  most  of  the  now  existing  seedling  woods  of  the 
reservations  owe  their  origin  to  the  activity  of  the  winds,  and 
of  the  seed  and  nut  eating  animals,  in  the  fields  and  pastures 
prepared  by  men  for  their  own  purposes,  but  afterwards 
abandoned  for  one  reason  or  another.  The  trees  which  thus 
eventually  obliterate  the  fields  and  pastures  are  of  many  spe- 
cies, forms,  and  habits,  and  the  resulting  woods  are  often 
varied,  interesting,  and  beautiful,  as  no  coppice  can  be.  The 
varied  appearance  of  these  woods  and  groves  has  been  in- 
creased also  by  the  diversity  of  their  history  since  they  first 
sprang  up  in  the  worn-out  and  abandoned  pastures.  Where, 
for  example,  all  but  the  largest  trees  have  at  one  time  been 
felled  and  removed,  the  sprout  trees  from  the  stumps  now 
form,  with  the  old  seedling  trees,  a  mixed  type  of  vegetation 
common  in  the  rougher  parts  of  the  Fells.  Where  pasturing 
has  been  resumed  after  certain  trees  have  got  a  good  start, 
and  then  the  animals  have  been  again  removed,  a  secondary 
growth  of  seedling  trees  has  subsequently  mingled  with  the 
primary  trees,  often  to  the  injury  of  the  latter,  but  as  often 
with  pleasing  effect.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  pasturing  is  re- 
sumed and  continued  after  well-spaced  trees  have  been  devel- 
oped, the  open  groves  which  result  present,  perhaps,  the  most 
lovely  local  scenery  of  the  reservations.  The  extreme  rocki- 
ness  and  poverty  of  soil  of  most  of  the  new  domains  makes 
this  preeminently  "  park-like  "  type  of  landscape  impracticable, 


?:  i 


^T.  37]     RESTORING  BEAUTY   TO   RUINED   WOODS  731 

as  well  as  inappropriate.  Intricacy,  variety,  and  picturesque- 
ness  of  detail  of  rock  and  vegetation,  combined  with  numer- 
ous and  varied  openings,  vistas,  and  broad  prospects,  must 
serve  as  the  sources  of  interest  and  beauty  throughout  the 
larger  part  of  the  reservations  ;  but  where  smooth  grass-lands 
and  broad-spreading  trees  exist,  or  are  obtainable,  they  should 
certainly  be  preserved  or  secured.  Compared  with  the  same- 
ness and  dullness  of  the  general  scenery  of  the  sprout-lands, 
the  wealth  of  variety,  character,  and  beauty  presented  by 
the  relatively  small  area  of  fields,  pastures,  and  seedling 
woods  is  indeed  remarkable,  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  this 
greater  beauty  counts  in  the  broad  scenery  of  the  reservations 
as  well  as  close  at  hand.  The  sky-lines  and  what  may  be 
called  the  profiles  of  the  coppice  woods  are  flat  and  nearly 
uniform.  The  masses  of  the  seedling  growths  are  bold  in 
outline,  as  well  as  varied  in  detail,  all  of  which  only  adds 
weight  to  the  argument  that  the  crop-like  coppice  should  be 
forced  to  gradually  give  place  to  seedling  shrubbery  and  seed- 
ling trees. 

Conclusions. 

With  regard  to  the  relation  of  the  vegetation  of  the  reser- 
vations to  the  present  and  future  scenery,  perhaps  the  most 
important  conclusions  to  be  derived  from  this  investigation 
are  the  following:  It  is  found  that  the  vegetation  of  the 
reservations  is  an  exceedingly  important  component  part  of 
the  scenery.  It  is  found,  moreover,  that  the  present  vegeta- 
tion —  its  variety  and  beauty,  as  well  as  its  monotony  and 
ugliness  —  has  resulted  from  repeated  or  continuous  inter- 
ference with  natural  processes  by  men,  fire,  and  browsing 
animals. 

It  follows  that  the  notion  that  it  would  be  wrong  and  even 
sacrilegious  to  suggest  that  this  vegetation  ought  to  be  con- 
trolled and  modified  must  be  mistaken.  The  opposite  is 
found  to  be  the  truth ;  namely,  that  as  the  beauty  or 
ugliness  and  scenic  appropriateness  or  inappropriateness  of 
the  present  vegetation  is  due  to  the  work  of  men,  so  also  will 
the  vegetation  of  the  future  be  beautiful  in  itself  and  help- 
ful or  hurtful  in  the  general  scenery,  according  as  it  may  or 


732  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  [1897 

may  not  be  skilfully  restrained,  encouraged,  or  modified  dur- 
ing the  next  few  years. 

Simply  to  preserve  the  beauty  of  so  much  of  this  vegeta- 
tion as  is  now  beautiful,  or  the  suitability  of  so  much  as  is 
now  suitable,  —  for  example,  the  tree-fringed  vales  of  grass, 
the  open  groves  of  great  trees,  the  intricate  shrubberies  of 
old  pastures,  and  the  dwarf  ground-cover  of  the  hill-tops,  — 
will  necessarily  require  continual  painstaking  care.  To  re- 
store variety  and  beauty  in  the  now  more  or  less  degenerate 
or  ruined  woods  will  similarly  demand  intelligent  attention. 
So  to  control,  guide,  and  modify  the  vegetation  generally  that 
the  reservations  may  be  slowly  but  surely  induced  to  present 
the  greatest  possible  variety,  interest,  and  beauty  of  landscape 
will  particularly  require  skilled  direction. 

That  such  preservation,  restoration,  and  enhancement  of 
the  beauty  of  vegetation  and  of  scenery  is  only  to  be  accom- 
plished by  the  rightly  directed  labor  of  men  is  the  principal 
lesson  taught  by  this  study  of  the  present  condition  and  the 
past  history  of  the  vegetation  of  the  reservations.  To  pre- 
serve existing  beauty,  grass-lands  must  continue  to  be  mowed 
or  pastured  annually,  trees  must  be  removed  from  shrub- 
beries, competing  trees  must  be  kept  away  from  veteran  Oaks 
and  Chestnuts,  and  so  on.  To  restore  beauty  in  such  woods 
as  are  now  dull  and  crop-like,  large  areas  must  be  gradually 
cleared  of  sprout-growth  by  selling  the  standing  crop,  or 
otherwise,  the  stumps  must  be  subsequently  killed,  and  seed- 
ling trees  encouraged  to  take  possession.  To  prepare  for  in- 
creasing the  interest  and  beauty  of  scenery,  work  must  be 
directed  to  removing  screens  of  foliage,  to  opening  vistas 
through  "  notches,"  to  substituting  low  ground-cover  for  high 
woods  in  many  places,  and  other  like  operations  which  are,  in 
some  measure,  illustrated  by  the  accompanying  diagrammatic 
sketches.  The  sooner  all  these  kinds  of  work  are  entered 
upon  systematically,  the  finer  will  be  the  scenery  of  twenty 
and  fifty  years  hence,  and  the  more  economically  will  that 
scenery  have  been  obtained. 

Eight  days  after  the  above  rejxirt  was  presented,  Charles 
wrote  to  the  Commission  making  a  definite  proposition  on 
behalf  ol  his  firm  for  beginning  forest  work  in  the  reserva- 


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^T.  37]  YOUNG  SPROUT  —  RESCUE  WORK  733 

tions,  and  continuing  it  three  years.  If  the  following  letter 
is  from  one  point  of  view  an  asking  for  employment  by  the 
Commission,  from  another  it  is  a  public-spirited  offer  of 
valuable  service.  The  Olmsted  firm  had  at  this  time  so  much 
well-paid  work  on  hand  that,  from  the  strictly  pecuniary  point 
of  view,  the  less  work  they  did  for  the  Metropolitan  Park 
Commission,  the  better.  Charles's  interest  in  that  work  was 
so  keen  that  he  would  always  give  time  to  it  altogether  in 
excess  of  the  time  which  the  Commission  paid  for.  The  firm 
never  took  the  view  that  their  services  were  to  be  measured 
carefully  by  the  amount  of  compensation  they  received  ;  they 
wanted  the  personal  satisfaction  and  the  professional  credit 
of  contributing  to  the  success  of  a  superb  and  beneficent 
public  enterprise. 

February  23,  1897. 

.  .  .  We  have  prepared  and  submitted  a  report  on  the 
existing  vegetation  of  the  reservations,  together  with  some 
account  of  the  kind  of  work  in  the  living  woods,  which,  as  it 
seems  to  us,  ought  to  be  begun  at  once  if  the  reservations 
are  to  serve  their  purpose  in  a  manner  to  justify  their  cost. 

A  few  reasons  for  making  an  early  start  in  this  work  are 
these :  1st.  Thei'e  is  a  great  deal  of  this  work  to  be  done ; 
but  as  the  nature  of  the  work  is  so  peculiar,  it  will  be  advis- 
able to  make  haste  slowly,  and  to  train  men  to  prosecute  it 
rightly.  This  will  take  time.  2d.  The  "  young  sprout " 
which  now  covers  large  areas,  while  easily  controllable  to-day, 
will  soon  be  too  large  to  be  easily  handled.  It  already  begins 
to  obliterate  many  valuable  prospects,  as  well  as  much  local 
scenery.  The  small  stature  of  the  present  growth  also  makes 
it  possible  to  discover  scenic  possibilities  to-day  which  would 
never  be  dreamed  of  if  the  trees  were  some  years  older.  3d. 
Much  of  the  work  we  have  called  "  rescue  work  "  (the  saving 
of  fine  or  promising  trees  in  smooth  or  good  land  from  too 
pressing  neighbors,  and  the  like)  will  not  be  worth  attempt- 
ing if  it  is  not  begun  soon.  Of  course,  the  first-named  reason 
is  fundamentally  the  most  important. 

There  seems  to  us  to  be  a  strange  incongruity  in  the  pro- 
vision by  the  Commission  of  elaborate  approaches  to  the 
reservations,  like  the  Fellsway,  while  no  attention  is  directed 
to  even  preparing  for  the  work  of  preserving  and  restoring 
the  scenery  of  the  reservations  themselves. 


734  LANDSCAPE  FORESTRY  [1897 

Accordingly,  and  in  order  that  a  beginning  in  this  work 
may  be  made  in  an  orderly  way  and  under  responsible  direc- 
tion, we  beg  leave  to  suggest  that,  in  addition  to  such  force 
as  the  superintendents  of  the  reservations  may  be  authorized 
to  employ  under  the  appropriation  for  maintenance,  and  in 
addition  to  such  force  as  they  may  employ  in  the  construc- 
tion of  boundary  roads,  they  bs  also  authorized  to  engage  one 
or  more  foremen  and  one  or  more  gangs  of  laborers  to  be 
assigned  to  work  in  the  living  woods;  and  that  just  as  their 
work  on  roads  is  now  guided  by  inspectors  representing  the 
Commission's  engineer,  so  the  new  work  in  the  woods  should 
be  guided  by  inspectors  representing  the  Commission's  land- 
scape architects.  These  inspectors  will  not  themselves  be 
foremen  —  they  will  correspond  to  the  men  who  set  the  line 
and  grade  stakes  for  the  road-builders.  It  will  not  be  neces- 
sary that  they  should  give  all  their  time  to  the  work.  Unless 
the  work  is  begun  on  a  grand  scale  (as  we  cannot  recommend 
that  it  should  be),  the  Commission  would  not  be  warranted 
in  engaging  the  whole  time  of  trained  inspectors.  To  avoid 
this  difficulty,  we  will  lend  inspectors  from  our  office  as  often 
or  as  seldom  as  may  be  necessary,  and  will  charge  the  Com- 
mission with  just  the  cost  to  us  of  their  time  and  travelling 
expenses.  Our  own  professional  and  semi-annual  fee,  cover- 
ing the  responsible  selection  and  laying  out  of  the  work  which 
the  inspectors  will  guide  in  detail,  would  certainly  not  exceed 
the  reasonable  amount  which  we  have  heretofore  charged  for 
advice  and  suggestions  respecting  the  location  and  boundaries 
of  the  acquired  reservations. 

As  the  Commission  is  directed  to,  in  some  sense,  complete 
its  work  by  January,  1900,  we  would  suggest  that  a  certain 
part  of  the  money  now  available  be  specially  appropriated  for 
labor  in  the  living  woods  between  the  present  time  and  the 
date  named.  If  entrusted  with  the  direction  of  the  work  as 
above  suggested,  we  would  do  our  best  to  secure  the  expendi- 
ture of  whatever  appropriation  is  made  to  the  best  advantage ; 
but  it  would  greatly  assist  us  to  lay  out  the  work  aright,  if 
the  amount  to  be  spent  in  the  three  years,  rather  than  that  to 
be  spent  in  one  year,  could  be  named  at  the  outset. 


^T.  37]  BEGINNING  FOREST  WORK  735 

As  reported  by  us  a  year  ago,  and  again  in  our  last  annual 
report,  we  believe  the  only  logical  and  truly  economical  way 
of  going  about  the  slow  development  of  the  reservations  is  to 
begin  with  a  general  scheme  for  each,  and  then  to  carry  out 
such  parts  of  the  work  called  for  by  the  adopted  plans  as  may 
be  most  pressingiy  demanded  from  time  to  time.  It  is  always 
our  custom,  when  we  are  engaged  to  suggest  general  plans,  to 
throw  in  advice  and  guidance  during  the  period  of  study 
without  extra  charge,  and  we  should  be  happy  to  talvc  up  the 
planning  of  one  or  more  of  the  Commission's  reservations, 
with  this  understanding,  at  any  time.  The  foregoing  pro- 
posals as  to  the  guidance  of  woodland  work  in  advance  of  all 
plan-making  are  submitted  only  because  it  seems  wrong  to 
allow  the  present  fleeting  opportunities  to  accomplish  valuable 
results  in  the  woods  to  pass  unused. 

On  March  3,  1897,  the  Metropolitan  Commission  made  an 
appropriation  of  <|500  for  forestiy  inspection  ;  and  Charles 
welcomed  the  chance  to  begin  improving  the  woods  in  well- 
selected  spots,  although  he  had  failed  to  induce  the  Commis- 
sion to  order  general  landscape  designs  for  the  three  forest 
reservations. 

The  following  letter  to  Mr.  Hemenway,  who  was  the  Com- 
mittee on  Blue  Hills  Reservation,  explains  the  principle  on 
which  he  proceeded  in  Marigold  Valley  :  — 

March  13,  1897. 

Let  me  report  to  the  Committee  on  Blue  Hills  Reservation 
that  I  have  (under  the  vote  of  the  Board)  asked  the  Super- 
intendent to  begin  forest  work  at  the  extreme  head  of  Mari- 
gold Valley,  and  to  proceed  southward  along  the  eastern  side 
of  the  valley  as  far  as  the  Plains.  I  have  marked  with  him 
a  large  number  of  trees  for  felling,  most  of  which  are  to  be 
removed  (1)  for  the  sake  of  seedling  Beeches  in  one  place 
and  Hickories  in  another ;  (2)  for  the  sake  of  freeing  from 
too  near  neighbors  certain  already  well-established  spreading 
trees,  and  (3)  for  the  sake  of  breaking  up  certain  straight 
rows  of  trees  which  followed  walls  now  removed. 

Some  additional  trees  have  been  marked  for  the  sake  of 
opening  two  vistas  which  it  seemed  desirable  to  open  while  we 
were  working  in  the  neighborhood. 


736  RESCUE  WORK  IN   THE   FELLS  [1897 

I  shall,  of  course,  be  glad  to  have  your  suggestions  and 
comments  on  the  work  proposed  and  executed. 

On  the  same  date  Charles  wrote  also  to  Mr.  de  las  Casas, 
who  took  special  interest  in  the  Middlesex  Fells,  explaining 
where  he  proposed  to  set  the  Superintendent  at  work  in  that 
reservation.  It  will  be  noticed  that  all  the  places  he  men- 
tions for  forestry  work  are  on  roads  sure  to  be  permanent,  — 
that  is,  existing  highways  and  border  roads. 

March  13,  1897. 

The  extent  of  the  forest  work  will,  I  suppose,  depend  on 
the  number  of  men  employed  and  the  length  of  time  they 
keep  at  it.  The  place  for  beginning  the  work  in  the  Fells  is 
a  matter  of  choice,  of  course.  I  have  proposed  to  Price  that 
he  should  begin  on  Ravine  Road,  where  Pines  and  Hemlocks 
have  begun  to  spring  up  on  the  slope  once  cleared  by  Mr. 
Butterfield.  This  is  a  hillside  one  would  like  to  have  clothed 
again  with  evergreen,  and  the  process  can  be  assisted  by 
some  chopping.  It  is  a  slope  practically  free  from  ledges  ; 
so  that  it  does  not  call  for  the  nice  discrimination  between 
trees  which  will  be  required  among  ledges. 

Beyond  this  I  would  propose  to  attack  similar  work  in  a 
few  spots  along  Pond  and  Woodland  streets,  where  young 
evergreens  are  suffering,  and  after  that  I  would  suggest 
working  round  the  east  and  southeast  borders  of  the  Fells  for 
the  purpose  of  ensuring  the  better  appearance  of  the  reserva- 
tion as  seen  from  the  border  roads,  even  as  far  round  as 
Highland  Avenue. 

There  is  so  much  work  to  do  that  it  seems  to  me  it  matters 
little  where  our  small  beginning  is  made,  so  long  as  it  is 
arranged  to  be  as  educative  as  possible  for  the  foreman  and 
laborers  employed. 

Charles's  letters  to  the  Commission  were  invariably  signed 
Ol.nsted,  Olmsted  &  Eliot;  but  these  two  letters,  addressed 
personally  to  members  of  the  Commission,  were  signed.  Yours 
sincerely,  Charles  Eliot.  They  were  his  last  words  on  Metro- 
politan work. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

METROPOLITAN   PARKS   AND   PARKWAYS  IN  1902 

God  Almighty  first  planted  a  Garden.  And  indeed,  it  is  the  purest 
of  Human  Pleasures.  It  is  the  greatest  Refreshment  to  the  Spirits 
of  Man ;  without  which,  Buildings  and  Palaces  are  hut  gross  Handy- 
works  :  And  a  Man  shall  ever  see,  that  when  Ages  grow  to  Civility  and 
Elegancy,  Men  come  to  Build  Stately,  sooner  than  to  Garden  finely : 
As  if  Gardening  were  the  greater  Perfection.  —  Bacok. 

The  Design  and  its  Executmi. 

Charles's  project  of  December,  1892,  for  public  reserva 
tions  in  the  metropolitan  district  was  a  bold  and  comprehen- 
sive one.  How  much  of  it  has  been  carried  into  execution 
in  nine  years?  A  comparison  of  his  recommendations  with 
the  accompanying  map  of  the  public  open  spaces  of  the 
district  in  December,  1901  ^  (see  tlie  pocket  of  the  right-hand 
cover),  will  bring  out  the  extraordinary  proportion  of  ful- 
filled ])roposals. 

Rock-Hills. — The  map  of  December,  1892  (see  the  pocket 
of  the  left-hand  cover),  proposed  an  enlargement  of  the  Lynn 
Woods  on  the  west ;  and  Charles  subsequently  advocated 
the  acquisition  of  the  Woods  by  the  Metropolitan  Commis- 
sion. The  western  boundary  of  the  Woods  has  been  much 
improved,  and  a  spur  has  been  carried  out  to  Lynnfield,  but 
not  at  the  expense  of  the  district;  and  as  yet  the  Woods 
remain  the  charge  of  Lynn. 

The  Middlesex  Fells  have  been  secured  as  he  proposed, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Langwood  Hotel  pro})erty  on  the 
eastern  side  of  Spot  Pond,  and  of  two  areas  on  the  southern 
side  of  the  reservation,  one  of  which  was  too  costly,  while  the 
other  was  kept  private  property  by  act  of  the  legislature. 
Through  the  action  of  the  Metropolitan  Water  Board  in  con- 
verting Spot  Pond,  nmch  enlarged  but  not  injured  as  an 
element  of  the  landscape,  into  a  storage  reservoir,  the  district 
has  acquired  a  new  interest  in  the  Fells  as  a  valuable  water 
preserve. 

West  of  Boston,  and  overlooking  the  valley  of  Charles 
River  to  the  east,  are  Prospect,  Bear,  and  Doublet  hills,  the 

'  In  this  edition  the  map  of  1901  has  been  replaced  by  a  map  brought 
down  to  1909  ;  but  the  text  of  this  chapter  has  not  been  changed,  because 
it  records  the  remarkable  accomplishraeut  of  the  first  eight  years. 


738     METROPOLITAN   PARKS  AND   PARKWAYS   IN   1902 

acquisition  of  which  Charles  proposed.  He  pointed  out,  in- 
deed, that  Prospect  and  Bear  hills  lay  entirely  within  the 
bounds  of  Waltham,  so  that  they  could  be  secured  as  public 
open  spaces  by  local  action.  The  two  summits  of  Prospect 
Hill  have  been  taken  by  Waltham  as  a  city  park,  though  with 
disadvantageous  boundaries  which  do  not  regard  the  lay  of 
the  land.  Bear  Hill  and  Doublet  Hill  still  remain  in  private 
hands. 

Stony  Brook  Reservation,  or  Muddy  Pond  Woods,  another 
of  the  rough  forest  reservations,  has  the  length,  but  not  the 
full  breadth,  which  Charles  originally  suggested  for  it.  He 
himself  advocated,  however,  after  the  original  taking  was 
made,  a  narrowing  of  this  forest  tract  for  the  sake  of  economy, 
and  of  equity  in  the  distribution  of  the  public  open  spaces. 

The  Blue  Hills  Reservation  is  much  lai-ger  than  Charles 
proposed  in  1892,  and  includes  all  that  he  suggested  taking 
at  that  date.  Its  4858  acres  with  the  464  acres  of  Stony 
Brook  exceed  by  306  acres  the  entire  forest  reservations  on 
the  north  side  of  Boston,  including  therein  two  large  tracts 
which  were  not  acquired  by  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commis- 
sion, namely,  the  1145  acres  of  W^ater  Works  reservations  in 
Middlesex  Fells  and  the  2000  acres  of  the  Lynn  Woods. 

Ponds  and  Streams.  —  Charles  proposed  in  the  rough  that 
the  shores  and  marshes  of  the  Mystic,  Charles,  and  Neponset 
rivers  should  become  public  property.  It  is  astonishing  to  see 
on  the  map  how  much  of  this  sweeping  recommendation  has 
been  already  carried  out.  The  shores  and  marshes  of  the 
Mystic  have  been  secured  down  to  the  Fellsway  bridge  to 
Somerville,  the  reservation  covering  290  acres.  Below  that 
point  the  borders  of  the  river  have  been  claimed,  as  Charles 
foresaw,  by  railroads,  factories,  and  wharves.  He  thought  it 
desirable  that  the  shores  of  Maiden  River  and  the  valley  and 
mouth  of  Island  End  Creek  should  be  secured ;  but  these 
were  subordinate  proposals.  Nothing  has  as  yet  been  done 
about  Maiden  River,  and  the  Island  End  tract  is  now  occu- 
pied by  huge  commercial  structures.  Two  salt  creeks  in  this 
neighborhood,  —  Snake  Creek  and  a  branch  of  Belle  Isle 
Creek,  —  which  Charles  proposed  should  be  rescued  for  public 
use,  have  been  saved  by  the  construction  of  the  Revere  Beach 
Parkway.  Only  the  eastern  shores  of  the  two  Mystic  ponds 
have  become  public  property ;  the  western  shores,  the  posses- 
sion of  which  Charles  thought  essential  to  the  preservation 
of  the  beauty  of  these  ponds,  still  remain  in  private  hands. 

The  banks  of  Charles  River  have  been  "  resumed  "  by  the 
public  to  an  extent  which  Charles  did  not  venture  to  propose 


BOSTON.  1892 


BOSTON.  1902 


THE  OPEN  SPACES  OF  BOSTON  IX  1892  AND  1902  COMPARED 


THE  RESERVATIONS  ACQUIRED  739 

In  1892,  although  the  takings  along  the  banks  of  the  river 
have  all  been  made  in  strict  accordance  with  the  principles  he 
then  laid  down.  With  the  exception  of  the  properties  of  the 
Boston  and  Albany  Railroad  and  the  Brookline  Gas  Works 
on  the  south  bank,  both  banks  of  the  river  have  been  secured 
for  the  public,  or  restricted  against  all  objectionable  uses,  as 
far  as  Newton  Upper  Falls  ;  and  above  that  point  the  Brook- 
line  and  Newton  Water  Works  have  large  holdings  on  the 
stream. 

On  the  Neponset  River,  the  Fowl  Meadows  above  Read- 
ville  and  the  banks  and  salt  marshes  below  have  been  se- 
cured, with  small  exceptions,  down  to  a  point  in  Milton 
Lower  Mills  within  two  miles  of  Dorchester  Bay.  The  area 
of  the  Neponset  River  Reservation  in  charge  of  the  Metro- 
politan Park  Commission  is  929  acres,  against  563  acres  on 
Charles  River  and  290  acres  on  the  Mystic.  Here,  as  well 
as  in  regard  to  the  extent  of  its  forest  reservations  and  the 
serviceableness  of  its  parkways,  the  south  side  of  the  district 
has  been  more  fortunate  than  the  noi"th  side.  Thei'e  remains 
to  be  preserved  some  of  the  charming  scenery  of  the  tidal 
Neponset  on  its  way  to  Squantum. 

The  Bay  and  the  Sea.  —  Under  this  head  the  recommenda- 
tion in  the  text  of  Charles's  report  of  December,  1892,  is  as 
follows:  "When  such  a  commission  [Metropolitan  Park]  is 
established,  what  should  be  its  first  work  npon  the  shore? 
The  answer  is,  —  the  acquirement  of  the  title  to  the  foreshore 
and  the  beach  from  Winthrop  Great  Head  to  the  Point  of 
Pines."  The  map  which  accompanied  the  report  contained 
another  recommendation ;  for,  proposed  open  spaces  being 
colored  brown,  the  shore  of  Quincy  Bay  from  Moswetusset 
Hummock  on  the  peninsula  of  Squantum  to  Nut  Island  off 
Great  Hill  at  the  extremity  of  Hough's  Neck  was  so  colored. 
The  seven  miles  of  foreshore  and  beach  between  Winthrop 
Great  Head  and  the  Point  of  Pines  are  now  public  property, 
except  the  Point  of  Pines  itself  and  about  a  mile  and  one 
third  of  shore  between  Grover's  Cliff  and  Crescent  Beach. 
The  westerly  half  of  the  shore  of  Quincy  Bay,  two  miles  in 
length,  is  also  public  property. 

Two  detached  reservations  were  recommended  in  the  text 
and  map  of  the  report  to  the  preliminary  Metropolitan  Park 
Commission,  namely,  Beaver  Brook  with  its  group  of  ancient 
Oaks,  and  Hemlock  Gorge  at  Newton  Upper  Falls.  Both 
these  beautiful  spots  have  been  acquired  by  the  Commission. 

The  Commission  has  acquired  three  reservations  which  were 
not  recommended  by  Charles  in  December,  1892,  namely, 


740  EXPENDITURES  OF  THE  COMMISSION 

King's  Beach,  and  Lynn  Shore  at  the  northeastern  extremity 
of  the  district,  and  a  part  of  Nantasket  Beach  outside  of  the 
district  towards  the  southeast,  the  latter  under  a  special  act 
of  the  legislature.  King's  Beach  and  Lynn  Shore  were  in- 
tended to  form  a  continuous  reservation  as  far  as  Nahant 
Long  Beach;  but  the  Commission  has  still  a  half  mile  of 
shore  to  acquire  just  beyond  the  northern  end  of  Nahant 
Beach.  The  Commission  now  holds  both  Nahant  beaches 
by  transfer  from  the  town  of  Nahant,  which  owned  them  in 
1892. 

The  scale  of  operations  of  the  Commission  has  been  larger 
than  was  at  first  contemplated ;  for  the  work  proved  to  be 
popular,  and  the  legislature  readily  made  liberal  appropria- 
tions in  every  year  down  to  1900.  The  rapid  development 
of  the  work  of  construction  and  maintenance  in  the  reserva- 
tions has  fulfilled  the  prophecy  with  which  Charles's  report 
of  December,  1892,  closes :  "  In  conclusion,  it  may  be  well  to 
point  out  that  the  cost  of  the  maintenance  of  all  the  metropoli- 
tan open  spaces  need  not,  for  many  years  at  least,  exceed  the 
expense  of  guarding  them  from  forest  fires,  and  other  forms 
of  depredation  ;  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  community  should 
wish  to  clean  the  streams,  build  paths  or  roads,  or  do  any 
other  proper  work  within  the  reservations,  it  would  find  in 
the  Park  Commission  an  instrument  to  do  its  bidding." 

To  December  1,  1901,  the  total  expenditure  for  metropol- 
itan reservations,  including  Nantasket  Beach,  was  -17,049,256, 
of  which  sum  more  than  two  thirds  ($5,087,237.40)  was  paid 
for  land,  the  rest  being  paid  for  construction,  maintenance, 
care,  intei'est,  and  sinking-fund  assessments  during  eight 
years.  The  expensive  reservations  have  proved  to  be  Revere 
Beach  and  Charles  River,  the  land  for  these  two  having  cost 
nearly  half  (12,439,307.75)  of  the  sum  paid  for  the  land  of 
all  the  reservations  taken  together.  It  is  altogether  probable, 
however,  that  these  two  public  properties  will  prove  to  be 
the  most  valuable  of  all  in  promoting  the  health  and  whole- 
some pleasures  of  the  district  population. 

The  distinct  work  of  constructing  parkways,  which  was 
imposed  on  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  in  1894,  has 
cost  to  December  1,  1901,  12,848,328.06,  of  which  sum  less 
than  one  third  ($923,546.70)  has  been  paid  for  land. 

The  district,  having  spent  ten  millions  of  dollars  on  reserva- 
tions and  parkways  since  the  summer  of  1893,  now  needs  to 
spend  four  or  five  millions  more  within  a  few  years,  in  order 
to  come  into  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  investment  already 
made.     As  Charles  repeatedly  pointed  out,  the  two  most  im- 


THE  DESIGNS  AWAITING  EXECUTION  741 

portant  constructive  designs  still  awaiting  execution  are  the 
design  for  the  improvement  of  Charles  River  and  its  Basin, 
and  the  design  for  a  parkway  from  Broadway  Park,  Somer- 
ville,  to  Boston  Common.  These  two  designs,  however,  are 
by  no  means  of  equal  consequence,  and  are  supported  by  dif- 
ferent considei-ations.  The  first  will  provide,  beside  enjoy- 
able water  parks,  a  much-needed  sanitary  improvement,  and  a 
great  enlargement  of  the  valley  areas  available  for  wholesome 
and  pleasant  human  occupation ;  the  second  will  furnish  the 
inhabitants  of  central  Boston  with  agreeable  access  to  the 
northern  reservations,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  northern 
suburbs  with  a  pleasant  route  into  Boston,  —  something  which 
they  have  never  had,  and  greatly  need.  The  briefest  study 
of  the  map  of  December,  1901,  will  reveal  other  gaps  or 
deficiencies  in  the  park  and  parkway  system,  but  none  which 
compare  in  importance,  or  in  costliness,  with  the  Charles 
River  Improvement  and  the  Northern  Parkway. 

The  taking  of  the  9248  acres  of  open  public  space,  and  the 
23.6  miles  of  parkway  (to  1902)  was  eminently  timely.  In 
the  main,  the  reservation  lands  were  secured  at  reasonable 
prices,  as  appears  in  the  average  price  per  acre  —  $550.11. 
Considering  that  the  lands  taken  were  all  within  eleven  miles 
of  the  State  House,  and  that  Revere  Beach  cost  $16,925.47, 
King's  Beach  and  Lynn  Shore  ^  110,197.83,  and  Nantasket 
Beach  $23,350.19  per  acre,  it  seems  very  improbable  that 
the  reservations  as  a  whole  could  ever  in  the  future  have 
been  obtained  on  more  favorable  terms.  Their  annual  divi- 
dend in  health  and  pleasure  to  the  metropolitan  population 
(about  1,000,000  people)  ought  easily  to  surpass  the  annual 
charges  for  interest,  sinking  fund,  and  maintenance  (about 
$520,000). 

Whatever  the  metropolitan  parks  and  parkways  have  cost, 
or  may  hereafter  cost,  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  a  more 
purely  beneficent  expenditure  of  public  money,  or  one  more 
productive  of  genuine  well-being  and  healthy  happiness.  The 
last  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  the  first  years  of  the 
twentieth  have  seen  three  great  securities  taken  for  the  wel- 
fare, through  many  generations,  of  the  Boston  group  of  muni- 
cipalities, —  the  Metropolitan  Sewage,  Water,  and  Park 
Works. 

^  With  two  claims  unsettled  which  will  slightly  raise  the  average. 


CHAPTER  XL 
THE  LAST  DAYS 

He  who,  from  zone  to  zone, 
Guides  through  the  boundless  sky  thy  certain  flight, 
In  the  long  way  that  I  must  tread  alone, 

Will  lead  my  steps  aright. 

Bkyant. 

Chakles's  last  days  of  work  were  given  to  the  Keney  Park 
in  Hartford,  Conn.  He  had  been  much  interested  in  the 
Hartford  parks  since  the  fall  of  1895,  and  had  frequently 
conferred  on  the  spot  with  the  Commissioners  or  Trustees 
and  their  agents.  He  transformed  a  neglected  and  unsightly 
piece  of  open  ground  of  irregular  shape  in  the  heart  of  the 
city,  since  called  Barnard  Park,  into  a  tidy,  well-planted,  and 
attractive  public  enclosure.  The  name  commemorates  Henry 
Barnard,  the  veteran  educationist,  whose  house  stood  near  by. 
Most  of  his  attention  had  been  given,  however,  to  the  Keney 
Park,  which  was  being  developed  on  the  north  side  of  Hart- 
ford by  a  Board  of  Trustees,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Rev. 
Francis  Goodwin.  Here  is  a  little  note  to  his  wife  from 
Hartford :  — 

31  October,  1895,  5  p.  m.  It  rains  now  and  the  dark  has 
come,  so  I  am  housed.  I  rode  comfortably  last  evening,  and 
dined  properly  in  the  dining-car.  Between  8  and  9  I  con- 
cocted an  epistle  to  Mr.  Goodwin  which  contained  matter  of 
importance !  .  .  .  To-day  I  began  by  getting  my  important 
letter  typewritten.  Then  left  it  at  Mr.  Goodwin's  office, 
and  departed  for  the  woods,  where  I  rambled  until  2,  lunch- 
ing on  chocolate  and  crackers.  I  got  my  mind  pretty  well 
made  up.  .  .  .  To-morrow  ought  to  be  clear,  to  suit  me  ;  but 
I  shall  go  out  even  if  it  is  wet.  I  finished  with  the  thickets 
to-day,  and  open  fields  are  not  bad.  .  .  . 

Early  in  1896  the  firm  made  a  contract  with  the  Trustees 
of  the  Keney  estate  at  Hartford  (see  Appendix  V.),  covering 
a  term  of  five  years,  under  which  they  were  to  prepare  a  gen- 


^T.  37]  THE  KENEY  PARK  AT  HARTFORD  743 

eral  plan  for  the  laying  out  of  certain  lands  in  and  near  Hart- 
ford to  be  known  as  Keney  Park,  and  to  give  such  advice 
and  make  such  detailed  drawings  as  would  enable  competent 
experts  on  the  spot  to  order  tlie  materials  and  services  needed 
to  execute  the  general  plan,  and  to  lay  out  and  direct  the 
works ;  these  experts,  whether  engineers,  architects,  or  gar- 
deners, to  act  under  the  general  suiservision  of  the  firm.  As 
compensation  the  firm  was  to  receive  a  stated  semi-annual 
Ijayment,  and  their  travelling  and  other  expenses.  This  was 
precisely  the  kind  of  contract  under  which  Charles  best  liked 
to  work.  It  gave  the  firm  the  whole  work  of  designing,  and 
provided  adequate  security  for  the  intelligent  and  faithful 
execution  of  their  designs.  The  selection  in  detail  of  tlie 
fields  and  woods  which  make  up  this  park,  and  of  the  lines  of 
its  main  roads,  was  entrusted  to  Charles.  He  soon  formed  in 
his  own  mind  a  series  of  pictures  of  the  park  which  was  to 
be,  recommended  the  acquisition  of  the  essential  parts  of  these 
pictures,  rejected  all  unessential  elements,  however  attractive 
in  themselves,  carried  the  roads  to  the  points  whence  the  most 
pleasing  prospects,  near  or  remote,  were  to  be  obtained,  dis- 
cerned and  marked  the  future  vistas  through  glades  and  woods, 
and  the  glimpses  of  distant  hills,  and  in  general  showed  how 
to  utilize  for  the  future  enjoyment  of  the  public  all  the  nat- 
ural advantages  of  the  site.  Some  of  the  open  areas  which 
are  finest  to-day  wei-e  then  crowded  with  pasture  fences  and 
farm  rubbish.  Charles  did  not  seem  to  notice  these  existing 
obstacles  and  blots ;  he  saw  the  broad  fields  and  meadows  as 
they  would  appear  when  finished.  He  was  always  happy  in 
the  Hartford  work.  A  postal  card  from  Hartford  to  his  wife 
in  the  summer  of  1896  says :  "  July  7.  Things  and  problems 
here  are  very  complex  and  very  interesting.  I  was  out  all 
day  yesterday,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board  until  11  p.  m., 
and  out  again  most  of  to-day.  You  see  I  am  still  pretty 
tough ! '' 

The  last  word  he  wrote  to  her  was  from  Hartford :  "  March 
15,  1897.  A  great  long  day  out  in  the  sun  and  wind  and 
snow  !  Went  out  of  town  on  one  electric  car  at  9  A.  M.  and 
got  back  on  another  at  5.30  p.  m.  Lunched  with  the  Super- 
intendent. Another  such  day  to-morrow  if  all  goes  well,  and 
a  return  to  Brookline  Hills  station  at  10.27  p.  m.  .  .  .  My 
love  to  all  those  very  dear  little  girls."  .  .  . 

On  the  15th  and  16th  of  March  he  was  determining  the 
course  of  the  main  road  through  the  wooded  tract  called  the 
Ten  Mile  Woods.  With  a  map  in  hand  on  which  the  con- 
tour lines  and  the  principal  trees  were  shown,  he  walked  back 


744  THE  LAST  DAYS  [1897 

and  forth  through  the  woods  searching  for  that  line  which 
would  give  the  best  grades  and  vistas,  and  save  and  exhibit 
the  best  trees.  There  was  a  light  snow  on  the  ground  ;  but 
the  woods  were  pleasant  in  their  winter  dress.  On  the  16th, 
to  save  time,  luncheon  for  Charles  and  the  Superintendent, 
Mr.  George  A.  Parker,  was  brought  to  a  hut  in  the  heart  of 
the  woods,  which  had  been  built  and  furnished  for  the  sur- 
veyors. There  Charles  ate  a  hearty  meal  —  his  last  in  the 
woods  he  loved.     That  evening  he  returned  to  Brookline. 

On  the  17th  he  remained  in  the  house,  feeling  as  if  he  had 
taken  cold.  In  the  night  of  the  17th  he  was  wakened  by 
severe  pains  in  the  head  and  back.  At  first  the  disease  was 
supposed  to  be  the  grippe  ;  but  the  consulting  physician  sum- 
moned on  the  third  day  immediately  recognized  it  as  cerebro- 
spinal meningitis,  an  inflammation  of  the  lining  of  the  brain 
and  spinal  cord.  He  had  seen  six  cases  of  this  rare  disease  ^ 
in  his  private  and  hospital  practice  within  a  fortnight.  No 
treatment  is  known  for  it ;  and  complete  recovery  from  it,  even 
in  mild  cases,  is  rare.  Charles  lingered  for  seven  days,  ap- 
parently without  much  suffering  after  the  first  fierce  onset  of 
tlie  disease,  and  most  of  the  time  in  a  condition  suggesting 
sleep  or  unconsciousness.  On  the  sixth  day  the  physician 
held  out  a  little  hope ;  but  on  the  seventh  all  the  symptoms 
became  suddenly  worse,  and  soon  he  quietly  ceased  to  breathe. 

So  ended  abruptly,  and  to  human  vision  prematurely,  a  life 
simple,  natural,  happy,  and  wholly  beneficent.  The  qualities 
and  powers  which  gave  such  happiness  and  success  are  easily 
discerned. 

Physically,  Charles  was  tall  and  slight,  and  never  seemed 
robust,  or  capable  of  any  unusual  amount  of  labor.  His 
digestion  was  easily  disturbed,  and  he  was  not  infrequently 
ke-pt  from  his  work  for  a  day  or  two.  When  he  was  four 
years  old,  he  had  a  terrible  typhoid  pneumonia  in  Paris,  and 
lay  at  the  point  of  death  for  three  weeks  ;  but  he  never  was 
seriously  ill  again  until  his  mortal  sickness.  In  spite  of  a 
certain  bodily  delicacy,  being  light  and  long  of  limb,  he  could 
outwalk  many  people  of  apparently  greater  vigor;  and  he 
could  travel  by  night-trains  and  work  by  day  with  surprising 
endurance  —  even  with  enjoyment.  He  was  comparatively 
indifferent  to  heat  and  cold,  provided  he  were  in  the  open 
air.  Long  walks  across  country,  through  woods,  bogs,  and 
thickets,  were  always  delightful  to  him,  summer  or  winter. 

^  Epidemic  in  Massachusetts  in  1873,  when  747  deaths  from  it  occurred; 
and  next  in  1897,  when  355  deaths  occurred,  the  average  annual  number 
of  deaths  from  it  during  the  five  years  preceding  1897  having  been  106. 


^T.  37]  BODILY  AND   MENTAL   QUALITIES  745 

He  rode  well ;  but  walking  was  what  he  most  enjoyed ;  be- 
cause so  he  could  best  see  the  prospects,  and  the  vegetation. 
His  sports  were  walking,  I'iding,  rowing,  and  sailing,  in  all 
of  which  he  was  proficient.  The  occasional,  inevitable  risks 
encountered  in  these  pursuits  he  met  without  the  least  per- 
turbation ;  but  the  source  of  his  pleasure  was  not  in  the  risks. 
Both  in  Europe  and  America  he  would  wander  alone  in  any 
wilderness,  or  rough,  solitary  place,  without  a  thought  of 
possible  danger.  He  never  had  occasion  to  hurt  or  kill  any 
living  creature  in  the  pursuit  of  his  own  pleasures.  On  the 
contrary,  the  animal  life  in  the  woods  and  thickets  was  to 
him  a  source  of  genuine  delight ;  and  he  wanted  to  have  it 
all  preserved  unmolested,  except  creatures  indubitably  nox- 
ious. He  liked  to  be  driven  in  open  vehicles ;  but  he  was  a 
bad  driver  himself,  because  his  attention  constantly  wandered 
to  the  scenery  or  to  the  objects  by  the  roadside.  He  could 
work  all  day  in  his  office,  or  in  the  field,  and  in  the  evening 
speak  at  a  hearing  in  Cambridge  or  Watertown  on  the  im- 
provement of  Charles  River,  or  at  some  Citizens'  Association 
or  Trade  Club  which  wished  to  hear  something  about  parks. 
In  short,  although  rather  frail  in  aspect,  and  never  fit  for 
any  of  the  severe  athletic  sports,  he  had  an  available  kind  of 
toughness  which  served  well  his  intellectual  life. 
"^  Mentally,  his  constitution  was  of  the  best.  His  school  life 
was  not  so  happy  as  it  should  have  been,  because  the  tradi- 
tional subjects  of  instruction  —  at  that  time  the  only  road  to 
college  —  were  uncongenial  to  him  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  reached 
subjects  he  was  fit  to  master,  study  became  an  enjoyment. 
He  worked  intently  and  rapidly,  but  not  at  long  stretches, 
unless  in  the  open  air.  His  observation  was  quick  and  de- 
cided, and  his  inferences  from  what  he  observed  were  un- 
erring. In  writing  or  speaking  he  was  clear,  concise,  and 
consecutive,  never  wandering  about,  or  amplifying  unneces- 
sarily, or  missing  the  main  point.  The  pictures  with  which 
observation  and  reading  had  filled  his  mind  were  distinct, 
and  he  recalled  them  distinctly  at  will.  Moreover,  his  style 
in  narrative  or  description  has  occasionally  a  charming  im- 
aginative, or  poetic  touch.  His  memory  was  not  remarkable 
for  languages  or  history  ;  but  for  places,  scenes,  and  roads, 
for  ledges,  harbor  approaches,  and  landings,  for  spots  where 
Rhodora,  Linnaea,  or  Clethra  grows,  or  for  a  grove  of  thrifty 
Pines  or  a  mass  of  hardy  Magnolias,  his  mental  memoranda 
were  indelible.  These  faculties  stood  him  in  good  stead 
during  the  ten  years  of  his  active  professional  life  ;  but 
thero  was  another  gift  which  presided  over  them  all  —  the 


746  MORAL  QUALITIES  [1897 

artistic  sense  of  fitness,  perspective,  and  proportion.  He  had 
from  his  mother  the  artist's  imagination,  which  makes  new 
combinations  out  of  familiar  elements,  foresees  beauty,  and 
through  prophetic  designs  ultimately  reveals  to  ordinary  eyes 
the  artist's  visions. 

The  most  serviceable  of  Charles's  powers,  however,  were 
neither  physical  nor  mental,  but  spiritual.  He  brought  to 
pass  in  ten  crowded,  youthful  years  an  astonishing  number 
of  good  things  very  difficult  of  attainment,  because  requiring 
legislation  and  the  consent  of  many  minds  and  wills.  He 
succeeded  in  these  enterprises  because  of  his  mox^al  qualities. 
He  was  obviously  thorough  in  knowledge  of  his  subject,  dis- 
interested, reasonable,  and  fair-minded.  He  was  also  gentle 
though  persistent,  and  modest  though  confident.  In  most  of 
his  undertakings  he  had  to  do  with  men  much  older  than 
himself,  who  had  achieved  distinction  in  other  fields  than  his, 
and  were  comparatively  ignorant  of  his  own.  His  relations 
with  these  older  men  were  invariably  pleasant,  even  when  he 
could  not  bring  them  immediately  to  his  views.  Thus,  the 
Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  in  the  resolution  passed  after 
his  death,  spoke  not  only  of  his  skill,  knowledge,  and  con- 
stant connection  with  their  work,  but  also  of  his  character 
and  temper,  "  which  made  him  a  delightful  companion  and 
co-laborer."  Before  popular  audiences  he  was  singularly 
persuasive,  although  his  way  of  speaking  was  quiet  and 
unadorned.  It  made  no  difference  whether  his  audience  was 
composed  of  Provincetown  fishermen  and  traders,  or  dwellers 
in  a  rich  suburb  like  Newton,  or  the  well-to-do  members  of  a 
trade  association,  or  the  interested  men  and  women  that 
gather  in  the  committee-rooms  of  the  Massachusetts  legisla- 
ture, —  all  alike  were  impressed  with  the  reasonableness  of 
the  measures  he  advocated,  and  the  soundness  of  the  argu- 
ments by  which  he  supported  them.  Dr.  Waleott,  chairman 
of  the  Joint  Board  of  1893-94  on  the  Improvement  of 
Charles  River,  who  accompanied  Charles  to  many  hearings 
and  public  meetings  on  that  subject  at  the  State  House  and 
in  the  cities  and  towns  on  the  river,  said  that  Charles  was 
the  most  persuasive  speaker  he  had  ever  listened  to ;  and  dur- 
ing his  long  public  service  he  had  listened  to  many  speakers, 
famous  and  obscure,  who  needed  and  wished  to  be  persuasive. 
This  persuasiveness  was  just  as  appai^ent  in  a  small  company, 
like  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  or  a  board  of  select- 
men, or  a  committee  of  the  legislature,  as  in  a  large  assem- 
blage, and  often  more  immediately  influential.  It  resulted 
from  mastery  of  his  subject  and  clearness  in  presenting  it, 


^T.  37]  THE  FRUITION  747 

from  fairness  in  argument,  and  from  a  pleasantness,  mod- 
esty, and  gentleness  in  which  there  was  no  trace  of  weakness. 
He  had  plenty  of  firm  insistence,  but  was  never  party  to  a 
quarrel  or  a  bitter  controversy.  He  was  equally  happy  in 
dealing  with  men  and  women  who  were  under  his  authority 
or  supervision.  In  the  last  four  years  of  his  life  these  were 
numerous.  They  all  felt  that  he  was  considerate,  friendly, 
and  gentle ;  that  he  knew  what  he  wanted  ;  and  that  their 
time  and  labor  would  not  be  wasted  while  working  under  his 
direction.  He  inspired  them  with  something  of  his  own 
enthusiasm  and  devotion,  and  made  them  feel  that  their  work 
served  high  ends. 

Such  were  the  sources  of  Charles's  professional  success. 
Here  was  an  active,  interesting,  and  productive  career,  whose 
methods  and  fruits  were  all  good  ;  in  it  all,  no  evil  prelimi- 
nary to  good,  nothing  harsh  or  coarse  on  the  way  to  the 
sweet  and  fine,  no  selfishness  or  injustice  as  preparation  for 
love  and  equity.  Nothing  but  good,  and  much  good,  came  of 
his  labors. 

The  Standing  Committee  of  the  Trustees  of  Public  Reser- 
vations, at  a  meeting  held  the  day  after  Charles's  death, 
summed  up  his  services  to  Massachusetts  in  these  words : 
"  Charles  Eliot  found  in  this  community  a  generous  but 
helpless  sentiment  for  the  preservation  of  our  historical  and 
beautiful  places.  By  ample  knowledge,  by  intelligent  perse- 
verance, by  eloquent  teaching,  he  created  organizations  capa- 
ble of  accomplishing  his  great  purposes,  and  inspired  others 
with  a  zeal  approaching  his  own." 

In  domestic  life  the  same  good  sense  and  good  feeling  de- 
veloped pure  happiness,  unalloyed  except  by  inevitable  exter- 
nal vicissitudes.  He  was  habitually  somewhat  reticent  and 
self-contained ;  but  at  home,  or  among  intimates,  a  look,  a 
word  or  two,  or  a  touch,  could  suddenly  express  quiet  content, 
or  pleased  satisfaction,  or  the  warmest  love  and  devotion. 
Nothing  could  exceed  the  serenity  and  unity  of  the  family 
life  into  which  death  broke  so  suddenly  on  the  25th  of  March, 
1897. 

Charles  was  by  temperament  reflective,  sympathetic,  and 
affectionate,  and  he  had  an  inquiring  mind,  which  sought 
causes  and  uniform  sequences ;  he  was,  therefore,  naturally 
religious,  but  not  in  any  emotional,  conventional,  or  ecclesias- 
tical sense.  The  institutions  of  religion,  as  a  whole,  he 
thought  indispensable  to  society ;  but  many  of  the  forms  and 
observances  which  he  saw  were  grateful  to  others,  he  himself 
merely  endured  with  patience,  for  they  were  to  him  unprofit- 


748  CREED  —  CHARACTER  [1897 

able.  His  religious  affiliations  —  like  those  o£  all  his  near  kin- 
dred for  three  generations  —  were  with  the  Unitarian  Church. 
His  creed  was  short  and  simple.  He  believed  that  a  loving 
God  rules  the  universe,  that  the  path  to  loving  and  serving 
Him  lies  through  loving  and  serving  men,  and  that  the  way 
to  worship  Him  is  to  reverence  the  earthly  beauty,  truth,  and 
goodness  He  has  brought  forth. 

The  character  which  shines  through  these  pages  is  of  a 
kind  seldom  described  in  poetry  or  fiction,  —  perhaps  because 
it  is  transparent,  natural,  and  harmonious.  It  was  not  pas- 
sionate —  calm,  rather,  and  reserved  ;  yet  it  had  all  the  fire 
needed  to  warm  mind  and  heart  to  great  work  and  the  sweet- 
est affections. 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 
I 

CIRCULAR   AS   TO   PROFESSIONAL   METHODS   AND   CHARGES 

Mr.  Eliot  offers  his  services  to  owners  of  suburban  and  country 
estates,  trustees  of  institutions,  park  commissions,  hotel  proprietors, 
and  persons  or  corporations  desiring  to  lay  out  or  improve  suburban 
neighborhoods  and  summer  resorts.  He  consults  with  owners,  archi- 
tects, engineers,  and  gardeners  respecting  the  placing  of  buildings, 
the  laying  out  of  roads,  the  grading  of  surfaces,  and  the  treatment  of 
old  and  new  plantations.  He  designs  and  revises  the  arrangement 
and  planting  of  public  squares  and  parks,  of  private  grounds  and 
gardens,  of  house-lots  and  streets.  He  assists  in  works  of  "  scenery 
preservation,"  both  public  and  private. 

A  visit  and  consultation  on  the  ground  is  the  first  step  in  all  cases. 
This  visit  binds  neither  party  to  any  further  dealings  with  each 
other.  It  is  necessary  simply  to  enable  Mr.  Eliot  to  acquaint  liim- 
self  with  his  client's  wishes  and  with  the  physical  and  financial  con- 
ditions of  the  case,  to  the  end  that  he  may  suggest  the  most  suitable 
method  of  procedure.  It  sometimes  happens  that  verbal  suggestions 
or  rough  sketches  can  be  made  on  the  spot  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
client.  Sometimes  a  series  of  consultations  on  the  ground  may  prove 
advisable.  Sometimes  a  few  rough  measurements  will  serve  as  the 
basis  of  a  suggestive  sketch  to  be  sent  later  from  the  office.  Some- 
times a  written  report  is  called  for.  Sometimes  the  employment  of 
a  surveyor  is  recommended,  and  instructions  as  to  the  elaborateness 
of  the  survey  will  then  be  prepared  for  him.  A  survey  of  some 
sort  is  a  prerequisite  to  the  making  of  a  plan  drawn  to  a  scale. 

Since  the  problems  which  present  themselves  differ  greatly  in 
complexity  and  importance,  and  may  require  for  their  comprehen- 
sion anywhere  from  a  few  minutes  to  a  few  days,  the  fee  for  a  visit 
varies  in  a  like  manner,  and  may  be  ten,  fifty,  or  a  hundred  dollars. 
In  similar  cases  this  consultation  fee  is  similar,  no  matter  where  the 
place  of  consultation  may  be  ;  but  railroad  and  hotel  expenses  from 
and  to  Boston  are  to  be  added  to  the  fee,  and  if  the  place  of  con- 
sultation is  more  than  one  night's  journey  from  Boston,  there  is 
another  additional  charge  of  twenty-five  dollars  for  every  business 
day  lost  in  travelling.  If  visits  to  two  or  more  clients  are  made  in 
one  neighborhood,  these  time  and  travel  charges  are  equally  divided. 


752  APPENDIX  II 

When  distant  clients  are  not  in  such  haste  as  to  require  an  imme- 
diate visit  involving  a  special  journey  from  Boston,  a  visit  in  the 
course  of  a  tour  can  generally  be  arranged.  Tours  are  made  as 
often  as  any  considerable  number  of  caUs  are  received  from  any 
given  part  of  the  country,  and  the  time  and  travel  charges  for  visits 
made  in  the  course  of  a  tour  are  dated  as  from  and  to  the  most 
convenient  of  the  great  cities  on  the  route.  Thus,  clients  situated 
at  any  distance  from  Buffalo,  Washington,  Atlanta,  Cincinnati,  St. 
Louis,  or  Chicago  are  in  these  cases  charged  no  more  than  they  would 
be  if  they  were  situated  the  same  distance  from  Boston. 

When  a  visit  develops  the  need  of  a  design  based  upon  a  survey, 
Mr.  Eliot  usually  submits  first  a  Preliminary  Plan,  and  when  this 
is  approved,  a  finished  General  Plan.  The  General  Plan  can  be 
staked  out  by  any  surveyor,  and  carried  out  by  day's  work  under 
a  quahfied  superintendent.  If  the  work  is  to  be  done  by  contract, 
working  drawings,  written  specifications,  and  such  supervision  as 
architects  are  accustomed  to  furnish  will  be  provided,  if  required. 
Planting-plans  for  both  large  and  smaU  areas  and  in  any  degree 
of  detail  are  also  supplied  when  needed.  Order  Lists  are  made 
up  from  reliable  nursery  catalogues,  and  lowest  prices  are  always 
obtained  for  the  cHent's  benefit.  No  commissions  are  taken  on  pur- 
chases ;  neither  is  any  responsibility  assumed  for  miscarriages  or 
failures. 

n 

50  State  Street,  Boston,  April  14,  1890. 
Dear  Sir,  —  A  Committee  of  the  Council  of  the  Appalachian 
Mountain  Club  proposes  to  call  in  May  a  conference  of  persons 
interested  in  the  preservation  of  scenery  and  historical  sites  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. 

Can  you  not  oblige  this  Committee  by  sending  us  a  list  of  names 
of  persons  of  influence  or  zeal  who  ought  to  be  invited  to  this  con- 
ference from  your  part  of  the  State  —  leaders  in  "  village  improve- 
ment," "  country  gentlemen,"  public-spirited  lovers  of  out-of-doors 
or  of  scenes  associated  with  history  or  old  times,  leaders  in  horticul- 
tural or  historical  societies  ? 

We  already  have  good  lists  from  many  places,  and  we  shall  be 
much  indebted  to  you  if  you  will  send  us  one  for  your  neighbor- 
hood, before  May  1st. 

Yours  truly, 

Charles  Eliot, 
for  the  Covimittee, 


APPENDIX  III  753 

III 

July  18,  1890. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  organized  to  promote  the  "  Pre- 
servation of  Beautiful  and  Historical  Places  in  Massachusetts," 
held  at  9  Park  Street,  Boston,  July  17,  1890,  Chairman  Walcott 
presiding,  and  twelve  members  being  present,  the  following  votes 
were  passed :  — 

Voted :  That  the  report  of  the  Sub-Committee,  appointed  at  the 
last  meeting,  be  taken  from  the  table  and  referred  to  the  Sub-Com- 
mittee on  Legislation.  [Messrs.  Shurtleff  of  Springfield,  Parker  of 
Worcester,  and  AVilliams  of  Brookline.] 

Voted :  That  the  report  of  the  Sub-Committee  be  printed  and 
distributed  by  the  Secretary  to  the  members  of  the  Committee. 

Voted:  That  the  Chairman  appoint  a  Sub-Committee  of  three 
to  draw  up  a  circular  for  early  pubUcation,  and  to  issue  the  same 
as  from  the  Committee.  [Messrs.  Parker  of  Worcester,  Baxter  of 
Maiden,  and  Eliot  of  Cambridge,  appointed.] 

Voted :  That  the  Treasurer  be  authorized  to  pay  from  moneys 
in  the  Treasury  such  bills  as  may  be  audited  by  the  Chairman  and 
Secretary  of  the  Committee. 

Voted:  That  the  President,  Treasurer,  and  Secretary  be  an 
Executive  Committee,  with  power  to  add  not  more  than  twelve  new 
members  to  the  Committee. 

In  accordance  with  the  second  of  the  above  votes,  the  report  there 
referred  to  is  printed  below. 

Charles  Eliot,  Secretary/, 
50  State  Street,  Room  50,  Boston. 

To  THE  Chairman  of  the  General  Committee.  —  The  un- 
dersigned Sub-Committee  beg  leave  to  report  as  follows  :  — 

The  General  Committee  was  appointed  by  the  Conference  of 
May  24th  "  to  promote  the  establislmient  of  a  Board  of  Trustees," 
whose  powers  and  duties  were  only  loosely  sketched  in  the  resolu- 
tion adopted  by  the  Conference.  The  duty  of  this  Sub-Committee, 
as  we  have  understood  it,  has  been  to  define  these  powers  in  greater 
detail,  and  to  devise  the  organization  of  the  Board  itself. 

Upon  consideration,  we  have  concluded  to  recommend  the  estab- 
lishment, beside  the  incorporated  Board  of  Trustees,  of  a  second 
body  with  the  powers  of  a  Board  of  Visitors.  One  Board  will  be 
a  small  and  almost  close  corporation  of  the  class  which  has  been 
proved  best  able  to  manage  invested  funds  weU.     The  second  Board 


754  APPENDIX  III 

will  represent  those  associations  of  citizens  which  are  vitally  inter- 
ested in  the  preservation  of  the  memorable  and  beautiful  places  of 
the  State.  Without  the  one  Board  there  would  be  no  sufficient  con- 
fidence in  the  safety  of  the  property  ;  without  the  other  there  would 
be  no  sufficiently  vital  connection  with  the  interested  citizenship  of 
the  Commonwealth.  Our  undertaking  will  not  be  likely  to  succeed 
if  the  historical  and  out-of-door  societies  of  the  State  are  not  ready 
to  cooperate  in  establishing  and  assisting  a  Board  of  Trustees  capa- 
ble of  acting  in  behalf  of  all. 

We  recommend,  then,  that  the  Committee  proceed  to  promote  the 
incorporation  of  the  "  Trustees  of  Massachusetts  Reservations,"  and 
the  establishment  of  the  "  Delegates  of  the  AffiUated  Societies  of 
Massachusetts,"  and  we  further  suggest  that  these  two  Boards  be 
organized  and  empowered  as  follows :  — 

A.  The  Trustees. 

Two  persons  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  Council :  their 
successors  to  be  appointed  in  the  same  manner,  as  vacancies  occur. 

Five  persons  to  be  named  in  the  act  of  incorporation  :  their  suc- 
cessors to  be  elected  by  the  fuU  Board,  as  vacancies  occur. 

The  Trustees  to  be  empowered  :  — 

1.  To  elect  annually  by  ballot  a  President  and  Treasurer  from 
their  number,  and  a  Secretary,  who  may  or  may  not  be  a  member 
of  the  Board  ;  and  to  provide  for  the  appointment  of  all  servants  of 
the  corporation. 

2.  To  acquire,  with  the  approval  of  the  Delegates,  by  gift,  de- 
vise, or  purchase,  parcels  of  real  estate  possessing  natural  beauty  or 
historical  interest ;  and  to  hold  the  same  exempt  from  taxation  and 
assessment. 

3.  To  assume,  with  the  approval  of  the  Delegates,  the  care  of 
permanent  funds,  the  income  of  which  shall  be  devoted  to  the  gen- 
eral or  special  purposes  of  their  incorporation  as  the  donors  may 
prescribe  ;  and  to  hold  the  same  exempt  from  taxation. 

4.  To  assume  direction  of  the  expenditure  of  such  moneys  as 
may  be  offered  them  for  immediate  use  in  promoting  the  general  or 
special  objects  of  their  incorporation. 

5.  To  accept  gifts  of  useful,  artistic,  or  historically  interesting 
objects. 

6.  To  arrange  with  towns  and  cities  for  the  admission  of  the 
pubhc  to  the  reservations  in  return  for  police  protection. 

B.  The  Delegates. 

The  President  and  Treasurer  of  the  Trustees  ex-officiis.  Not  less 
than  seven  nor  more  than  twenty-three  other  persons  to  be  appointed 


APPENDIX  in  765 

by  the  governing  bodies  of  as  many  incorporated  societies  ;  vacan- 
cies to  be  filled  as  they  occur  by  said  governing  bodies.  Seven 
societies  to  be  named  in  the  act  incorporating  the  Trustees,  and  the 
body  of  Delegates  to  admit,  if  they  see  fit,  other  societies  to  the 
privilege  of  appointing  Delegates,  provided  that  the  total  number 
of  societies  shall  not  exceed  twenty-three. 
The  Delegates  to  be  empowered :  — 

1.  To  elect  annually  by  ballot  a  President  and  Secretary. 

2.  To  confirm  such  acts  of  the  Trustees  as  involve  the  assump- 
tion of  permanent  trusts.     (See  A.,  2  and  3.) 

3.  To  discuss  ways  and  means,  to  devise  methods,  to  propose 
new  undertakings,  and,  in  general,  to  promote  the  enUghtened  self- 
interest  of  the  Commonwealth  in  respect  to  landscape  beauty  and 
historical  memorials. 

If  the  Committee  shall  in  a  general  way  approve  the  foregoing 
recommendations  as  to  the  organization  and  powers  of  the  proposed 
Boards,  the  next  step  will  be  the  reference  of  this  I'eport  to  a  Sub- 
Committee  to  draught  an  act  for  presentation  to  the  Legislature. 
Many  of  the  above  proposals  should  be  embodied  in  By-Laws,  rather 
than  in  an  act  of  the  Legislature. 

Lastly  we  may  be  permitted  to  illustrate  our  scheme  by  a  few 
imaginary  cases :  — 

A.,  during  his  lifetime,  offers  the  Trustees  five  acres  of  land, 
situated  so  and  so,  with  a  fund  of  five  thousand  dollars  for  main- 
tenance purposes.  The  Trustees  vote  to  accept  the  gift,  and  their 
vote  is  transmitted  to  the  Delegates.  The  latter  body  appoints  a 
Committee  to  inspect  the  property,  and,  upon  a  favorable  rejjort, 
votes  to  confirm  the  acceptance  of  the  Trust  by  the  Trustees.  (See 
A.,  2  and  3.) 

B.  offers  the  Trustees  a  similar  property,  the  site  of  an  Indian 
stronghold,  but  no  fund  for  maintenance.  The  Trustees  decline 
the  gift  with  thanks ;  but  the  Delegate  from  the  local  historical 
society  succeeds  in  raising  by  subscription  a  suitable  fund,  and  Trus- 
tees and  Delegates  then  unite  in  accepting  the  separate  gifts.  (See 
A.,  2  and  3.) 

C.  offers  the  Trustees  a  thousand  dollars  to  be  spent  in  certain 
ways  upon  a  designated  reservation,  and  the  Trustees  may  or  may 
not  accept  the  gift  without  reference  to  the  Delegates.     (See  A.,  4.) 

D.  offers  seats,  or  a  fountain,  or  a  hundred  young  trees  for  a 
particular  reservation,  and  the  Trustees  may  or  may  not  accept  the 
gift  without  reference  to  the  Delegates.     (See  A.,  5.) 

E.  offers  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  the  whole  to  be  spent 


756  APPENDIX  IV 

for  a  designated  object  which  the  Trustees  have  never  before  under- 
taken to  promote.  The  Trustees  may  accept  or  reject  the  gift  with- 
out reference  to  the  Delegates  ;  but  the  novelty  of  the  proposed 
object  makes  them  hesitate,  and  they  ask  advice  of  the  Delegates, 
and  act  accordingly. 

F.,  being  a  Delegate,  reports  to  the  Board  that  his  society  is  con- 
templating raising  a  subscription  for  the  purchase  of  a  particidar 
locality  ;  and  asks  for  a  vote  of  encouragement  and  approval,  which 
is  granted. 

It  wiU  be  perceived  that  the  possible  variety  of  gifts  is  very  great, 
and  that  it  has  been  the  endeavor  of  the  Sub-Committee  to  draw  up 
a  general  scheme  wliich  shall  be  broad  enough  to  cover  all  probable 
cases  and  all  varieties  of  conditions.  We  believe  in  giving  the 
Trustees  great  liberty  of  action,  and  leaving  them  to  decide,  as  each 
gift  is  presented  to  them,  whether  or  not  they  shall  accept  it. 

J.  EvARTs  Greene. 
Charles  Eliot. 
Sub-Committee,    <.  Moses  Williams. 

Fredk.  Law  Olmsted. 
.  George  Wigglesworth. 


IV 

April  29,  1896. 
draught  of  a  general  order  respecting  the  government 
of  the  metropolitan  reservations 

1.  The  superintendents  of  the  several  reservations  shall  receive 
the  following  monthly  salaries,  a  suitable  deduction  being  made 
whenever  a  superintendent  is  furnished  with  a  house :  — 

Revere  Beach $100.00  $1200.00 

Bhie  Hills 100.00  1200.00 

Fells 100.00  1200.00 

Stony  Brook 60.00  720.00 

Charles  River 60.00  720.00 

Beaver  Brook 60.00  720.00 

.   Hemlock  Gorge 60.00  720.00 

Annually $6480.00 


APPENDIX  IV  767 

2.  The  superintendents  of  the  reservations  are  to  conduct  them- 
selves, under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary,  as  the  general  man- 
agers of  the  i)ublic  estates  placed  in  their  care.  Their  salaries  are 
to  be  derived  from  the  annual  appropriation  for  "  care  and  mainte- 
nance," and  they  will  accordingly  give  first  attention  to  (a)  the 
guidance  and  assistance  of  visitors ;  (b)  the  checking  of  misuse  of 
the  reservations ;  (c)  the  suppression  of  disorder ;  (d)  the  protec- 
tion of  the  woods  from  fire  ;  (e)  the  maintenance  of  fields,  pastures, 
roads,  paths,  guide-boards,  fences,  buildings,  etc. ;  (/)  the  collection 
of  rents  and  receipts  from  sales.  To  enable  the  superintendents  to 
perform  these  several  duties,  they  are  to  be  authorized  to  employ  as 
many  "  keepers,"  "  extra  keepers,"  and  laborers  as  the  Commission 
may  from  time  to  time  determine.  Keepers  will  report  for  duty- 
daily,  and  wiU  be  assigned  to  "  patrol  duty,"  to  "  post  duty,"  or  to 
*'  special  duty,"  as  the  superintendent  may  determine.  Extra  keep- 
ers wiU  be  similarly  assigned  to  duty  on  those  holidays  or  other 
special  occasions  when  they  may  be  called  into  service.  Keepers 
and  extra  keepers  mil  wear  a  uniform  when  on  duty,  and  will  be 
armed  with  police  powers.  Laborers  will  be  called  into  service 
simply  as  occasion  may  demand  and  the  Commission  may  deter- 
mine. The  pay  of  the  keepers  and  extra  keepers  will  be  $1.75  per 
day,  and  laborers  $1.50.  At  the  beginning,  the  number  of  em- 
ployees of  each  grade  attached  to  each  reservation  shall  not  exceed 
the  following :  — 

Extra 

Keepers.  Keepers.  Laborers. 

Revere  Beach 2  4  20 

Bhie  Hills 2  4  20 

Fells 2  4  20 

Stony  Brook 1  1  10 

Charles  River 0  2  5 

Beaver  Brook 0  1  5 

Hemlock  Gorge 0  1  5 

3.  The  superintendents  of  the  reservations  are  furthermore  to 
have  charge  and  direction  of  whatever  forest  improvement  works  or 
path  or  road  construction  works  the  Commission  may  authorize  from 
time  to  time,  and  for  the  prosecution  of  such  work  they  will  employ 

J  foremen,  laborers,  horses,  carts,  etc.,  as  may  be  required. 


758*  APPENDIX  IV 


DRAUGHT    OF    RULES    FOR    THE    CONDUCT    OF    KEEPERS. 

Wearing  the  uniform  wiU  signify  that  a  keeper  is  on  duty,  and 
subject  to  the  rules  and  discipline  of  duty  in  aU  respects.  No 
outer  clothing  is  to  be  worn  on  duty  except  the  prescribed  uniform. 
No  part  of  the  uniform  is  to  be  worn  without  all  parts.  From  the 
time  a  keeper  comes  on  active  duty,  including  all  the  time  in  which 
he  shall  be  in  uniform,  he  is  to  carry  and  deport  himself  in  a  vigi- 
lant, decorous,  and  soldier-like  way.  When  proceeding  to  a  post, 
or  when  on  patrol  duty,  he  is  to  move  at  a  quick  march  ;  or  if  there 
is  special  need  to  move  slowly  for  observation,  he  is  to  carefully 
avoid  any  appearance  of  sauntering  or  listlessness.  He  is  to  seek 
no  shelter,  and  to  occupy  no  position  or  locality  unfavorable  to  his 
duty  of  preventing  the  misuse  of  the  park,  and  aiding  and  giving 
confidence  to  visitors  in  its  proper  use.  Nor  is  he,  without  special 
necessity,  to  enter  any  building,  or  take  any  position  or  action,  in 
which  he  may  appear  to  others  to  be  seeking  his  own  ease  *or 
comfort,  or  disengagement  from  activity  and  vigilance.  He  is  not 
to  try  to  surprise  visitors ;  is  not  to  play  the  detective ;  is  not  to 
move  furtively  or  use  slyness,  in  any  way,  for  any  purpose.  He  is 
not  to  suffer  himself  to  be  drawn  into  private  conversation.  He 
is  not  to  engage  in  disputes  or  discussions  on  questions  of  his  duty 
or  that  of  visitors,  or  other  matters.  To  lessen  the  liability'  of  f all- 
ino-  into  conversation  not  required  by  his  duty,  and  of  an  appear- 
ance of  neglect  of  duty,  he  will,  while  in  necessary  communication 
with  others,  stand  in  the  position  of  "  attention,"  or,  if  in  movement, 
will  take  special  care  to  maintain  a  brisk  and  vigilant  carriage.  He 
is  not  to  address  visitors  in  a  loud  voice,  when  occasion  for  doing  so 
can  be  avoided  by  his  own  activity.  He  is  not  to  exhibit  ill-temper, 
vexation,  impatience,  or  vindictiveness  in  manner,  tone  of  voice, 
words,  or  acts.  The  authority  to  make  arrests  is  to  be  used  with 
extreme  caution  ;  only  when  to  refrain  from  using  it  will  bring  the 
law,  as  represented  by  the  keeper,  into  disrespect,  or  be  followed  by 
other  results  harmful  to  general  pubhc  interests.  Persons  to  be 
arrested,  and  while  under  arrest,  must  be  saved  from  all  unneces- 
sary indignity.  When  the  keeper  is  obliged,  for  the  vindication  of 
the  law,  to  use  force,  he  must  be  cautious  to  avoid  unnecessary  vio- 
lence or  harshness.  The  worst  criminal  having  a  right  to  a  hearing 
by  a  magistrate  before  condemnation  to  punishment,  the  punish- 
ment of  offenders  can  be  no  business  of  the  keeper.  No  conduct  or 
language  toward  a  visitor,  which  conveys  an  intention  of  punish- 
ment, is,  therefore,  under  any  circumstances,  to  be  justified. 


APPENDIX  V  759 


Articles  of  Agreement  entered  into  by  and  between  the  Trustees 
of  the  Keney  Estate,  Hartford,  Connecticut,  party  of  the  first  part, 
and  Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  John  Charles  Olmsted,  and  Charles 
Eliot,  copartners  doing  business  as  Landscape  Architects  under 
the  firm  name  of  Olmsted,  Olmsted  &  Eliot,  in  Brookline,  Mas- 
sachusetts, for  themselves,  their  executors,  administrators,  and 
assigns,  parties  of  the  second  jiart. 

Whereas,  The  party  of  the  first  jiart  wishes  to  obtain  from  the 
parties  of  the  second  part  a  design  or  "  general  plan "  for  the 
improvement  of  certain  lands  lying  within  and  without  the  city  of 
Hartford  to  be  known  as  Keney  Park,  and  also  such  professional 
advice  and  instruction,  written  or  verbal,  as  may  be  necessary  to 
enable  competent  engineers,  sujierintendents,  and  gardeners  in  the 
employ  of  the  party  of  the  first  part  to  elaborate  working  drawings 
and  to  carry  out  the  said  general-  plan/  now,  therefore,  the  said 
parties  mutually  agree  as  follows  :  — 

The  said  parties  of  the  second  part,  for  the  consideration  here- 
inafter mentioned,  shall  devise  and  prepare  a  "  general  plan  "  for 
the  laying  out  and  improvement  of  the  said  lands,  and  shall  from 
time  to  time  during  the  continuance  of  this  agreement  give  such 
advice,  written  and  verbal,  and  shall  supervise  the  preparation  in 
their  office  of  such  detailed  drawings  and  diagrams  as  will  enable 
competent  experts  to  elaborate  working  plans,  to  set  out  the  same, 
and  to  order  such  material  and  services  as  may  be  required  for 
realizing  the  intents  and  designs  of  said  'i^iieral-planei"  The  said 
parties  of  the  second  part  shall  also,  during  the  continuance  of  this 
agreement,  visit  the  said  property  at  intervals,  according  to  their 
custom,  to  review  the  working  plans  and  the  setting  out  of  the 
design,  and  to  give  such  advice  and  instructions  as  they  shall  find 
occasion  for. 

In  order  to  secure  good  work  of  its  kind  in  all  that  is  to  be 
undertaken  under  this  agreement,  men  of  good  standing  and  com- 
petent in  the  opinion  of  the  parties  of  the  second  part  shall  be 
employed  by  the  party  of  the  first  part  in  each  of  the  several  depart- 
ments of  Engineering,  Architecture,  Forestry,  and  Gardening,  who, 
with  suitable  assistants,  shall  act  cooperatively  with,  and  under  the 
general  direction  and  supervision  of,  the  parties  of  the  second  part. 
It  is  agreed  that  work  affecting  the  appearance  or  landscape  of 
said  lands  to  be  known  as  Keney  Park  shall  not  be  ordered  by  the 
said  party  of  the  first  part,  unless  it  is  in  accordance  with  the 


760  APPENDIX  V 

advice  or  plans  of  the  said  parties  of  the  second  part,  until  after 
they  have  been  given  a  reasonable  opportunity  to  submit  their 
opinion  of  the  same  in  writing,  and  it  is  further  agreed  that  said 
written  opinion  shall  be  kept  with  the  records  of  the  Board  of  Park 
Commissioners. 

The  said  party  of  the  first  part  shall  furnish,  without  expense  to 
the  said  parties  of  the  second  part,  adequate  surveys,  maps,  and  all 
other  means,  aid,  and  service  required  for  the  information  of  the 
said  parties  of  the  second  part,  and  for  the  elaboration  and  setting 
out  upon  the  ground  of  the  intended  plans. 

It  is  agreed  that  the  compensation  hereinafter  stated  shall  be  for 
the  personal  services  and  advice  of  the  said  parties  of  the  second 
part  as  designers  and  for  the  drawing  hereinafter  referred  to  as  the 
"  general  plan,"  and  it  is  agreed  that  the  said  party  of  the  first  part 
shall  refund  to  the  said  parties  of  the  second  part  the  actual  cost  to 
them  of  the  materials  used  and  of  the  services  of  their  assistants 
while  engaged  in  the  preparation  of  aU  drawings  and  sun-prints 
other  than  the  "  general  plan  "  aforesaid,  while  engaged  in  inspect- 
ing the  works,  or  in  advising  or  conferring  with  the  said  party  of 
the  first  part  or  the  employees  thereof,  and  in  general  while  occu- 
pied with  the  business  of  the  said  party  of  the  first  part. 

It  is  agreed  that  all  expenses  incurred  by  said  parties  of  the 
second  part  or  their  assistants  for  travelling  or  subsistence  Avhile 
away  from  Brookline  on  the  business  of  the  said  party  of  the  first 
part,  such  as  conferences,  examinations  of  the  ground,  and  inspec- 
tions of  the  work,  shall  be  refunded  to  said  parties  of  the  second 
part. 

The  party  of  the  first  part  hereby  agrees  to  pay  to  the  parties  of 
the  second  part,  in  consideration  of  the  performance  on  the  part 
of  the  parties  of  the  second  part  of  the  services  herein  agreed  upon 
to  be  performed,  the  sum  of dollars,  to  be  paid  in  ten  semi- 
annual payments. 


INDEX 


Abbreviation — M.  P.  C.  :=  Metropolitan  Park  Commission. 


Abandonments  of  lands  once  taken, 

469,  615-617. 
Abbajona  River,  .50.5. 
Advertising  boards,  542. 
Alassio,  101. 
Alster  Basins,    Hamburg,     165,   166, 

203. 
Andr^,  M.,  methods  of,  121. 
Anglomania    in    park    making,    215- 

218. 
Antibes,  87-90, 92-94. 
Appalachian     Mountain     Club    takes 

action  for  scenery  preservation,  321. 
Appointment  of  the  permanent  M.  P.  C. 

of  1893,  412. 
Architecture,  definition  of,  272. 
Arnhem,    Holland,    197 ;     Oorsprong, 

198 ;  Sonsbeek,  198. 
Arnold  Arboretum,  38,  44,  45. 
Art  out  of  doors,  546. 
Ashstead  Park,  62. 
Avenue  on  a  steep  bank,  282. 
Avignon,  78. 
Axe,  uses  of,  711. 

Back  Bay  Fens,  Boston,  42,  692. 

Baptistery,  Florence,  111. 

Bath,  149. 

Baxter,  Sylvester,  a  writer  on  Boston 
park  needs,  324,  332. 

Bay  and  Sea,  739. 

Beautiful  scenes  have  unity  and  har- 
mony, 3(i0. 

Beautiful  villages,  37-5-378. 

Beauty,  fit  and  distinctive,  233; 
founded  on  rationality,  551. 

Beaver  Brook,  403,  496,  .501. 

Beaver  Brook,  Glen,  and  Oaks,  508. 

Bedford  Park,  57. 

Belle  Isle  Park,  Detroit,  40. 

Bellevue  Hill,  602. 

Beneficent  legislation  legitimately  pro- 
cured, 357. 

Berlin,  187-190. 

Berlin  Academy,  188. 

Biblioth^que  Nationale,  74. 

Bicton  Park,  138. 

Blankenese,  165. 

Blue  Hills,  493,  601. 

Blue  Hills  Parkway,  510,  539,  540. 


Blue  Hills  Reservation,  boundaries  of, 

439-441. 
Bois  de  Boulogne,  122. 
Bolle,  Dr.  Carl,  188,  192. 
Bologna,  112. 
Boston,  chances  the  city  has  lost,  615; 

to  the  Blue  Hills,  460  ;  to  the  Fells, 

461  ;  to  Fresh  Pond,  427. 
Boston    Harbor,  islands,   planting   of, 

699 ;  "  scouring  "  of,  557. 
Boston  &  Albany  R.  R.  stations,  42. 
Border    roads   should   be    continuous, 

408. 
Bordighera,  100. 
Botanic  Garden  in  Bronx  Park,  N.  Y., 

701. 
Bowness,  159. 
Bowood,  l-iO. 
British  Museum,  reading-room,  56,  58, 

59,  60. 
Bronx  Park,  N.  Y.,  Botanic  Garden 

in,  701. 
Budleigh  Salterton,  137. 
Bu.siness  manners,  91. 
Buttes-Chaumont,  Paris,  127. 
Buttonwood   Park  at   New  Bedford, 

523-526. 
Buxton,  Pavilion  Gardens,  158. 

California,  invitation  to,  145. 

Cambridge,  England,  1.54. 

Cambridge  Field,  Field  House  on,  478  ; 
uses  of,  520. 

Cambridge,  parks  for,  423. 

Cambridge  playgroimds,  428. 

Camp  Champlain,  25,  26. 

Camp  on  Calf  Island,  8. 

Camp  on  Nonamesset  Island,  12. 

Camping  and  yachting  combined,  9. 

Cannes,  84-87. 

Canterbury,  68. 

Cemetery,  perfecting  an  old,  293-296. 

Champlain  Society,  26. 

Charlesmouth  Bridge,  685. 

Charles  River,  504,  557,  592  ;  a  dan- 
gerous nuisance,  565  ;  as  drain,  .573, 
576 ;  as  highway,  561 ;  as  obstruc- 
tion to  travel,  504  ;  as  well-distrib- 
uted open-air  space,  574 ;  banks  of, 
507 ;    best  use   of,  567,    582 ;  both 


762 


INDEX 


banks  should  be  public  property, 
568 ;  bridg-es  should  be  elevated, 
565  ;  description  of,  560  ;  drives,  579  ; 
exclusion  of  tide  from,  558 ;  historical 
development  of,  560;  in  Waltham, 
517  ;  Joint  Board  on  Improvement 
of,  report  of  their  landscape  architect 
to,  571-584;  marshes  as  building 
lands,  562  ;  present  condition  of,  563  ; 
proposed  improvement  of,  582  ;  re- 
formation of,  588 ;  reformation  of, 
delayed,  587  ;  sea-walls  inferior  to 
•green  banks,  590 ;  upper  reaches  of, 
604 ;  what  its  damming  would  ac- 
complish, 584. 

Charles  River  Basin,  580 ;  again,  695. 

Charles  River  Improvement  Commis- 
sion, 558  ;  first  report  of,  559-570. 

Charles  River  Reservation,  505,  534. 

Charles  River  Speedway,  579. 

Charlottenlund,  Copenhagen,  171. 

Chatsworth  House,  157. 

Chelsea,  pleasure  grounds  for,  518. 

City  life,  dangers  of,  338. 

City  Point,  Boston,  43. 

Clermont-on-the-Hudson,  250-253. 

Cleveland,  H.  W.  S.,  early  interest  in 
Middlesex  FeUs,  323. 

Clovelly,  146. 

College  estate,  the  arrangement  of 
buildings,  641. 

Commons  Preservation  Society,  154. 

Commons,  treatment  of,  475. 

Concealing  boundaries,  283. 

Concrete  brooks,  125. 

Construction  and  maintenance  of  parks, 
distinction  between,  690. 

Contents,  table  of,  v-xvii. 

Copenhagen,  167-172 ;  Frederiksberg- 
Have,  168 ;  Thorwaldsen  Museum, 
169,  171. 

Coppice  type,  721-726. 

Copps  Hill  Terrace,  484. 

Country  park,  object  of,  305,  342,  625. 

Country  parks,  rights  of  abutters  upon, 
624. 

Country-seat,  new,  285. 

Country-seats,  six  old  American,  240- 
260. 

Courmes,  86. 

Crocker,  Uriel  H.,  of  Boston,  557. 

Cruising,  11,  18,  19,  21-24. 

Cushing-Payson  Place,  Belmont,  Mass., 
246-250. 

Dalkeith  park,  163. 

Dartmouth,  142. 

Dart  River,  142. 

Davenport,    Charles,    of    Cambridge, 

557. 
Dawlish,  139. 
Deer-park,  English,  600. 


Derbys,  1,  2. 

Describing  scenery,  115. 

Djurgarden,  Stockholm,  175. 

Dorking,  63. 

Dresden,  Botanical  Garden,    191 ;  the 

Elbe,  192  ;  Waldschlosschen,  192. 
Dunham,  Dr.,  estate  of  at  Irvington-on- 

the-Hudson,  281-285. 
Dunster.  149. 
Dutch  lands,  200. 

Economy  prohibits  piecemeal  park 
work,  681. 

Edges  of  small  lawns,  121. 

Edinburgh,  163. 

Eisenach,  194;  Marienthal,  194;  Mr. 
Eiehel's  garden,  194 ;  Wilhelms- 
thal,  191. 

Eliot,  Charles,  birth,  1  ;  bodily  quali- 
ties, 744  ;  books  read,  7,  10,  24,  42, 
60,  61,  62;  business  and  the  com- 
mon professions  rejected,  32  ;  busi- 
ness capacity,  26  ;  at  the  Bussey  In- 
stitution, 33,  34 ;  choice  of  studies, 
29  ;  classical  education  ended,  17  ; 
committing  to  memory,  5  ;  creed, 
748  ;  cross  country  walks,  14,  45 ; 
death,  744  ;  decides  to  be  a  landscape 
architect,  33  ;  delight  in  scenery,  17, 
38,  92  ;  draughting,  35, 36,  41 ;  draw- 
ing lessons,  15  ;  early  observing  and 
describing,  6  ;  early  travel,  3  ;  en- 
gagement, 214 ;  entered  Mr.  F.  L. 
Olmsted's  office  as  apprentice,  34 ; 
first  planting  design,  207  ;  first  writ- 
ings, 206 ;  fruition,  747  ;  general  edu- 
cation, 5-31 ;  a  gloomy  mood,  91 ; 
graduation,  30;  house-plans,  11  ;  im- 
aginary town  plans,  10 ;  imaginative 
sports,  7,  9 ;  inheritances,  1-4  ;  joins 
the  Olmsted  firm,  418;  after  joining 
the  Olmsted  firm,  remained  the  land- 
scape adviser  of  the  M.  P.  C,  420 ; 
landscape  architect,  204 ;  landscape 
architect  to  the  M.  P.  C.  of  1892, 
380 ;  learnt  the  New  England  coast, 
11 ;  learnt  to  ride,  7  ;  learnt  to  swim, 
12 ;  an  early  map,  10 ;  making 
sketch-plans  and  show  maps,  and  or- 
dering plants,  37  ;  marriage,  238  ; 
member  of  Commission  on  Improve- 
ment of  Charles  River,  558 ;  mental 
qualities,  745  ;  methods  of  practice, 
205  ;  moral  qualities,  746  ;  not  socia- 
ble, 29 ;  persuasiveness,  professional 
training,  apprenticeship,  32-49 ; 
school,  5,  15 ;  secretary  of  Com- 
mittee, 330  ;  secretary  of  the  meet- 
ing of  park  commissioners  and  corn- 
mittees,  Dec.  16,  1891  ;  secretary  of 
the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations, 
343  ;  skilled  in  the  use  of  charts,  11 ; 


INDEX 


763 


stadying  German,  10 ;  study  in  the 
field,  514  ;  training  in  writing  Eng- 
lish, 17 ;  uncertain  aboUt  a  profes- 
sion, 28  ;  visiting  Olmsted  works  in 
progress,  35,  30,  39,  42. 

Eliot,  Charles  Wm.  1,  4,  29,  91. 

Eliot,  EUen  Derby,  1,  3,  4,  12,  13, 
92. 

Eliots,  1, 2. 

Elsinore,  Castle  of,  170. 

Emmanuel  College,  154. 

English  deer-park,  GOO. 

Epping  Forest,  5(). 

Ermenonville,  120. 

Exe  River,  a  villa  region,  136. 

Exeter,  135. 

Exeter  nurseries,  130,  137. 

Expenses  in  Europe,  118,  155,  200. 

Evening  resting-places,  480. 

Eze,  95. 

Facsimile  of  handwriting,  201. 

Family  life,  410-419. 

Fells,  pleasuring  in,  515;  parkway, 
510,  539, 014. 

Fens,  vegetation  of,  neglected,  092. 

Ferri^res,  124. 

Field  and  pasture  type,  720-729. 

Field  house,  value  of.  521. 

Finland,  178-180;  Helsingfors,  179; 
Wiborg,  180. 

Fire-guards,  495,  500. 

Fire  precautions,  500. 

Florence,  108-112 ;  a  landscape  com- 
position, 109;  the  park,  110. 

Flower  garden  a  thing  distinct,  54. 

Flowers  should  have  a  special  place, 
037. 

Foremen  of  woodcraft,  713. 

Forest  and  pond  as  reservation,  437- 
439. 

Forest  fires,  453. 

Forest,  head-keeper  of,  652. 

Forestry,  a  kind  of  crop  growing,  630. 

Forest  survey,  714. 

Forest  work,  beginning  of,  735. 

Forest  work  in  Marigold  Valley,  735. 

Fourvi^res,  Lyons,  77. 

Franklin  Park,  Boston,  44. 

Fresh  Pond,  to  make  a  park  of,  476  ; 
to  make  good  shore  lines,  477. 

Garden  Glade,  280. 

Gardens,  84.  85,  86,  88,  89,  93,  95,  96, 

98,  101,  102,  103,  107,  133,  135,  194, 

280,  298. 
General  plans,  645,  653,  656,  658,  666, 

682  ;  are  programmes  of  work,  655  ; 

of  new  reservations,  650. 
Genoa,  102,  103. 
Glasgow,  162. 
Goat  Island,  Niagara,  115. 


Good  taste  obeys  good  sense,  553. 
Gore     Place,  Waltham,    Mass.,    240- 
243. 

Haddon  Hall,  157. 

Hague,  The,  198. 

Hamburg,  a  water-side  arrangement, 
165  ;  water  parks,  104. 

Hampshire  Field  Club,  134. 

Hampstead,  55. 

Hanbury,  Mr.,  garden  of,  96. 

Harrison,  J.  13.,  a  speech  by,  329 ; 
agent  of  the  Trustees  of  Public 
Reservations,  343,  345. 

Harrow-on-the-Hill,  58. 

Hartford,  Conn.,  Keney  Park,  742. 

Harvard  College,  150. 

Harvard  College  Yard,  208,  291-293. 

Havre,  131. 

Hayes  Barton,  138. 

Hazard  estate  at  Peace  Dale,  R.  I., 
improvements  of,  235-237. 

Helsingdr,  169. 

Hemlock  Gorge,  465,  508,  533.  •' 

Highgate,  55. 

Hitching's  Field  in  Maiden,  482. 

Holland,  197-200. 

Hopkinson,  Grace  M.,  16. 

Horticulture,  and  design  in  the  sur- 
roundings of  houses,  203-272. 

House  and  surroundings  one  composi- 
tion, 207. 

House  at  Mt.  Desert.,  27. 

House  grounds,  English,  373. 

House  scene,  206  ;  in  suburbs,  268 ;  in 
the  country,  271. 

House  settings,  the  inappropriate,  269. 

House  site  on  a  large  estate,  632-035 ; 
on  a  seaside  estate,  0;i9. 

Humanized  landscape,  546. 

Hyde  Park  on  the  Hudson,  256-259. 

Hy^res,  82. 

He  de  St.  Honorat,  87. 

Illustrations,  lists  of,  full  page,  xviii- 

xxi ;  in  text,  xxii,  xxiii. 
Improving  a  New  England  valley,  369- 

372.    ■ 
Improving  reservation  boundaries,  464, 

406. 
Improving  the  grounds  of  an  institu- 
tion, 635. 
Italian  gardening,  worth  study,  99. 
Italian  Gardens,  547. 

Jamaica  Park,  706. 

Joint     Board      on     Improvement     of 

Charles  River,  571. 
Journeys :  to  Florida,  13  ;  to  the  White 

Mountains,  13  ;  to  Princeton,  Mass., 

in  May,  14;  to  Atlantic  cities,  45; 

to  the  Appalachians,  46-48. 


764 


INDEX 


Keeper  of  public  forest,  652. 

Keepers,  rules  for,  758. 

Keney  estate,  Hartford,  articles  of 
agreement  between  Olmsted,  Olm- 
sted, and  Eliot  and  trustees  of,  759. 

Keney  Park,  Hartford,  Conn.,  742. 

Kew  Gardens,  53, 152,  153. 

Kiel,  166. 

King's  Beach  in  Swampscott,  585. 

Kingswear,  141. 

Lake  Come,  114. 

Lake  Country,  159-161. 

Lakeland  Defence,  161. 

Lakeside  mountains,  160. 

Landscape  architect,  function  of  un- 
known, 204. 

Landscape  architect,  function  of,  261- 
274. 

Landscape  architecture,  American, 
274 ;  comprehends  gardening  and 
building,  .360 ;  covers  agriculture, 
forestry,  gardening,  and  engineering, 
630  ;  in  a  university,  630  ;  no  exist- 
ing school  for  it,  33,  132  ;  not  a  re- 
cognized profession,  33  ;  should  be 
associated  with  architecture,  630. 

Landscape  art,  a  few  books  on,  221. 

Landscape  art  and  architecture,  363- 
367. 

Landscape  art  a  part  of  architecture, 
631 ;  beginnings  of,  219. 

Landscape  artist,  function  of,  273. 

Landscape,  a  well-guarded,  as  a  me- 
morial, 344. 

Landscape  forestry  in  the  Met.  Res., 
709. 

Landscape  gardener,  what  he  can  do, 
262. 

Landscape  humanized,  543  ;  improved 
by  man,  555;  influence  of,  341  ;  in- 
terest, 1 29  ;  of  civilization  artificial, 
546. 

Landscape  painting,  70. 

Landscape  park,  448. 

Landscape  study  in  Europe,  50-201. 

La  Mortola,  Mentone,  97. 

Larochefoucauld,  85. 

Lawrence,  Roswell  B.,  his  map  of 
Middlesex  Fells,  324. 

Lawrenceville  School,  N.  J.,  41. 

Le  Bar,  86. 

Legislation,  legitimate  efforts  to  pro- 
cure, 357. 

Xeipsic  parks,  193. 

Liverpool  parks,  51. 

Log  of  the  Sunshine,  17-19,  21-24. 

London  parks,  53. 

Longfellow  Memorial,  Cambridge, 
210-214. 

Louvre,  69. 

Lucerne,  118. 


Luxembourg  Gardens,  Paris,  12^. 

Lymans,  1,  2. 

Lyman  Place,  Waltham    Mass.,  243- 

246. 
Lynmouth,  147. 
Lynn  Woods,  601. 
Lyons,  77. 

Maine  coast,  215,  308-315 ;  scenery, 
309  ;  woods,  310 ;  history,  311  ;  sum- 
mer  colonies,  312  ;  to  preserve  some 
of  its  finest  scenery,  315 ;  unfit 
building  and  decoration,  313,  314. 

Manchester,  Alexandra  Park,  158. 

Mann,  George  C,  President  of  the 
Appalachian  Mountain  Club,  letter 
to,  320. 

Map  of  December,  1901,  key  to,  follows 
this  index,  768,  769. 

Map  of  the  Metropolitan  District, 
1892,  382  ;  notes  on  the  map,  413  ; 
key  to  the  figures  on  the  map,  414, 
415. 

Maps  before  road-building,  649,  660. 

Marseilles,  80-82. 

Marshes,  building  on,  430. 

Massachusetts  a  beautiful  land,  353. 

Matlock  Bath,  156. 

Matlock,  Pavilion  Gardens,  157. 

McMurdo,  Gen.,  garden  of,  101. 

Mentone,  96. 

Mediterranean  Sea,  81,  99,  107. 

Metropolitan  District,  effects  of  hu- 
man occupancy,  390-392  ;  ponds  and 
streams,  403-409  ;  the  Mystic,  403- 
405;  the  Charles,  405,  406;  the 
Neponset,  407,408 ;  Rock-Hills,  386, 
396-402;  Glacial  Rubbish,  387; 
Fresh  Waters,  387 ;  The  Sea,  388, 
393 ;  The  Bay  and  the  Sea,  409-411 ; 
the  large  waterways,  394 ;  public 
ownership  of  the  watercourses,  395. 

Metropolitan  Park  Commission, 
achievements  of,  599;  appointment 
of,  412  ;  composition  of,  609  ;  Con- 
struction Department,  Oil ;  expendi- 
tures of,  740 ;  financial  machinery, 
609  ;  of  1892-93,  appointment  of, 
355  ;  spaces  acquired  by,  541  ;  tak- 
ing example  from,  612  ;  their  pro- 
fessional experts,  610  ;  work  accom- 
plished, 60S. 

Metropolitan  Parkways,  537-539,  689. 

Metropolitan  Reservations,  additional, 
595  ;  Bay  and  Seashore,  686  ;  botany 
of.  514  ;  boundaries,  determining  of, 
493  ;  costly  roads  unadvisable,  .531  ; 
dead  wood,  499  ;  design  and  execu- 
tion, 737  ;  designs  awaiting  execu- 
tion, 741  ;  early  work,  647  ;  explo- 
ration of  acquired  lands,  494  ;  fences, 
499;   geology    of,    472,    496,    514; 


INDEX 


765 


government  of,  756 ;  Lake,  Brook, 
and  River,  683-08(3 ;  landscape  for- 
estry in  the,  709 ;  Rock-hill  or  for- 
est, 680-683  ;  should  be  bounded  by 
roads,  490,  491  ;  sign-boards,  colors 
on,  513  ;  sketch-maps  of,  496  ;  stone 
bounds,  499 ;  sylvan  scenery,  495 ; 
their  distribution,  594,  602  ;  topo- 
graphy of,  496,  497,  514,  532 ;  un- 
interesting as  woodlands,  498  ;  vege- 
tation, 497 ;  vegetation,  chief  types 
of  the,  717 ;  what  they  should  in- 
clude, 489. 

Middlesex  Fells,  493,  602  ;  approaches 
to,  457—459;  southern  boundary  of, 
412;  topography  of ,  497. 

Mistral,  the,  79. 

Monaco,  98. 

Monte  Carlo,  gardens,  98. 

lilontgomery  Place,  253-256, 

Mortefontaine,  128. 

Morton  Park  at  Newport,  481. 

Mother,  27. 

Mt.  Desert,  history  of,  42. 

Muddy  River,  556  ;  reformed,  585  ; 
what  it  teaches,  589. 

Music,  28,  38,  61,  130. 

Muskau,  190  ;  a  German  country  park, 
191,  217,  358. 

Mystic  River,  504. 

Mystic  VaUey  Parkway,  407,  533. 

Nature,  letting  it  alone,  657,  663. 

Naushon,  12,  13. 

Newburyport  Common,  224. 

New  England,  typical  scene  in,  231, 

232. 
New  Forest,  1-34. 
New  Hartford,  Conn.,  237. 
Nice,  90,  94. 
North  End  Beach,  485. 
North  Station,  a  nevf,  .591. 
Norton  estate,  Cambridge,  214. 
Nurseries,  83,  128,  136,  153,  154  ;  the 

plant  treasures  of  modern,  204,  265. 

Olmsted,  Frederick  Law,  32,  34,  38, 
.543 ;  advice  to  C.  E.  about  writing 
for  the  preas,  206  ;  taught  the  uses  of 
public  open  spaces,  324. 

Olmsted,  Frederick  Law,  Jr.,  629. 

Olmsted  principles  in  landscape  work, 
39,  40. 

Open  spaces,  value  of,  339. 

Open-air  parlors,  340. 

Outdoor  Art  Association,  703. 

Oxford,  visit  to,  07. 

Pare  de  la  Tete  d'Or,  Lyons,  77. 
Paris,  69  ;  curiosities  of,  75  ;  parks,  70, 

71,  72,  73,  74,  120,  122,  127,  128. 
Park  Act  of  1882,  objections  to,  354. 


Park,  bordering  screens  of,  623;  for 
an  Ohio  township,  the  Youngstown 
Gorge,  298-301  ;  not  a  country-seat 
or  farm,  545  ;  with  a  pond,  523. 

Park  buildings  and  plantings,  707. 

Park  construction,  449. 

Park  design,  vital  element  in,  691. 

Park  designs  various,  447. 

Park  development,  229. 

Park  government,  443, 

Park  keepers,  duties  of,  619-621, 

Park  plans  or  designs,  446. 

Park  planter,  451  ;  the  true,  693. 

Park  planting  looks  to  the  future,  555  ; 
neither  gardening  nor  forestry,  693. 

Park  policy  for  a  seaside  town,  429 ; 
for  a  bay-shore  city,  430-435. 

Park  scenery,  5-14  ;  elements  of,  715, 

Park  selection,  principles  of,  421. 

Park  sites  and  boundaries,  444. 

Park  system,  the  scientific,  for  •  the 
Metropolitan  District,  381. 

Park  work  .should  not  be  exotic,  215, 
218. 

Parked  watercourses,  44.5. 

Parkinson,  John,  his  estate  at  Bourne, 
207. 

Parks  and  squares  of  U.  S.  cities,  304- 
308. 

Parks,  bicycle  paths  in,  625  ;  construc- 
tion and  maintenance  of,  distinction 
between,  690 ;  many  entrances  un- 
desirable, 625;  need  of,  336-.S43 ; 
Parkways,  and  Pleasure  Grounds, 
441-451  ;  primarily  for  visitors  on 
foot,  626 ;  selection  of  lands  for, 
601  ;  trees  in,  664. 

Parkway,  from  Boston  to  northwestern 
suburbs,  512;  one  good  north-side, 
598  ;  law  expedient,  462  ;  legislation, 
456 ;  studies,  470 ;  problem  com- 
plex, 597. 

Parkways,  445  ;  for  car  and  carriage, 
509 ;  merely  improved  highways, 
596 ;  must  be  Metropolitan  work, 
463 ;  standard  width  of,  512 ;  two 
special,  605. 

Parkways,  no  general  scheme  of,  606. 

Paths  in  a  small  city  square,  522 ;  in 
the  woods,  454. 

Pavonia  ashore,  201-203. 

P.avlofsk,  St.  Petersburg,  183,  217. 

Peabodvs,  1,  2.  3,  4,  16. 

Peterhof.  St.  Petersburg,  181. 

Peters  Hill,  705. 

Petition  for  an  inquiry  concerning  the 
preservation  of  fine  scenery,  353. 

Petit  Trianon,  Versailles,  123. 

Picture,  a  perfect,  82. 

Pictures,  .59,  61,  67,  69,  70,  109,  llSl 
183,  188.  192. 

Picturesqueness,  96,  99,  100. 


766 


INDEX 


Picturing  the  open  spaces  still  obtain- 
able near  Boston,  o83. 
Pillnitz,  garden  and  arboretum,  192. 
Pinner,  57. 

Pisa,  107  ;   Botanical  Garden,  107. 
Planless  work,  wastefulness  of,  659. 
Planning,  necessity  of,  059,  661. 
Planning  roads  and  paths,  479. 
Plans  before  woodland  work,  651. 
Planting-plan  for  house  grounds,  275- 

280. 
Playgrounds,  340 ;  best  use  of,  628. 
Pleasure  colony,  289. 
'Pleasure  town  on  a  lake  shore,  288. 
Pleasuring  in  the  Fells,  515. 
Plymouth,  144,  145  ;  Mt.   Edgcumbe 

Park,  144. 
Pond  as  park,  422. 
Ponds  and  streams,  738. 
Port  Eliot,  143. 
Portofino,  104-106. 
Powderham  Castle  park,  139. 
Preserving  a  meadow,  480. 
Preston  parks,  158. 
Preventing  building  on  marshes,  430. 
Professional     methods    and    charges, 

751. 
Prospect  Hill,  Waltham,  516. 
Provence,  80. 
Province  Lands,  345-348. 
Public  Garden,  Boston,  308. 
Public  ground  of  four  acres,  uses  of, 

482. 
Public    meeting    concerning    scenery 

preservation,  325-330. 
Public  ownership  of  bay  shore,  434  ;  of 

watercourses,  471. 
Public  plantations,  treatment  of,  665. 
Public   sentiment    concerning  scenery 

preservation,  323. 
Public  squares  and  gardens,  307. 
Piickler-Muskau,   a  great    landscape 

architect,  359. 

Quick  effects  from  plantations,  219. 
Quincy  Bay,  shore  of,  603. 

Rectangular  layout  of  cities  often  dis- 
figuring and  wasteful,  215. 

Report  to  the  Metropolitan  Park  Com- 
mission of  1892,  384-412. 

Repton's  cottage,  201. 

Rescue  work,  733  ;  in  the  Fells,  736. 

Revere  Beach,  504 ;  alternative 
schemes,  675 ;  avoiding  bulkheads 
and  sea-walls,  671 ;  continuous 
promenade  on  the  natural  curve, 
678  ;  no  large  constructions  seaward 
of  the  proposed  promenade,  677 ; 
making  the  very  best  of,  087  ;  opin- 
ion of  the  experts,  677 ;  primary 
questions  about,  669;    sea-bathing, 


673  ;  terraces,  673 ;  a  unique  public 
provision,  679. 

Revere  Beach  Parkway,  696. 

Revere  Beach  Reservation,  603 ;  in- 
ward boundary  line  of,  535. 

Riviera,  76-107. 

River  road,  426. 

River-side  and  seashore  strips,  advan- 
tages of,  688. 

River  spaces  as  park,  424. 

Road-building,  maps  should  precede, 
649,  660. 

Roads  and  paths,  planning,  479 ;  should 
exhibit  scenery,  502. 

Rock-Hills,  737. 

Rock-hill  Reservations,  amending 
boundaries  of,  528-530. 

Rookery,  home  of  Malthus,  65. 

Rouen,  131. 

Rowsley,  156. 

Ruined  woods,  restoring  beauty  to, 
731. 

Rural  England,  137. 

St.  Germans,  143. 

St.  Gotthard,  116. 

St.  Paul's,  London,  52. 

St.  Petersburg,  180-185;  to  Berlin, 
187  ;  Botanical  Gardens,  180 ;  dis- 
tances, 180,  181,  183,  185 ;  Yelagin 
Island,  182. 

Salisbury,  135. 

Salon,  Paris,  119. 

San  Remo,  100. 

Santa  Margherita,  103. 

Sargent,  Charles  S.,  letters  to,  319,  666. 

Scene,  typical  New  England,  231,  232. 

Scenery,  description  of,  115;  a  source 
of  profit,  379  ;  humanized,  364  ;  pro- 
gressive destruction  of,  345 ;  the  ele- 
ment of  repose,  361  ;  some  surviv- 
ing near  Boston,  317. 

Scenery  preservation,  public  meeting 
concerning,  325-330 ;  public  senti- 
ment concerning,  323. 

Scenery  Trustees,  the  suggestion  of, 
318. 

Scenery,  water-side,  to  preserve,  348. 

Sclieveningen,  The  Hague,  199. 

"  Scouring  "  of  Boston  Harbor,  557. 

Sea-beach  as  reservation,  435. 

Sea-shore  reservation  south  of  Boston, 
698. 

Seaside  Village,  Nahant,  301-303. 

Seedling  forest  type,  729. 

Selecting  a  site  for  a  College  oi 
Academy,  296,  297. 

Sensational  planting,  125. 

Service  roads,  501. 

Sheep  for  keeping  turf  good,  526. 

Shurtleff,  Arthur  Asahel,  629. 

Skodsberg,  royal  forest,  170. 


INDEX 


767 


Snake  Creek  Parkway,  519. 

Southampton,  133-135. 

South  Keusiiigion  Library,  56. 

Speedways  for  Boston,  01)4. 

Station  grounds,  SG'J ;  improvement  of, 

280. 
Steep  banks,  planting  of,  03S. 
Stetson  Place  at  New  Bedford,  avenue 

entrance,  234. 
Stockholm,  173;  to  Finland,  177;  vi- 

cinitv  of,  174. 
Stony  Brook,  493,  497,  (502. 
Stony  Brook  Reservation  halved,  4.55. 
Suburb  round  a  common,  527. 
Suburban  garden,  298. 
Suburban  house,  planting'  about,  270. 
Suburbs  in  March,  the,  208-210. 
Summit  type,  7 J 8. 
Sunshine,  The,  11,  lG-25. 
Swamp  type,  720. 
Sweden,  172-177. 
Sylvan  scenery,  development  of,  503. 

Teignmouth,  140. 

Thames  River.  152. 

Theatre,  57,07,  71,73. 

Thuret  Garden,  93,  216. 

Torquay,  141. 

Town  park,  two  tracts  for,  642-645. 

Town-site  on  Salt  Lake,  Utah,  286- 
291. 

Townspeople  shvit  out  from  Nature's 
scenery,  354. 

Tree  guards,  French,  122. 

Trees  in  public  parks.  004. 

Trustees  of  Public  Reservations,  an- 
nual reports  to,  348  ;  created,  335  ; 
framing  a  bill  to  create,  333  ;  papers 
concerning  creation  of,  753  ;  reasons 
for  creating,  331  ;  suggested,  318. 

Turner's  water-color  landscapes,  01. 

Upsala,  176. 


Vallombrosa,  Cannes,  84. 
Vegetation  and  Scenery,  715. 
Vegetation  of  Feus  neglected,  692. 
Venice,  113. 
Versailles,  123,  124. 
Viale  dei  Colli,  Florence,  111. 
Vigier  Garden,  95. 
Villa  Pallavieini,  Genoa,  102. 
Villa  Rostan,  Genoa.  103. 
Villa  Valletta,  Cannes,  80. 
Villetta  de  Negro,  Genoa,  102. 
Virginia  Wood,  Stoneham,  344. 

Waleott,  Henry  P.,  chairman  of  com- 
mittee, 330;  chairman  of  Joint 
Board  on  Improvement  of  Charles 
River,  571. 

Wartburg,  195. 

Wastefulness  of  planless  work,  659. 

Watersmeet,  the  Lyns,  148. 

Waters  on  a  great  estate,  127,  129, 
1.53,  182,  184,  191. 

Waverley  Oaks,  Boston,  316,  501. 

Weimar,  and  the  valley  of  the  Hm  as 
park,  194. 

Westminster  Abbey,  52. 

Weston  Church,  225-227. 

West  Roxbury  Parkway,  705. 

"  What  Avould  be  fair  must  first  be 
fit,"  549. 

When  to  employ  the  landscape  gar- 
dener, 201. 

White  Park,  Concord,  N.  H.,  227- 
233.  _ 

Wicfening  a  makeshift  road,  667. 

Wilhelmshohe,  Cassel,  196. 

Wilton,  135. 

Winchester,  134. 

Windermere,  1.59. 

Wright,  Elizur,  labors  for  scenery 
preservation,  323  ;  memorial  of,  62L 

"  Young  sprout,"  733. 


KEY  TO  LETTERS  AND  FIGURES  ON  THE  MAP  OF  DECEMBER, 

1901. 


Metropolitan  Holdings. 

A.    King's  Beach  and  Lynn  Shore. 

N.    Neponset  River  Parkway. 

B.    Revere  Beach. 

0.    Blue  Hills  Parkw 

ay. 

C.    Revere  Beach  Parkway. 

P.    Blue  Hills  Reservation. 

D.    Fellsway. 

Q.   Nantasket  Beach  Reservation. 

E.    Fellsway  East. 

R.   Quincy  Shore  Reservation. 

F.    Fellsway  West. 

S.    Fowl  Meadows. 

G.    Middlesex  Fells  Reservation. 

T.    Neponset  River  Reservation. 

H.    Mystic  Valley  Parkway. 

U.   Mystic  River  Reservation. 

J.     Beaver  Brook  Reservation. 

V.    Fresh  Pond  Parkway. 

K.   Charles  River  Reservation. 

W.  Whitmore  Brook  Entrance. 

L.    Hemlock  Gorge  Reservation. 

X.    Furnace  Brook  Parkway. 

M.   Stony  Brook  Reservation. 

OPEN   SPACES. 

CONTROLLED   BY 

OPEN   SPACES. 

CONTROLLED  BY 

1.  Boston  Common 

Boston  Department  of 

23.  Old  Brookline 

Boston  Water  Board. 

Public  Grounds. 

Reservoir 

2.  Public  Garden 

»        ..            i< 

24.  Brookline  Res'vr 

Brookline    Water    De- 

3. Commonwealth 

Boston  Park  Commis- 

partment 

Avenue 

sion. 

25.  Fisher  Hill  Res'vi 

Boston  Water  Board. 

4.  Charlesbank 

»        •<        I  <i 

Boston  Department  of 

5.  Back  Bay  Fens 

"        "           " 

Public  Grounds. 

6.  Blackstone  Sq. 

Boston  Department  of 

27.  Orchard  Park 

It            11                  u 

PubUc  Grounds. 

28.  Parker  Hill 

Boston  Water  Board. 

7.  Franklin  Square 

u           u 

Reservoir 

8.  Monument  Sq. 

Bunker  Hill  Monument 

29.  Highland  Park 

Boston  Department  of 

Association. 

Public  Grounds. 

9.  Cbarlestown  Hts. 

Boston  Park  Comm'n. 

30.  Washington  Park 

11        11            11 

10.  Charlestown  Play- 

" 

31.  Fountain  Square 

U                    11 

ground 

32.  Jamaica  Poud 

Boston  Park  Comm'n. 

11.  Wood  Island  Park 

"        "            " 

33.  Arnold     Arbore- 

11       11           11 

12.  Commonwealth 

Boston  Department  of 

tum 

Park 

Public  Grounds. 

34.  Franklin  Park 

"        "           " 

13.  Telegraph  Hill 

"        "            " 

35.  Franklin  Field 

11        11           It 

14.  Independence  Sq. 

" 

36.  Dorchester  Park 

1.        11           .1 

15.  Marine  Park 

Boston  Park  Comm'n. 

37.  Squaw  Rock 

Boston  Sewage  Dept. 

16.  Castle  Island 

a 

33.  Moon  Island 

11        i<            11 

17.  Rogers  Park 

Boston  Department  of 

39.  Merrymount  Park  Quincy  Park  Comm'n. 

Public  Grounds. 

40.  Faxon  Park 

"        "            " 

18.  Cliestnut  Hill 

Metropolitan       Water 

41.  Quincy  Water  Re- 

Quincy Water  Commis- 

Reservoir 

Board. 

serve 

sion. 

13.  Longwood  Play- 

Brookline  Park  Com- 

42. French's  Com'n. 

Braiutree  Selectmen. 

ground 

mission. 

43.  Webb  Park 

Weymouth  Park  Com. 

20.  Brookline  Avenue 

11        11            11 

mission. 

Playground 

44.  BealsPark 

"            " 

21.  Cypress  Street 

"         "            " 

45.  Hull  Common 

Hull  Park  Comm'n. 

Playground 

46.  Dedham  Com'n 

Dedham  Selectmen. 

22.  Muddy  River 

Boston  and    Brookline 

47.  Boston   Parental 

Trustees. 

Parkway 

Park  Commission. 

7i 

School 
)8 

OPEN   SPACES. 

CONTROLLED   BY 

OPEN  SPACES. 

CONTROLLED  BT 

48.  Brookline  Water 

Brookline  Water  Dept. 

88 

Eastern     Com- 

Melrose    Park     Com- 

Works 

mon 

mission, 

49.  Brookline  Water 

.<        .1           •> 

89 

Waitt's  Mount 

Maiden  Park  Comm'n. 

Reserve 

90 

Maiden  Water 

Maiden  Water  Board. 

00.  Brookline  Water 

11        it           i> 

Works 

Reserve 

91 

Union  Park 

Chelsea  Park  Comm'n. 

51.  Newton    Water 

Newton  Water  Board. 

92 

UiUted      States 

National  Government. 

Reserve 

Marine  and  Nar 

62.  Needham  Com'n 

Needham  Selectmen. 

val  Hospital 

63.  WabanHillRes'vrNewtou  Water  Board. 

93. 

United  States 

National  Government. 

54.  Farlow  Park 

Newton  Street  Com'n. 

Battery 

65.  Newton     Centre 

.1 

94 

United  States 

11 

Playground   & 

Battery 

Green 

95 

Lynn  Common 

Lynn  Park  Comm'n, 

56.  River  Park, 

Weston  Park  Comm'n. 

96 

Lynn  Woods 

II        II            11 

Weston 

97 

Lynn  Water  Re- 

Lynn Water  Board. 

57.  Auburudale  Park 

Newton  Street  Com'n. 

serve 

58.  River  Park,  Au- 

11          .1          » 

98. 

Meadow  Park 

Lynn  Park  Comm'n. 

burndale 

99. 

Oceanside    Ter- 

II           II 

59.  Stony    Brook 

Cambridge  Water  B'rd. 

race 

100. 

Nahant  Long 

Transferred  to  Metro- 

CO.  Waltham  Water 

Waltham  Water  B'rd. 

Beach 

politan  Park  Com'n. 

Works 

101. 

Nahant  Short 

"        "           " 

61.  Waltham     Com- 

Waltham  Department 

Beach 

mon 

of  Public  Grounds. 

102. 

Devereux 

Marblehead  Selectmen. 

62.  Saltonstall  Park 

Watertown  Park  Com- 

Beach 

mission. 

103. 

Marblehead 

Marblehead  Park  Com- 

63. United  States 

National  Government. 

Park 

mission. 

Arsenal 

104. 

Crocker  Rock 

11        II            11 

64.  Fresh  Pond  Park. 

Cambridge  Water  B'rd. 

105. 

Fort  Sewall 

Marblehead  Selectmen. 

65.  Cambridge 

Cambridge  Park  Com- 

lOG. 

Fort  Glover 

II                 11 

Common 

mission. 

107. 

Prospect  HiU 

Waltham    Department 

66.  Broadway  Park 

"            "        " 

of  Public  Grounds. 

67.  Tlie  Esplanade 

«            »        « 

108.  Rindge  Field 

Cambridge  Park  Com- 

68. Central  Hill 

SomerviUe  Department 

mission. 

Park 

of  Public  Grounds. 

109. 

Winthrop  Square 

11            11                  u 

69.  Broadway  Park 

"        "            " 

110. 

Cambridge  Field 

U             11                   ti 

70.  Nathan  Tufta 

»        11            » 

111. 

The  Front 

11       II          t< 

Park 

112. 

Charles   River 

11       It          It 

71.  Mystic  Res'vr 

Boston  Water  Board. 

Parkway 

72.  Mystic  Water 

"        "            " 

113. 

Hastings  Square 

II      11        •• 

Works 

114. 

North  Brighton 

Boston  Park  Commis- 

73. Arlington  Hts. 

Arlington  Water  Com- 

Playgroimd 

sion. 

mission. 

115. 

Billings  Field 

II        II            II 

74.  Arlington  Water 

"         "            '♦ 

116. 

Milton   Play- 

Milton Selectmen. 

Reserve 

ground 

75.  Lexington   Com- 

Lexington Selectmen. 

117. 

MUton  Hill. 

Trustees  of  Public  Re- 

mon 

servations. 

76.  Boston  Water 

Boston  Water  Board. 

118. 

Neponset    Play- 

Boston Park  CommiB- 

Reserve 

ground 

sion. 

77.  Winchester 

Winchester  Selectmen. 

119. 

Christopher  Gib- 

II       It            It 

Common 

son  Playgroimd 

78.  Woburn  Park 

Wobum  Park  Comm'n. 

120. 

M  Street  Play- 

It       ti            ti 

79.  Cotymore  Lea 

Maiden  Park  Comm'n. 

ground 

, 

80.  Sheridan  Park 

"        "            " 

121. 

Mystic   Play. 

tt        It            it 

81.  Fellsmere 

" 

ground 

82.  Craddock  Field 

11        11            II 

122. 

North  End  Park 

It        It            ti 

83.  Ferryway  Green 

11        11            1. 

123. 

West  Roxbury 

11        ti            11 

84.  Playground 

Stoneharo  Selectmen. 

Parkway 

85.  Wakefield    Com- 

Wakefield Selectmen. 

124. 

Watertown 

Watertown  Water  B'rd 

mon 

Water  Works 

K.  Lake  Park 

II                 11 

125. 

BuUough    Pond 

Newton    Street   Com- 

87.  Sewall'B  Wood 

Melrose     Park     Com- 

Park 

mission. 

mission. 

126. 

Crystal  Lake 

"        "           " 

769 


OPEN  SPACES. 

CONTEOLLED  BY 

OPEN  SPACES. 

CONTROLLED  BY 

127.  Islington  Park 

Newton    Street    Com- 

162. 

Hamilton  Park 

Hyde  Park  Comm'n. 

mission. 

163. 

Little  Pond 

Braintree  Water  B'rd. 

128.  WolcottPark 

»        «           (> 

Reservation 

129.  Lincoln  Park 

"        "           " 

104. 

Standpipe 

11        11            11 

130.  Linwood  Avenue 

"        "           " 

165. 

City  Park 

Everett  Part  Comm'n. 

Park 

ICG. 

Brooks  Park 

Medford  Park  Com'n. 

131.  Elmwood  Park 

11        It           >( 

1G7. 

Magoun  Park 

11            11        11 

132.  Washington  P'rk 

"        "           " 

168. 

Logan  Park 

11            11        11 

133.  Cabot  Park 

"        "           " 

169. 

Public  Common 

11            11        11 

134.  Boyd's  Pond  P'rk 

li        ti           11 

170. 

Governor  Avenue 

11            11        11 

135.  Walnut  Park 

11        11           11 

171. 

Hastings  Park 

.1            11        11 

136.  Kenrick  Park 

11        11           11 

172. 

Brooks  Playstead 

11            11        1, 

137.  Loring  Park 

It        11           11 

173. 

Prospect  Hill 

Somerville  Department 

138.  Lower  FaUs  P'rk 

11        11           11 

Park 

of  Public  Grounds. 

139.  Hobbs  Brook 

Cambridge  Water  B'rd. 

174. 

Lincoln  Park 

U               1.                      11 

Storage  Basin 

175. 

Playground,  and 

Somerville  Department 

140.  Adams  Park 

Weymouth  Park  Com- 

High-service 

of    Public     Grounds 

mission. 

Pumping  Sta- 

and Water  Board. 

141.  Ward  4  Play- 

Quincy Park  Commis- 

tion 

ground 

sion. 

176. 

Everett  Avenue 

Chelsea  Park  Commis- 

142. Heath  Street  Lot 

Brookline  Park  Com'n. 

Park  and  Play- 

sion. 

143.  Dudley  Street 

"            "        " 

ground 

Triangle 

177. 

Washington  P'rk 

"          "          " 

144.  Newton    Street 

Brookline  Water    De- 

178. 

Powder  Horn 

Chelsea  Park  Commis- 

Reserve 

partment,  Street  De- 
partment, and  Over- 

Park 

sion,  Water  Board, 
and  Soldiers'  Home. 

seers  of  Poor. 

179. 

Willow  Street 

Chelsea  Park  Commis- 

145. Payson  Park 

Cambridge  Water  B'rd. 

Park 

sion. 

Reservoir 

180. 

Leased  Common 

Nahant  Selectmen. 

146.  Dana  Square 

Cambridge  Park  Com- 

181 

Dover  Common 

Dover  Park  Commis'n. 

mission. 

182 

Water  Reserva- 

Needham Water  Com- 

147.  Fort  Washington 

11        11            11 

tion 

148.  CUfton  Grove 

Maiden  Park  Comm'n. 

183 

Ryan's    HiU 

11            i<        11 

149.  MenotomyRock 

Arlington  Park  Com- 

Standpipe 

Park 

mission. 

184 

Highlandville 

Needham  Selectmen. 

150.  RusseU  Park 

11        11            11 

Common 

151.  Meadow  Park 

.1        .1            11 

185 

Dedham      Ave- 

11               11 

152.  Great  Meadows 

Arlington  Water  Com- 

nue Triangle 

mission. 

ISO. 

Ward    3     Play- 

Quincy Park  Commis- 

153. Belmont 

Belmont  Selectmen. 

ground 

sion. 

154.  How  Park 

Watertown  Park  Com- 
mission. 

187 

Ward    6     Play- 
ground 

11 

155.  Whitney  HiU 

Watertown  Park  Com- 

188 

Sewerage    Land 

Quincy  Sewerage  Com- 

Park 

mission. 

mission. 

156.  Highway  Lot 

Watertown     Highway 
Department. 

180 

Reservoir 

Metropolitan  Water 
Board. 

157.  Irving  Park 

Watertown  Park  Com- 
mission. 

190 

Quincy     Stand- 
pipe 

Quincy  Water  Commis- 

158.  Knowles  Delta 

11             I.        .1 

191 

Pumping  Station 

"            " 

159.  Wellesley  Water 

Wellesley  Water  B'rd. 

192 

Ward    2     Play- 

Quincy Park  Commis- 

Works 

ground 

sion. 

160.  Maugus  HiU 

11              .1        11 

193 

Blauey's  Beach 

Swampscott  Park  Com- 

Reservoir 

mission. 

161.  Stone  Park  Play- 

Dedham   Park    Com- 

194 

Lyman's  HiU 

Brookline  Water  De- 

ground 

mission. 

Standpipe 

partment. 

770 


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